Location: The representatives of the Dnieper-Dzvina culture founded the settlement on the channels and portages of the Braslaw lakes between the Dzvina and the Neman sometime at the turn of our era. From the time of the Polatsk principality and up to the 18th century, the castle and the main part of the town were…
Location: According to archaeologists, the settlement and the castle already existed in the era of Polatsk Principality. Druya is located in front of the 60 km long rapids on the Dvina. It guarded the entrance to the Druyka River leading to Braslaw and further to Vilnius. In general, there are no large rapids in the…
Location: An ancient settlement, the predecessor of a modern city, existed on an elongated cape on the right bank of the Dzisna River at its confluence with the Dzvina River in the 10th–11th centuries as a castle of the Polatsk lands. The rapids began outside the town. Upstream of the Dzisna, it was possible to…
Location: Hlybokaye is one of the hubs on the historic land route from Vilnius to Polatsk. The distance to Vilnius is 172 km, to Polatsk – 81 km. In addition, an overland route between Hlybokaye and Dzisna has been known since the 16th century (71 km). Thus, transport communication between Vilnius and Polatsk through Hlybokaye…
Location: Germanavichy has located 12 km from Luzhki, which is located on the road that connects Dzisna with the Algierds Way. Thus, transport communication with Vilnius and Polatsk is possible via the water-land route (via Dzisna). The distance to Dzisna is 47 km, to Polatsk – 87 km, to Vilnius – 216 km. Germanavichy in…
Location: Bystrytsa is located on the ancient Way of Algirdas, 51 km from Vilnius. The distance to Polatsk is 215 km. Thus, the transport communication between Vilnius and Polatsk was by land. Bystrytsa is located near the Viliya River. Bystrytsa in Skaryna’s times The first mention of Bystrytsa dates back to 1390. In that year,…
Location: The first mention of Braslau Castle dates back to 1065 in the epic part of the “Bychowiec Chronicle”, which describes the attack of the mythical Lithuanian dukes Kernus and Gimbut on the Russian city of Braslau. Archaeology confirms that the city was found on Castle Hill by the Polochans. This is a natural elevation…
Location: Microdistrict Karoliniškės, Sietyno Str. 21. The history of Vilnius Pranciskaus Skorinos Gymnasium goes back to the last century. The Vilnius Belarusian Gymnasium (VBG) opened its doors on the 1st of February 1919. The opening of the gymnasium took place in times of a very unstable and difficult political situation – World War I. The…
Location: At the corner of Stiklių and Didžioji Streets, near the Town Hall Square (at Stiklių Street 2 / Didžioji Str. 19). It is believed that this is the place where F. Skaryna’s printing house was located before it burnt out in 1530. Yakub Babich, the burgomaster of Vilnius, helped Francysk to establish the printing…
Location: Užupis, Užupio Str. 17a. The Church of St. Bartholomew the Apostle is a Roman Catholic church built in the 17th century and rebuilt in 1824. During the invasion of the troops of Aleksey Mikhaylovich in 1655, the old wooden buildings of the monastery and the church were burnt down. In 1664, Yan Rayski…