City in Vitebsk Region, Belarus
City in Vitebsk Region, Belarus
Vitebsk
or
Vitsyebsk
(
Belarusian
:
В?цебск
,
romanized
:
Viciebsk
,
[a]
IPA:
[?v?its?epsk]
;
Russian
:
Витебск
,
IPA:
[?v?it??psk]
;
Yiddish
:
????????
) is a city in northern
Belarus
.
[2]
It serves as the administrative center of
Vitebsk Region
and
Vitebsk District
, though it is administratively separated from the district.
[1]
As of 2024, it has 358,395 inhabitants,
[1]
making it the country's
fourth-largest city
. It is served by
Vitebsk Vostochny Airport
and
Vitebsk Air Base
.
Historical population
Year
| Pop.
| ±%
|
---|
1897
| 65,871
| ?
|
---|
1923
| 86,641
| +31.5%
|
---|
1926
| 91,201
| +5.3%
|
---|
1939
| 167,299
| +83.4%
|
---|
1959
| 148,300
| ?11.4%
|
---|
1970
| 230,804
| +55.6%
|
---|
1979
| 296,605
| +28.5%
|
---|
1989
| 350,004
| +18.0%
|
---|
1999
| 340,700
| ?2.7%
|
---|
2009
| 347,928
| +2.1%
|
---|
2019
| 364,674
| +4.8%
|
---|
Source: pop-stat.mashke.org
[3]
|
History
[
edit
]
Middle Ages
[
edit
]
Vitebsk developed from a river harbor where the
Vi?ba
River (В?цьба, from which it derives its name) flows into the larger
Western Dvina
, which is spanned in the city by the
Kirov Bridge
.
Archaeological research indicates that
Baltic tribes
had settlements at the mouth of Vitba. In the 9th century, Slavic settlements of the tribal union of the
Krivichs
replaced them. According to the
Chronicle of Michael Brigandine
(1760), Princess
Olga of Kiev
founded Vitebsk (also recorded as Dbesk, Vidbesk, Videbsk, Vitepesk, or Vicibesk) in 974. Other versions give 947 or 914. Academician
Boris Rybakov
and historian Leonid Alekseyev have come to the conclusion, based on the chronicles, that Princess Olga of Kiev could have established Vitebsk in 947. Leonid Alekseyev suggested that the chroniclers, when transferring the date from the account of the Byzantine era (since the creation of the world) to a new era, obtained the year 947, later mistakenly written in copying manuscripts as 974. It was an important place on the
trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks
. By the end of the 12th century, Vitebsk became a center of trade and commerce, and the center of an
independent principality
, following the Polotsk, and at times, the Smolensk and Kiev princes.
The official year of the founding of Vitebsk is 974, based on an anachronistic legend of founding by
Olga of Kiev
, but the first mention in historical records dates from 1021, when
Yaroslav the Wise
of
Kiev
gave it to
Bryachislav Izyaslavich
, Prince of
Polotsk
.
[4]
In the 12th and 13th centuries, Vitebsk functioned as the capital of the
Principality of Vitebsk
, an
appanage
principality which thrived at the crossroads of the river routes between the
Baltic
and
Black
seas. In 1320 the city was incorporated into the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
as dowry of the Princess Maria, the first wife of Grand Duke of Lithuania
Algirdas
.
[5]
By 1351 the city had erected a stone Upper and Lower Castle, the prince's palace. In 1410 Vitebsk participated in the
Battle of Grunwald
.
Modern era
[
edit
]
From 1503 it was the capital of the
Vitebsk Voivodeship
. In 1569 it became part of the
Polish?Lithuanian Commonwealth
. In 1597 Vitebsk was granted
Magdeburg rights
and a coat of arms by
Sigismund III Vasa
. However, the rights were taken away in 1623 after the citizens revolted against the imposed
Union of Brest
and killed Archbishop
Josaphat Kuntsevych
of Polotsk. In 1641
Władysław IV Vasa
restored Magdeburg rights.
