Bet Guvrin 4.11

Beit Guvrin is a kibbutz in the Lakhish region, west of the ancient city of Beit Guvrin, for which it is named. Located 14 kilometres east of Kiryat Gat, it falls under the jurisdiction of Yoav Regional Council. In it had a population of 414.HistoryThe kibbutz was established on a site with a long history. Originally an Iron Age town named Maresha, it became a town named Beit Guvrin, which was later renamed Eleutheropolis, "the city of free men" by the Romans in 200 CE. It was later the site of a Frankish colony, "Bethgibelin", before becoming the Arab village Bayt Jibrin.Kibbutz Beit Guvrin was founded in 1949, on the eve of Shavuot, by former Palmach members after the residents of Bayt Jibrin fled following a military assault by Jewish forces during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. The first residents were members of the "Yetzivim" youth group, which emigrated from Turkey in 1945, and the "Bnei Horin" youth group, which emigrated from Romania in 1946.EconomyThe economy was formerly based on chicken coops, cowsheds and field crops. BG Technologies is located on the kibbutz. Other kibbutz-run businesses are a banquet hall, a clothing and gift store, a jewelry store, a dental clinic and a public swimming pool.