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Vitebsk developed from a river harbor where theVićba River (Віцьба, from which it derives its name) flows into the largerWestern Dvina, which is spanned in the city by theKirov Bridge.
Archaeological research indicates thatBaltic tribes had settlements at the mouth of Vitba. In the 9th century, Slavic settlements of the tribal union of theKrivichs replaced them. According to theChronicle of Michael Brigandine (1760), PrincessOlga of Kiev founded Vitebsk (also recorded as Dbesk, Vidbesk, Videbsk, Vitepesk, or Vicibesk) in 974. Other versions give 947 or 914. AcademicianBoris 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 thetrade 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 anindependent principality, following the Polotsk, and at times, the Smolensk and Kiev princes.
In the 12th and 13th centuries, Vitebsk functioned as the capital of thePrincipality of Vitebsk, anappanage principality which thrived at the crossroads of the river routes between theBaltic andBlack seas. In 1320 the city was incorporated into theGrand Duchy of Lithuania as dowry of the Princess Maria, the first wife of Grand Duke of LithuaniaAlgirdas.[4] By 1351 the city had erected a stone Upper and Lower Castle, the prince's palace. In 1410 Vitebsk participated in theBattle of Grunwald.
View of Vitebsk in the early 19th century byJózef Peszka
Under the Russian Empire, the historic centre of Vitebsk was rebuilt in theNeoclassical style.
TheBattle of Vitebsk was fought west of the city on 26–27 July 1812 asNapoleon 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 towardsSmolensk.[5]
Vitebsk in 1943, during the period ofNazi German occupation
DuringWorld War II, the city came underNazi German occupation (11 July 1941 – 26 June 1944). DuringOperation 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 impendingHolocaust.[7] Much of the old city was destroyed in the ensuing battles between the Germans andRed Army soldiers. Most of the remaining local Jews perished in theVitebsk Ghetto massacre of October 1941. The Germans also operated a Nazi prison, the Stalag 313prisoner-of-war camp andforced labour camps in the city.[8][9][10][11] The Soviets recaptured the city during the June 1944Vitebsk–Orsha Offensive, as part ofOperation Bagration.
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 annualSlavianski 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 SummerAmphitheatre, 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]
The city has one of the oldest buildings in the country: theAnnunciation Church. The building dates back to the period ofKievan Rus. The city at the time was pagan and did not belong to theUkrainian orRussian 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 aRoman 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 theTheotokos, 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 anobelisk 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 atGrodno, 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 theMarc Chagall Museum and theVitebsk regional museum.
Vitebsk has warm summerhumid continental climate,Köppen:Dfb. Summers are generally warm, while winters are relatively cold but still warmer than inMoscow due to a stronger influence of maritime air from theBaltic Sea. Approximately 724 mm (28.5 in) of precipitation falls here per annum.
Climate data for Vitebsk (1991–2020, extremes 1886–present)
In 1928, the American composerAaron Copland composed thepiano trioVitebsk: Study on a Jewish Theme, and the work was premiered in 1929. Based on a Jewish folk song fromS. Ansky's playThe Dybbuk, Copland's piece is named forVitebsk Governorate, where Ansky was born, and where he first heard the tune.[18]
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.[19]
Изобразительное искусство Витебска 1918 – 1923 гг. в местной периодической печати : библиограф. указ. и тексты публ. / сост. В. А. Шишанов. – Минск : Медисонт, 2010. – 264 с.[20]
^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 inNavahrudak, 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]
^abcSłownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich, Tom XIII (in Polish). Warszawa. 1893. p. 631.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^Megargee, Geoffrey P.; Overmans, Rüdiger; Vogt, Wolfgang (2022).The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos 1933–1945. Volume IV. Indiana University Press, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. p. 301.ISBN978-0-253-06089-1.
^U. Arloǔ. Country Belarus. Grand Duchy of Lithuania. - KALLIGRAM, 2012. P. 296 (Арлоў У. Краіна Беларусь. Вялікае Княства Літоўскае. — KALLIGRAM, 2012. С. 296)
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