“We will say:“Amazing near, But it is forbidden to us!"
(Vladimir Semenovich Vysotsky)
We are all different (and that's great). This applies not only to nationality, religion, place of residence, body structure, age, personality type and gender-role orientation (the list can be endlessly enumerated), but, naturally, preferences. If the ancient Romans expressed themselves briefly and clearly - "To each his own", then in Russian literature this fact was brilliantly described by the most talented (albeit invented) Kozma Prutkov in his fable "The Difference of Tastes":
“You go crazy with Berlin;
Well, I like Medyn better.
You, my friend, and bitter horseradish - raspberries, And me and blancmange - wormwood."
The same goes for relaxation. Someone likes to rinse their feet in the warm sea of southern countries, where "all inclusive", someone needs nightclubs, alcohol and, excuse me, girls; some will take the necessary supplies and climb the mountains. Someone will prefer to travel to museums, castles, “to catch sensations from antiquities”, while others will go rafting, or simply go hiking in the taiga; for someone, their own dacha is more important; and some will go to a sanatorium to improve their health. In the end, you need to rest, and you need to be able to! (oh, God willing, I'll write an article about rest, since I had been working on the stage of psychology for some time). Let me summarize: any vacation is good, depending on personal preference; the main thing is that it fit into the framework of morality, ethics, just shame and the Criminal Code - this is sacred! And, well, also the budget, of course, how can we go without it … Will you allow me to quote Vladimir Semyonovich again? (smile) "We did a nice job and we will have a nice rest!"
Your humble servant, dear friends, here he took, and waved for two weeks now from cold St. Petersburg to a sanatorium on the territory of our neighboring state, Belarus. Specifically, near Polotsk, 50 kilometers south-west of the city in question. Why exactly there? Yes, just closer to the Russian-Belarusian border, there is less travel back and forth by car.
On the other hand, treatment is treatment, but you still need to see what is around. The sanatorium is located in the forest; nature, gorgeous lakes, perches, pecking at your bait - there is something to enjoy. AND! Must see the surroundings! All small provincial towns have sights that we sometimes don't even know about. Forgive me, but even in the small outlying town of Kingisepp in the Leningrad Region there are such exhibits in the local history museum. Did you find many swords in Russia? It seems not very much. And there - as many as two, German, especially seducing the rusty "Zweichender"! And if we are going to dig further the topic of a particular town, then there will probably be enough material for “War and Peace”, or even for a doctoral dissertation. That is, in my deepest conviction, history is around us, you just need to be able to join it (if, of course, you are interested in this story). Amazing - near!
So let's take a walk around Polotsk. Not possessing the style of R. Skomorokhov, the experience and knowledge of V. Shpakovsky, or the ability to own V. Popov's information, I, siry, cannot (yes, honestly, I don’t want to) give exceptional data, so let's just take a walk?
Polotsk is located in the north of Belarus, near the border with the Pskov region of Russia, and is part of the Vitebsk region of Belarus. The city covers an area of just over 40 square kilometers, and its population is 85 thousand people. The city is located on both banks of the Western Dvina River (or Daugava, as Lithuanians call it). Small houses of 2-5 floors in the center are adjacent to pronounced houses of Soviet architecture, along the edges of the city there is a private sector.
Coat of arms of Polotsk. Yes, there used to be a lot of trade with the cities of the Baltic coast; judging by the ship, perhaps even the galleons were sailing!
Another thing is interesting - Polotsk is one of the most ancient cities of Russia, the first mention of which dates back to 862. Historically, the Krivichi tribe lived here. The Polotsk principality was at first a part of Kievan Rus, then it became isolated, even later it became part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, then - the Commonwealth; again the city became part of Russia in 1772 (right-bank, northern part) and, finally, in 1792 (left-bank part).
Monument to the merchant near the Polotsk Central Department Store (trade house). A cute guy in furs, with a mustache and a beard, is clearly pleased with his well-being, but just now there is not enough candle factory. The coin in hand, nose, purse at the belt and for some reason even the left foot of the happy merchant is rubbed to shine by those who want to join the riches.
Unfortunately, little is left of antiquity here. We will first go to the Spaso-Euphrosyne Convent, founded by Saint Euphrosyne of Polotsk in 1125 (Efrosinya Polotskaya St., 89). The monastery was and is Orthodox, but from 1667 to 1820 it belonged to the Jesuits - what can you do, the region is multinational, many times passed from hand to hand. The main church on the territory of the monastery is the Cathedral of the Exaltation of the Cross, erected in 1893-1897, but there is also an older church - the Transfiguration of the Savior, built in the XII century.
Left - Holy Cross Cathedral, right - Transfiguration Church, view from the gate and belfry of the monastery.
