Polatskaya Street

Polatskaya Street in Skaryna’s times

The natural terrain of Vilnius has determined the most convenient routes to and from the city: from the west, south and southeast. The main and oldest intersection of the first streets in the center was the fairground near the Church of St. Johns (Šv. Jono). The building of the city government was also located there. Therefore, Vilnius was connected to Medniki, Polatsk and Trakai. Merchants from Polatsk and other eastern cities came to Vilnius via the Polatskaya Street. At different times, the street was named as Polatski trakt, Polatsk trakt, Batory trakt. Since the middle of the 13^th century, oak planks had been used as flooring. However, at the beginning of the 15^th century,wooden flooring was replaced by paving stones. There was a special tax, however: whoever came to the city had to bring a stone of the size of a head. With time, the street filled itself with houses.

Polatskaya Street in our times

Nowadays there are 81 buildings (address) on Polatskaya Street: 50 houses with even numbers and 31 with odd numbers. Residential buildings prevail. This street in the Old Town contains the largest number of houses. Its length is 1 km. The street is connected with Uzupio and Olandu streets. Thanks to the initiative of the Belarusian community in Vilnius, an inscription in Skaryna’s script appeared at the beginning of the street in 2019.Francysk Skaryna from Polatsk likely arrived in  Vilnius along this street more than 500 years ago to glorify it by publishing his first books. Some of the outstanding objects of the street are the Bernardine cemetery with a chapel and the St. Bartholomew’s Church. The church was built on the site, where a wooden church had existed since the middle of the 17^th century. Now it is the only temple in the Uzupis region and the smallest one in the city. The Belarusian community of Vilnius gathers here for church services. The services are conducted in Belarusian.