Polotsk is one of the oldest cities in Belarus. The first mention of it in the annals dates back to 862. This is a real gem of our international route – the birthplace of Francis Skorina, keeping the legends of Rogvolod and Rogneda, the traditions of Euphrosyne of Polotsk and many other interesting and exciting stories.

We suggest starting your acquaintance with the city from St. Sophia Cathedral (Zamkova St., 1). This is a unique architectural monument of the 11th – 18th centuries, which became the first stone building in Belarus. Constructed according to Orthodox canons, Sophia Cathedral for 243 years was a Uniate church and was returned to Orthodox Christians only after the liquidation of the Union. Today it houses the Museum of the History of St. Sophia Cathedral Architecture and a concert hall of chamber organ music. If you are traveling, check out the poster on the museum’s official website. ( http://pogorelaya.museum.by/ )

After visiting the cathedral, go down the stairs and continue your walk through the city along Nizhne-Pokrovskaya Street. There is a considerable number of museums, including the Local History Museum (11 Nizhne-Pokrovskaya), which is located in the building of the former Lutheran church. We also advise you to pay attention to Museum of Belarusian Printing – this is the only museum of this type in Belarus.

Then we turn into a small square on Francis Skorina Avenue, where you can find the Geographic Center of Europe. A little further you can see the monument to Simeon Polotsky (5 Sverdlova St.), which left its mark in poetry, pedagogy and theology.

Not far from here is the area of Francis Skorina, there is also a monument in honor of the first printer and creator of the Belarusian language. Walking forward along Fr. Skorina Avenue, you will come to Freedom Square . Its main attraction is the Monument to the Heroes of the Patriotic War of 1812, restored on the model of the 1850th year, about 10 years ago.

Another pearl of the city is the Spaso-Efrosinievsky Convent , founded in St. Polotsk Euphrosyne of Polotsk. On the territory of the monastery, the Transfiguration Cathedral was preserved, in which magnificent frescoes of the 12th century, written according to legend, by Euphrosyne herself, were almost completely preserved. You can get there by city bus number 4.

Polotsk is a quiet, comfortable and original small town. This is a necessary element to get acquainted with the history and culture of Belarus.

If you want to delve deeper into history, you can go to Smolensk or < a href = "http://www.gorodarusi.ru/case_pskov/"> Pskov . The distance to any of them from Polotsk is about 250 kilometers.