Description of the attraction
The memorial sign "Polotsk - the geographical center of Europe" was installed during the celebration of the day of the city of Polotsk on May 31, 2008. During the grand opening of the memorial sign, the Mayor of Polotsk Vladimir Tochilo was awarded a certificate with precise calculations of the coordinates of the geographical center of Europe. The authorship of the monument belongs to the architect Ivan Borovik and the sculptor Alexander Prokhorov.
Scientists-geodesists of the republican unitary enterprise of aerospace methods in geodesy "Belaerocosmogeodesy" managed to establish the location of the center of Europe. Modern methods of aerospace survey and powerful computers made it possible to make accurate calculations. In the calculations of Belarusian geodesists, Europe was taken as a whole, together with the White and Baltic Seas, as well as the islands located not far from the coast. The calculations made it possible to find out the exact coordinates of the center of Europe: 55 degrees 30 minutes north and 28 degrees 48 minutes east.
To the great joy and amazement of Belarusian cartographers, this place turned out to be in the most beautiful public garden of the ancient city of Polotsk, which made it possible to erect a memorial sign there, showing where the center of Europe is. Previously, experts from other countries have made calculations of the center of Europe. They ended up in other places. However, only the calculations of the Belarusian colleagues were confirmed by scientists from the Central Research Institute of Geodesy, Aerial Photography and Cartography from Moscow.
The memorial sign symbolically depicts the northern hemisphere, indicated by arcs of meridians, over which the symbol of Polotsk - a golden boat - rises. Four arrows indicate the direction of the cardinal points. In the center of the sign there is a map of Europe and its geographic center in Polotsk.
