Vitebsk is a Belarusian city that is the capital of the region of the same name. The city’s history officially dates to 974, when Olga of Kiev is believed to have founded it along the Western Dvina River. The city is first mentioned in 1021, when it was given to the prince of Polotsk. Throughout the 1200s and 1300s, Vitebsk was the capital of the Principality of Vitebsk, which was strategically located on the trade routes between the Baltic and the Black Sea. In 1320, Vitebsk was a dowry when Princess Mary married the Grand Duke of Lithuania, and thereby the city became part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

In the following decades, a new castle was built in Vitebsk, whose troops participated in the Battle of Tannenberg in 1410. The city continued to develop and became part of Poland-Lithuania in 1569. In 1593, Vitebsk obtained Magdeburg rights, which it lost again in 1623, when the townspeople rebelled against the proposal to subordinate the Orthodox Church to the Pope in Rome. In 1708, Vitebsk was destroyed during the Great Nordic War, and after a partial reconstruction, the city became part of Russia in 1772 in connection with the partition of Poland.

During the Russian time, Vitebsk was rebuilt in the neoclassicism of the time. The town became the scene of events during the Napoleonic Wars, when the Battle of Vitebsk was fought west of the town in 1812, and Napoleon celebrated his 43rd birthday here. When the Soviet Union was formed, Vitebsk became part of the Byelorussian Soviet Republic. During World War II, Vitebsk was occupied by German troops from 1941 to 1944, when the city was liberated by the Red Army, and during the fighting much of the old town was left in ruins. The city was rebuilt under the first Soviet five-year plan after the war.

Today, Vitebsk is a city with interesting sights. Western Dvina forms a green belt through the city, and along it you can see the Church of the Annunciation of Mary, which was built in the 12th century and which, according to legend, was the place where Alexander Nevsky was engaged to Princess Alexandra of Polotsk. You can also see fine examples of neoclassical architecture such as the city’s town hall from 1775 and the Cathedral of the Virgin Mary. You can also visit the Marc Chagall Museum, which is housed in the artist’s childhood home in the city, and the Vitebsk regional museum with various exhibitions and collections from the region.