In the Cathedral of the Exaltation of the Cross, the relics of Euphrosyne of Polotsk rest (she is greatly revered here, as the Matrona of Moscow in Moscow and as Xenia the Blessed in St. Petersburg), a reliquary with whose relics you can bow, pray, and light a candle. The Savior Transfiguration Church is a wonderful example of Russian architecture of the pre-Mongol period.
A straight, simple church going up. Your humble servant, unfortunately, did not see the Church of the Intercession-on-Nerl, but he saw a very similar temple in Staraya Ladoga - the pre-Mongol temples were built according to the same canons.
Photography is prohibited in the church. I went into it. Renovation is in progress. All walls, from floor to ceiling, are painted with frescoes (as a person who does not often go to church, it surprised and amazed me), and everything is being restored. The most disgusting thing is that across many frescoes you can clearly see inscriptions made with improvised objects, a la "Unwashed horseradish Vasya was here." I walked to half of the temple, from what I saw, I especially remember the inscription "Wiktor Ulanow" (yes, precisely through the "W"), there were also inscriptions clearly in Polish. Who made them, in what years, did not ask the mother nun who was on duty in the church, but the residue remained … Those who wrote nasty things on the walls, people, in short.
We leave the monastery and drive south along the same street (Efrosinya Polotskaya) no more than one and a half kilometers. We will see a ravine, at the bottom of which the river Polota (Belarusian - Chamber) flows, and a bridge. The bridge is not easy. On October 6-8 (19-21), 1812, during the Second Battle of Polotsk, Russian troops under the command of General P. Kh. Wittgenstein and the St. Petersburg militia units defeated the corps of Napoleon's Marshal Saint-Cyr; as a result, the French troops left the city. It was on this bridge that fierce battles took place, neither our soldiers nor the soldiers of the "Great Army" spared blood. And it was from this battle that the liberation of the Belarusian lands from Bonaparte's troops began. And the bridge since then, despite the fact that in 1975 instead of a tree it was dressed in concrete, it is called Red - from the blood spilled on it and around it. In memory of the battle, a commemorative sign of these events was erected on the south side of the bridge.
Let's imagine for a moment that tall grenadiers, brave huntsmen and … bearded militiamen are attacking right at the buckshot of cannons and volleys of guns while drumming at us (view from the southern, French, side). Let us bow low to them! (Speaking of warriors - with a Russian peasant, when he has an ax in his hands, the representatives of "united Europe" should not get involved. And not only with the Russian - Belarusian, Ukrainian, Georgian, Turkmen; in general, what difference does it make what nationality the peasant is who will split European shako and helmets with this ax. And he will split …)
We will go down even further south, to Nizhne-Pokrovskaya Street, which runs along the Western Dvina. At its beginning, on a hill (called the territory of the Upper Castle; only the remains of the ramparts remained from the fortifications) is the St. Sophia Cathedral, also one of the first stone buildings on the territory of Belarus. At the moment there is a museum, guided tours, concerts of organ music are held; an audio guide is provided; pleasant caretakers answer all questions.
This is how the cathedral looked initially. The museum contains comparative plans of the Kiev, Novgorod and Polotsk Sophia cathedrals. They go on in terms of area: the largest is Kievsky, the smallest area is Polotsky. Behind the model is a naked masonry.
Initially Orthodox, at the end of the 16th century the cathedral passed to the Uniates. During the Northern War, it also housed a powder store, and on May 1, 1710, it exploded … In general, by 1750 a new cathedral was erected on the old foundation and the remains of the walls, already in the Vilna Baroque style. And the church became Orthodox again in 1839, after the Polotsk Cathedral, which was held in it!
And this is how the cathedral looks now. Inside, from the exhibits, there are many religious sculptures of the Catholic and Uniate churches. Also a collection of tiles (some with Polish family coats of arms).
Near the cathedral is the so-called Borisov stone, installed on the territory in 1981. Previously, this sample of feldspar was located 5 kilometers from here, on the right bank of the Western Dvina. Versions of what is written on it, which your humble servant translates from Belarusian on a plate near the stone into Russian, differ: according to one of them, the stone is associated with the struggle of Christianity with paganism (“paganism” - Belarusian), with the revival of pagan beliefs in the first third of the XII centuries, and the words "Lord, help your servant Boris", carved in stone, are attributed to Prince Boris Vseslavich; according to another version, the words are associated with crop failure and famine that happened in 1127-1128.
26.5 tons, almost "thirty-four" (T-34) in the original version by weight! Cultural value, protected by the state. A cross is visible in the upper part.
Half of our further route will pass along the same Nizhne-Pokrovskaya street, which, as I said, along the Western Dvina. The route will be within a radius of one kilometer. There was no limit to my regret when on the doors of the Museum of Local Lore (Nizhne-Pokrovskaya Street, 11) I read: “04.06.2017. the museum is closed for technical reasons. Well, it's a shame, but let's move on!