[5]
The city was almost completely destroyed by the Russians in 1708, during the
Great Northern War
. In the
First Partition of Poland
in 1772, the
Russian Empire
annexed Vitebsk.
[5]
Under the Russian Empire, the historic centre of Vitebsk was rebuilt in the
Neoclassical style
.
The
Battle of Vitebsk
was fought west of the city on 26?27 July 1812 as
Napoleon
attempted to engage decisively with the Russian army. While the French were to occupy the town for over three months (the emperor celebrating his 43rd birthday there) the Russian army was able to slip away with minimal losses towards
Smolensk
.
[6]
Before
World War II
, Vitebsk had a significant
Jewish population
: according to
Russian census of 1897
, out of the total population of 65,900, Jews constituted 34,400 (around 52%).
[7]
The most famous of its Jewish natives was the painter
Marc Chagall
(1887-1985).
In 1919, Vitebsk was proclaimed to be part of the
Socialist Soviet Republic of Byelorussia
(January to February 1919), but was soon transferred to the
Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
and later to the short-lived
Lithuanian?Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic
(February to July 1919). In 1924 it was returned to the
Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic
.
World War II
[
edit
]
During
World War II
, the city came under
Nazi German
occupation (11 July 1941 ? 26 June 1944). During
Operation Barbarossa
, 22,000 Jews, or 58% of Vitebsk's Jewish population, managed to successfully evacuate to the interior of the Soviet Union, thus saving themselves from the impending
Holocaust
.
[8]
Much of the old city was destroyed in the ensuing battles between the Germans and
Red Army
soldiers. Most of the remaining local Jews perished in the
Vitebsk Ghetto
massacre of October 1941. The Germans also operated a Nazi prison and
forced labour
camps in the city.
[9]
[10]
[11]
The Soviets recaptured the city during the June 1944
Vitebsk?Orsha Offensive
, as part of
Operation Bagration
.
Post-war period
[
edit
]
In the first postwar five-year period the city was rebuilt. Its industrial complex covered machinery, light industry, and machine tools.
In 1959, a
TV tower
was commissioned and started broadcasting the
1st Central Television program
.
Independence of Belarus
[
edit
]
In January 1991, Vitebsk celebrated the first Marc Chagall Festival. In June 1992, a monument to Chagall was erected on his native Pokrovskaja Street and a memorial inscription was placed on the wall of his house.
Since 1992, Vitebsk has been hosting the annual
Slavianski Bazaar
, an international music festival. The main participants are artists from Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, with guests from many other countries, both Slavic and non-Slavic. There has been a remarkable improvement and expansion of the city. The central stadium was reconstructed, and the Summer
Amphitheatre
, the railway station and other historical sites and facilities were restored, and the Ice Sports Palace along with a number of new churches and other public facilities were built, together with the construction of new residential areas.
[
citation needed
]
Attractions
[
edit
]
The city has one of the oldest buildings in the country: the
Annunciation Church
. The building dates back to the period of
Kievan Rus
. The city at the time was pagan and did not belong to the
Ukrainian
or
Russian Orthodox Church
or the Kievan Rus state. It was constructed in the 1140s as a pagan church, rebuilt in the 14th and 17th centuries as a
Roman Catholic Church
, restored in 1883 and destroyed by the Soviet administration in 1961. The church was in ruins until 1992, when it was restored to its presumed original appearance.
[b]
Churches from the Polish-Lithuanian period were likewise destroyed, although the Resurrection Church (1772?77) has been rebuilt. The Orthodox cathedral, dedicated to the Intercession of the
Theotokos
, was erected in 1760. There are also the town hall (1775); the Russian governor's palace, where Napoleon celebrated his 43rd birthday in 1812; the Neo-Romanesque Roman Catholic cathedral (1884?85); and an
obelisk
commemorating the centenary of the Russian victory over Napoleon.
[
citation needed
]
Vitebsk is also home to a lattice steel TV tower carrying a horizontal cross on which the antenna mast is guyed. This tower, which is nearly identical to that at
Grodno
, but a few metres shorter (245 metres in Vitebsk versus 254 metres at Grodno) was completed in 1983.
