Description of the attraction
The Polotsk Regional Museum is one of the most interesting local history museums in Belarus. It was founded in 1919. The Bolsheviks identified the Sophia Cathedral as the site for the museum. The nationalized temple was transferred to the ownership of the museum. In 1926, the grand opening took place.
Before the war, a lot of work was done - collections of ancient weapons, old printed books and ancient manuscripts were collected. Unfortunately, during the Great Patriotic War, almost all of the exhibits were lost. In 1948, the museum opened in a former Lutheran church - an architectural monument of the 19th century, built in the neo-Gothic style.
In 1967, the National Polotsk Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve was created. The museum became part of it. In 1985 the Museum-Reserve became an independent organization. Now the total area of the exposition is 550 square meters, the museum contains more than 2000 exhibits.
The museum contains a large and interesting collection of archaeological finds that were discovered during excavations of the Mesolithic site at the Semenovsky farm. Visitors can see flint knives, arrowheads, scrapers, and mammoth bones made by distant Stone Age ancestors.
An interesting ethnographic exposition "Corner of the Belarusian hut of the late 19th - early 20th century" shows peasant life, traditional national clothes, jewelry, shoes, everyday utensils.
A special place in the museum is occupied by a collection dedicated to the war of 1812. Here are the uniforms of the Russian and French armies, weapons, military equipment, copies of paintings with battle scenes and portraits of commanders.
Interesting expositions are dedicated to the two world wars that swept across Polotsk - the First and the Second. The updated collection shows the development of events from a non-preconceived point of view, as they actually happened.
