Polotsk Museum of Local Lore description and photos - Belarus: Polotsk (Topic)

Polotsk Museum of Local Lore description and photos - Belarus: Polotsk. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photos and a map showing the nearest significant objects.

Photo and description

The Polotsk Local History 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.

A lot of work was done before the war - 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 was 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 Semyonovsky farm. Visitors can see flint knives, arrowheads, scrapers, and mammoth bones made by distant ancestors of the Stone Age.

An interesting ethnographic exposition "Corner of the Belarusian hut of the late 19th - early 20th centuries" shows peasant life, traditional national clothes, jewelry, shoes, everyday utensils.

A special place in the museum is occupied by a collection dedicated to the 1812 war. Here are the uniforms of the Russian and French army, weapons, military equipment, copies of paintings with battle scenes and portraits of commanders.

Interesting expositions are devoted to the two world wars that swept across Polotsk - the First and Second. The updated collection shows the development of events from a non-preconceived point of view, as they actually happened.

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Topic: Polotsk Museum of Local Lore description and photos - Belarus: Polotsk.