Vetka

Vetka was founded in 1685 by Old Believers who left Russia after the church reforms of the seventeenth century, and the community that grew here became a centre of icon painting, book copying and printing in the old manner, producing a distinctive local school of icons with dense ornament and gilding. The Vetka Museum of Old Belief and Belarusian Traditions holds that material: icons, manuscripts and printed books with hand-coloured decoration, metalwork and textiles. The Negliubka weaving tradition of the district, red-and-white patterned towels and cloth woven by women in the villages, was inscribed on the UNESCO list of intangible heritage in need of urgent safeguarding in 2022.

What you actually see

• Vetka school icons - the local painting tradition in the museum.
• Old Believer books - the manuscripts and printed volumes with decoration.
• Negliubka weaving - the red-and-white textiles of the district.
• The museum collection - the metalwork, costume and household material.

When to go

May to September for the approach; the museum keeps daytime hours and closes on Mondays. Weekday mornings are quietest. The town itself is small.

Honest expectations

The museum is the reason to come and the town has little else. Labelling is in Belarusian and Russian. The weaving is shown in the museum rather than practised for visitors. Facilities are minimal.

Nearby

Gomel lies southwest; the Sozh runs past the town.