Description of the attraction
The Museum of Belarusian Book Printing in Polotsk was opened on September 8, 1990 on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the birth of the Belarusian pioneer printer, philosopher, educator of Belarus Francisk Skorina. The exposition of the museum is located in the former Brotherhood School of the Polotsk Epiphany Monastery.
Polovtsy creatively approached the design of the museum, which was held under the guidance of artists S. Dmitriev and I. Kurzhalov. The museum demonstrates the processes of manual rewriting of books and printing on the first printing presses. In the scriptorium (a special room where the scribes of the books worked) a learned monk in a cassock sits and scrupulously writes the sacred text with a quill pen. In an old printing house, a team of printers are working on an old printed book.
The museum also contains the most interesting copies of all kinds of books: from ancient manuscripts and scrolls to modern books. During a fascinating excursion, there is an opportunity to see the process of creating handwritten and printed books, compare and evaluate the contribution of the first printers, which made it possible to significantly facilitate the process of publishing books and make it massive. There is also a large collection of writing instruments from all times and peoples.
The exposition of the museum is located in 15 halls on 928 square meters, where more than 2500 museum exhibits are displayed.
The museum conducts excursions for adults and schoolchildren, most of which are conducted in their native Belarusian language. In addition to the permanent exposition, the most interesting thematic exhibitions devoted to books and printing are held here.