I confess, if I pass by the Museum-Library of Simeon of Polotsk and the Museum of Belarusian Printing, you cannot master everything at once, we will leave it for another time. And the next stop will be the "Stationary exhibition" Walk along Nizhne-Pokrovskaya "(Nizhne-Pokrovskaya street, 33). It is located in the so-called "house of Peter I". Oh, I will use my knowledge of the Belarusian language (and common sense) to translate the history of this building into modern Russian - for some reason, on the tablets near all museums, it is written only in Belarusian and in English!
The house was built in 1692 in the Baroque style, and is a type of residential building from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth period. In 1705, Tsar Peter, later rightly called the Great, stayed there. During the Great Patriotic War, the house was badly damaged, in 1949 it was repaired and given over to the children's (dzitsyach - Belarusian) library (yes, by the way, so that there are no questions. I distinguish these words not from the fact that there is no such opinion about the Belarusian language I deeply respect, but because I find interesting words and phrases for myself that I did not know before. Yes, I'm interested, sincerely! Regards, Mikado). The exposition appeared here in 1993, after restoration in 2008-2012 it was renewed.
Ah, the pans lived well! Yes, and the king, hey, rested in comfort. And thank God!
The exposition is designed to show Polotsk as it was in 1910, when the relics of Efrosinya of Polotsk arrived here. Do you know how many rooms there are in the museum? Two! And the fact is that little is left of the pre-revolutionary Polotsk (in many respects, wooden) - the war took away too many buildings. And it is in these two rooms that the furnishings and things of the beginning of the 20th century are offered to our attention. The staff are very nice, they explain and show everything; you can immediately order a guide. We will be offered to review the furnishings of the mayor's room, the city public bank (with samples of Nikolaev banknotes), the Mints Trade shop, Dovid Arleevsky's visiting house, Boyarinblum's pharmacy (however, an interesting surname!)
Will you please a seagull in Dovid's visiting house (as on the sign, so I write the name) of Arleevsky? Do you know what is in the middle of the table? Sugarloaf! You, please, bite off yourself with tweezers, as much as you need. To drive a seagull with a ram - God himself ordered!
“Nestlé. Children's milk flour. Condensed milk from Nestlé! It seems that this company did not even know then what success awaited them in Russia in the 2000s.
We will leave the exhibition and walk along Nizhne-Pokrovskaya a little more, until the intersection with Engels Street. And turn left onto it.
Descent to the Dvina from Francisk Skaryna Avenue, neat houses. Somewhere I have already seen such a landscape. A! In Vyborg, the "knightly city" of the Leningrad region!
It is not for nothing that I drew analogies with a city in which there is the only medieval castle on the territory of Russia, and where historical reconstructions are systematically arranged. In the house to the left of the photo, st. Engels, 3, is … the Museum of Medieval Knighthood! It would be stupid if such a museum was not in one of the oldest cities in Russia, especially one that has a large historical connection with Europe.
The museum is small, 3-4 rooms. There are few visitors, the cashier-guide punches the check and offers to start the inspection. A semi-light is ignited (lamps with fans create the feeling of a flame burning in the lamps), the sound track is turned on. A pleasant female voice, accompanied by medieval music, tells about the history of the principality and specific princes. The entourage is respected!
I say right away: all the exhibits are remakes. But we must pay tribute to the Polotsk enthusiasts - they have opened a wonderful museum that recreates the Middle Ages for us. The tour guide was very friendly, you can take pictures with many of the exhibits. By the way, for information - in all museums of Polotsk photography is free, even though VDNKh can be glued from your photos later. And I will make a reservation - in the premises of this museum, twilight (entourage) reigns, and from your humble servant the photographer is like a ballerina. Therefore, the quality is not always exclusive … Yes, I am ashamed!
We go in, and immediately we come across a Tatar costume! Oh-ho-ho, now I remember the article "Knights of the East (part 2)", published on "Voennoye Obozreniye" on May 22, 2017, which was extremely interestingly discussed on the forum, with florid expressions. Friends of the Tatars, don't be offended! My nonsense (which will be in the article further, I categorically promise everyone) has nothing to do with either the Tatar people or history - see the discussion of the above article; I'll just laugh, and I hope that I will make you smile too. You need to smile, smile more often and sincerely!
A saber, a misyurk helmet, a bow with arrows, a malachai hat hangs on the right - all the attributes of a warrior of the steppes. Immediately remembering the discussion of the above article by me, I confess that I did not examine the armor of the Tatar warrior from behind and from below, and did not see whether there were curly cutouts for the "bare butt" or not. Oh, what a huge omission on my part! Indeed, with a bare butt, it’s probably easier to ride a horse for several tens of kilometers and ruin another principality, well, or to conquer China, for example. True, then the ass will be like a baboon's. But with Japan it will not work - the wind will rise, scatter the ships, and in addition will give rise to the kamikaze phenomenon. But these are trifles!