[
citation needed
]
The city is also home to the
Marc Chagall Museum
and the
Vitebsk regional museum
.
Geography
[
edit
]
Climate
[
edit
]
Vitebsk has warm summer
humid continental climate
,
Koppen
:
Dfb
. Summers are generally warm, while winters are relatively cold but still warmer than in
Moscow
due to a stronger influence of maritime air from the
Baltic Sea
. Approximately 724 mm (28.5 in) of precipitation falls here per annum.
Climate data for Vitebsk (1991?2020, extremes 1886?present)
|
Month
|
Jan
|
Feb
|
Mar
|
Apr
|
May
|
Jun
|
Jul
|
Aug
|
Sep
|
Oct
|
Nov
|
Dec
|
Year
|
Record high °C (°F)
|
10.4
(50.7)
|
10.9
(51.6)
|
23.1
(73.6)
|
28.5
(83.3)
|
32.5
(90.5)
|
35.4
(95.7)
|
34.7
(94.5)
|
37.8
(100.0)
|
30.1
(86.2)
|
24.6
(76.3)
|
14.9
(58.8)
|
10.7
(51.3)
|
37.8
(100.0)
|
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)
|
?2.7
(27.1)
|
?1.8
(28.8)
|
3.7
(38.7)
|
12.0
(53.6)
|
18.7
(65.7)
|
22.2
(72.0)
|
24.2
(75.6)
|
23.1
(73.6)
|
17.1
(62.8)
|
9.7
(49.5)
|
2.7
(36.9)
|
?1.3
(29.7)
|
10.6
(51.1)
|
Daily mean °C (°F)
|
?5.0
(23.0)
|
?4.7
(23.5)
|
0.0
(32.0)
|
7.2
(45.0)
|
13.3
(55.9)
|
17.0
(62.6)
|
19.0
(66.2)
|
17.7
(63.9)
|
12.3
(54.1)
|
6.3
(43.3)
|
0.7
(33.3)
|
?3.2
(26.2)
|
6.7
(44.1)
|
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)
|
?7.2
(19.0)
|
?7.4
(18.7)
|
?3.3
(26.1)
|
2.7
(36.9)
|
8.1
(46.6)
|
12.1
(53.8)
|
14.2
(57.6)
|
13.0
(55.4)
|
8.3
(46.9)
|
3.6
(38.5)
|
?1.2
(29.8)
|
?5.2
(22.6)
|
3.1
(37.6)
|
Record low °C (°F)
|
?40.6
(?41.1)
|
?38.4
(?37.1)
|
?29.7
(?21.5)
|
?17.5
(0.5)
|
?4.4
(24.1)
|
?1.6
(29.1)
|
3.8
(38.8)
|
0.2
(32.4)
|
?4.9
(23.2)
|
?15.0
(5.0)
|
?24.0
(?11.2)
|
?34.6
(?30.3)
|
?40.6
(?41.1)
|
Average
precipitation
mm (inches)
|
57
(2.2)
|
49
(1.9)
|
44
(1.7)
|
39
(1.5)
|
63
(2.5)
|
76
(3.0)
|
93
(3.7)
|
77
(3.0)
|
63
(2.5)
|
67
(2.6)
|
59
(2.3)
|
57
(2.2)
|
744
(29.3)
|
Average extreme snow depth cm (inches)
|
15
(5.9)
|
19
(7.5)
|
14
(5.5)
|
0
(0)
|
0
(0)
|
0
(0)
|
0
(0)
|
0
(0)
|
0
(0)
|
0
(0)
|
2
(0.8)
|
9
(3.5)
|
19
(7.5)
|
Average rainy days
|
8
|
6
|
9
|
13
|
16
|
17
|
17
|
14
|
16
|
17
|
14
|
10
|
157
|
Average snowy days
|
23
|
21
|
14
|
4
|
0.3
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0.2
|
3
|
13
|
22
|
101
|
Average
relative humidity
(%)
|
85
|
81
|
76
|
67
|
66
|
72
|
73
|
75
|
80
|
83
|
87
|
87
|
78
|
Source: Pogoda.ru.net
[13]
|
Education
[
edit
]
The main universities of Vitebsk are
Vitebsk State Technological University
,
Vitebsk State Medical University
and
Vitebsk State University
named in honor of
Pyotr Masherov
.
