Polotsk

Polotsk is first recorded in 862 and was the centre of a principality that for a period rivalled Kyiv and Novgorod, controlling the Dvina route to the Baltic. Its cathedral of St Sophia was begun in the 1040s, one of only three churches of that dedication built in the Rus lands, and though the present building is an eighteenth-century baroque rebuilding after destruction, the eleventh-century foundations and parts of the walls survive and are shown in the museum inside. The Spaso-Euphrosyne convent holds a twelfth-century church with frescoes. The town has an unusual concentration of small museums, and a marker in the centre claims the geographical centre of Europe.

History

Polotsk is one of the earliest recorded cities of the Eastern Slavs, named in the Primary Chronicle for 862, and excavations suggest it existed in the first half of the 9th century. Its first known prince, Rogvolod, ruled from 945 to 978, until Vladimir of Kiev took the city and married his daughter Rogneda, and their son Izyaslav became prince in 989; between the 10th and 12th centuries the Principality of Polotsk was the leading power in what is now Belarus, a political capital and bishop's see with vassal lands among the Balts, at its strongest under Prince Vseslav from 1044 (Wikipedia, Polotsk).

The main sights

• St Sophia cathedral - the baroque church over eleventh-century foundations.
• Spaso-Euphrosyne convent - the twelfth-century church and its frescoes.
• The museum cluster - the many small museums through the town.
• The Dvina - the river the city was built to control.

When to go

May to September for the river and the walking; museums keep daytime hours and most close on Mondays. Winter is cold and the days short. The Day of Belarusian Written Language is sometimes held here.

Things to know

The medieval fabric is largely gone and what survives is fragments within later buildings. Museums are small and individually ticketed, with labelling in Belarusian and Russian. The centre-of-Europe claim is one of several across the continent.

Nearby

Vitebsk lies southeast; Yelnya bog is northwest.

Key facts