Also in the museum there are samples that recreate the armor of the Varangian, the European medieval infantryman, the Livonian knight, the Milanese armor and a number of other armor and weapons. Swords, morgensterns and whiskers, replicas of crossbows and sulits are hung on the walls, paveses stand on the floor. That is, a lot of work has been done.
And this is how the Livonian brother turned out. I don’t know how believable such armor is from a historical point of view, but it looks impressive - as if you were watching the film “Alexander Nevsky”.
Here, if you look closely, "novelty", first of all, gives out the cuirass. But so … everything is better than the armor of "the hunchback Richard" in the movie "Black Arrow" with its stupid "pyramids" on the shoulder pads …
I am.
"Toad Helmet" is a bit of the evil one, but overall it looks good!
Well, just a copy of a bascinet from the Royal Arsenal from Leeds in England. How do we say it? "Made with soul!"
It is best to be photographed in the last room, it is the lightest. There are coats of arms on the walls, there are armor of two knights, in the center of the wall there is a “toad's head” helmet; there is a large table, you can sit at it, pretend to write something with a pen on parchment, you can just take a sword or other weapon and pose with it, rolling your eyes and puffing out your cheeks … Only the presence of one person is embarrassing.
“The Holy Father brought the word of God into the darkness, and miracles promise me eternal life” (group “Aria”). I have a feeling that this smooth-voiced rascal does not wish me anything good. It remains to deny everything. Deboshiril - yes, he danced naked in the moonlight - yes, but that heresy. But this, chief, still needs to be proved!
On the other hand, the adjoining room is a replica of a torture chamber. Let's not annoy the holy father, let's go further.
Having said goodbye to the most pleasant woman guide, we will leave the very hospitable museum and go up Engels Street to Francysk Skaryna Avenue - one of the central streets of Polotsk, and turn right onto it. After two hundred and fifty meters, opposite the house number 32, we will see the last exhibit for today. Tired, huh? I'm also a bit. That's it, the end is coming soon.
In the 2000s, Belarusian scientists Aleksey Solomonov and Valery Anoshko published their research, as if the geographical center of Europe is located near Polotsk, in the area of Lake Sho. Despite the fact that there are already several such "geographical centers" according to different methods, a memorial sign for this significant event was installed, but in Polotsk itself, on Francysk Skaryna Avenue, with a memorable Polotsk ship at the top (I think there is no such the number of those who want to touch the eternal and sacred, except for the fishermen and workers of the village, for the area is rural; but on one of the central streets of the city - you are always welcome, there will be those willing). Can you imagine the scope for new historical theories about the Slavs? "One of the oldest years of Russia was founded in the geographical center of Europe"! It is not without reason, oh, how not without reason! They (the ancient Slavs) knew something! What an incentive for conjectures, such as "Russia is the homeland of elephants", "the ancient Slavs built all the world's cultural values" (yeah, but at the same time they invented the globe, the Mayan calendar, and ate Cook)! And the new "Ukrainian historians" would generally climb the wall with envy. Although … if we imagine that, for example, Polotsk was founded by ancient Ukrainians, and then they came, even bare-assed Mongolian-Muscovites in triuhs and balalaikas and others like them rode up, and ruined everything … then a very tempting theory emerges for those who like to rewrite history!
You sho, do you still think, sho "Ukraine - tse Europa"? Ta nii! Here is Belarus - the center of Europa!
My friends, perhaps the walk is worth ending. Even if we left the car at the St. Sophia Cathedral, from here to go one kilometer two hundred meters. We will also see monuments: a huge monument to the heroes of the Patriotic War of 1812, a monument to the Liberators of Polotsk with ZiS-2 cannons standing on both sides (a rare choice of weapons for a monument!), A bust of the soul of the defense of Port Arthur, General Roman Isidorovich Kondratenko, who studied at the Polotsk military gymnasium. Also, Polotsk is full of other monuments, museums (for example, the Museum of Military Glory and the Museum-Apartment of the remarkable die-hard woman Zinaida Tusnolobova-Marchenko) and other attractions. Whoever wants to can watch them himself. The topic for reviewing and writing articles for any author is endless.
I think Polotsk can be sincerely thanked for the walk! From any city, even not the largest and central one, you can get a lot of new information and good impressions, if you only wish. Then write down the addresses, working hours, look at the map, find a good company (very important!), The rest is a matter of technology. Amazing nearby, and it's allowed!
Yours sincerely, Mikado