Sport
[
edit
]
HK Vitebsk
of the
Belarusian Extraleague
is the local pro hockey team.
Twin towns ? sister cities
[
edit
]
Vitebsk is
twinned
with:
[14]
- Astrakhan
, Russia
- B?l?i
, Moldova
- Beloyarsky District
, Russia
- Daugavpils
, Latvia
- Gelendzhik
, Russia
- Harbin
, China
- Irkutsk
, Russia
- Jinan
, China
- Lipetsk
, Russia
- Nienburg
, Germany
- Ni?
, Serbia
- Pskov
, Russia
- R?zekne
, Latvia
- Smolensk
, Russia
- Vanadzor
, Armenia
The city was previously twinned with:
Notable people
[
edit
]
- Zhores Alferov
(1930?2019), physicist,
2000 Nobel Prize Winner for Physics
- S. Ansky
(1863?1920), playwright (
The Dybbuk
)
- Anatol Bahatyro? (Anatoly Bogatyrev)
(1913?2003), Belarusian composer
[15]
- Vladimir Bourmeister
(1904?1971), ballet choreographer
- Marc Chagall
(1887?1985), artist
- Sam Dolgoff
(1902?1990), anarcho-syndicalist housepainter
- Tanya Dziahileva
(born 1991), model
- Mark Fradkin
(1914?1990), composer
- Leon Gaspard
(1882?1964), artist
- Joseph Gunzburg
(1812?1878), Russian financier and philanthropist
- Isser Harel
(1912?2003), Israeli intelligence chief
- Lazar Khidekel
(1904?1986), artist, architect
- Franciszek Dionizy Knia?nin
(1750?1807), poet and collector of Belarusian folklore
[16]
- Tomasz Bohdanowicz-Dworzecki
(1859-1920), architect
- Leon Kobrin
(1873?1946), playwright
- Marcelo Koc
(1918?2006), Argentinian composer
- Sergei Kornilenko
(born 1983), footballer
- Lazar Lagin
(1903?1979), writer
- El Lissitzky
(1890?1941), artist
- Oleg Markov
(born 1996),
AFL
premiership player
- Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk
(1730??1788),
Hasidic
Rebbe
- Anna Missuna
(1868?1922), geologist
- Yehuda Pen
(1854?1937), artist
- Aliaksei Protas
(born 2001), ice hockey player
- Kazimierz Siemienowicz
(1600?1651), engineer, pioneer of rocketry
- Ivan Sollertinsky
(1902?1944), polymath, critic, and musicologist
- Joseph Solman
(1909?2008), American painter
- Simeon Strunsky
(1879?1948), author in
New York City
- Immanuel Velikovsky
(1895?1979),
psychiatrist
/
psychoanalyst
and author
- Alexander Vvedensky
(1889?1946), one of the leaders of the Living Church movement
Artistic tributes
[
edit
]
In 1928, the American composer
Aaron Copland
composed the
piano trio
Vitebsk: Study on a Jewish Theme
, and the work was premiered in 1929. Based on a Jewish folk song from
S. Ansky
's play
The Dybbuk
, Copland's piece is named for
Vitebsk Governorate
, where Ansky was born, and where he first heard the tune.
[17]
Sources
[
edit
]
- Shishanov V. A. (2007).
Vitebsk Museum of Modern Art
: history of creation and collection. 1918?1941
. Minsk: Medisont. p. 144.
In Russian.
eastview.com
- Любезный мне город Витебск.... Мемуары и документы. Конец XVIII ? начало XIX в. / Вступ. ст., науч., коммент., сост., публ. В. А. Шишанова. Мн.: Асобны Дах, 2005. 40 с.
[18]
- Шишанов В.
947 или 914?
[
permanent dead link
]
// Витебский проспект. 2005. No.45. 10 нояб. С.3.
- Изобразительное искусство Витебска 1918 ? 1923 гг. в местной периодической печати : библиограф. указ. и тексты публ. / сост. В. А. Шишанов. ? Минск : Медисонт, 2010. ? 264 с.
[19]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
Official transliteration
.
- ^
The Annunciation Church is a six-pillared building with one apse. It is built of hewn limestone quadras, each row being separated by two rows of brick, covered with a thin layer of stucco so as to emulate large blocks of stone. This technique was widespread in Byzantium; but there are only two examples north of Crimea ? one in Vitebsk and another, unfinished and long ruined church in
Navahrudak
, probably by the same team of Byzantine builders. Another extraordinary feature of the church is that its bays are equal and the central nave is square in plan. The choir gallery occupies the western bay; it adjoins two secluded chapels over the lateral aisles. Stairs leading to the gallery are built into the western wall.
[12]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
"Численность населения на 1 января 2024 г. и среднегодовая численность населения за 2023 год по Республике Беларусь в разрезе областей, районов, городов, поселков городского типа"
.
belsat.gov.by
. Archived from
the original
on 2 April 2024
. Retrieved
12 April
2024
.
- ^
"Vitsyebsk"
.
www.britannica.com
.
- ^
"Cities & Towns of Belarus"
. 2024-04-15.
- ^
History
Archived
2007-09-22 at the
Wayback Machine
, Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee
- ^
a
b
c
Słownik geograficzny Krolestwa Polskiego i innych krajow słowia?skich, Tom XIII
(in Polish). Warszawa. 1893. p. 631.
{{
cite book
}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link
)
- ^
Liskovich, Alexandre (2012).
"Historical Review"
.
Vitebsk City
. Retrieved
August 5,
2021
.
- ^
Joshua D. Zimmerman (2004).
Poles, Jews, and the politics of nationality
. Univ of Wisconsin Press. p. 16.
ISBN
0-299-19464-7
.
- ^
Arad, Yitzhak (2020-05-27).
The Holocaust in the Soviet Union - Yitzhak Arad - Google Books
.
ISBN
9781496210791
. Retrieved
2022-07-18
.
- ^
"Gefangnis Vicebsk"
.
Bundesarchiv.de
(in German)
. Retrieved
16 March
2024
.
- ^
"SD-Lager Vicebsk"
.
Bundesarchiv.de
(in German)
. Retrieved
16 March
2024
.
- ^
"Zivilarbeitslager Vicebsk"
.
Bundesarchiv.de
(in German)
. Retrieved
16 March
2024
.
- ^
Rappoport, P.A.
"Зодчество Древней Руси"
[Architecture of Ancient Rus].
russiancity.ru
(in Russian)
. Retrieved
8 February
2023
.
- ^
"Weather and Climate- The Climate of Vitebsk"
(in Russian). Weather and Climate (Погода и климат)
. Retrieved
8 November
2021
.
- ^
"Города-побратимы"
.
vitebsk.gov.by
(in Russian). Vitebsk
. Retrieved
2020-01-13
.
- ^
Anatol Vasilevi? Bahatyro? (Анатоль Вас?льев?ч Багатыро?)
- ^
U. Arlo?. Country Belarus. Grand Duchy of Lithuania. - KALLIGRAM, 2012. P. 296 (Арло? У. Кра?на Беларусь. Вял?кае Княства Л?то?скае. ? KALLIGRAM, 2012. С. 296)
- ^
"Vitebsk (1928) | Works"
. 5 August 2019.
- ^
"Ljubeznyj mne gorod vitebsk 2005 by linkedin63"
. Issuu. 2013-08-01
. Retrieved
2022-07-18
.
- ^
"Shishanov izo vitebsk2010 demo by linkedin63"
. Issuu. 2013-07-02
. Retrieved
2022-07-18
.
External links
[
edit
]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Vitebsk
.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for
Vitebsk
.
|
---|
International
| |
---|
National
| |
---|
Geographic
| |
---|
Other
| |
---|