Editing Vitebsk (section)

==History==
===Middle Ages===
Vitebsk developed from a river harbor where the [[Vićba]] River (Віцьба, from which it derives its name) flows into the larger [[Daugava River|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 [[Principality of Vitebsk|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 of Polotsk|Bryachislav Izyaslavich]], Prince of [[Polotsk]].<ref>[http://www.vitebsk-region.gov.by/en/vitebsk-region/history/ History] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070922002015/http://www.vitebsk-region.gov.by/en/vitebsk-region/history/ |date=2007-09-22 }}, Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee</ref>

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 Sea|Baltic]] and [[Black Sea|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]].<ref name=sgk>{{cite book|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich, Tom XIII|year=1893|language=pl|location=Warszawa|page=631}}</ref> 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===
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.<ref name=sgk/> The city was almost completely destroyed by the Russians in 1654, during the [[Russo-Polish War (1654–1667)|Russo-Polish War]], and in 1708, during the [[Great Northern War]]. In the [[First Partition of Poland]] in 1772, the [[Russian Empire]] annexed Vitebsk.<ref name=sgk/>

The town once had three castles: the Upper Castle, which housed the voivode’s palace, the Lower Castle, and the Uzgorski Castle. The first two were destroyed by fire in 1614 but were later rebuilt; however, by the 19th century, none of the castles remained.<ref name="sgk" /> In addition to raids, Vitebsk was frequently struck by fires—in the years 1335, 1614, 1629, 1680, 1698, 1707, 1733, 1752, 1757, and 1762.<ref name="sgk" />
[[Image:Church of Christ Resurrection in Viciebsk, J. Pieška.jpg|thumb|View of Vitebsk in the early 19th century by [[Józef Peszka]]]]

Under the Russian Empire, the historic centre of Vitebsk was rebuilt in the [[Neoclassical architecture|Neoclassical style]].

The [[Battle of Vitebsk (1812)|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]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://vitebskcity.by/article_view.php?idmenu=1&id=2&lang=en |title=Historical Review |last=Liskovich |first=Alexandre |date=2012 |website=Vitebsk City |access-date=August 5, 2021}}</ref>

Before [[World War II]], Vitebsk had a significant [[History of the Jews in Belarus|Jewish population]]: according to [[Russian census of 1897]], out of the total population of 65,900, Jews constituted 34,400 (around 52%).<ref>
{{cite book
|author= Joshua D. Zimmerman
|title= Poles, Jews, and the politics of nationality
|publisher= Univ of Wisconsin Press
|year= 2004|isbn= 0-299-19464-7
|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=6sbr9cZyw_4C&q=population+Brest+Poles+Jews&pg=PA16
|page= 16
}}
</ref> 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===
[[Image:Witebsk. Budynek komendantury (2-1899).jpg|thumb|Vitebsk in 1943, during the period of [[Nazi German]] occupation]]
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]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MJrnDwAAQBAJ&dq=Yitzhak+Arad+30,000+vitebsk+holocaust&pg=PT82 |title=The Holocaust in the Soviet Union - Yitzhak Arad - Google Books |date=2020-05-27 |isbn=9781496210791 |accessdate=2022-07-18|last1=Arad |first1=Yitzhak }}</ref> 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, the Stalag 313 [[German prisoner-of-war camps in World War II|prisoner-of-war camp]] and [[Forced labour under German rule during World War II|forced labour]] camps in the city.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bundesarchiv.de/zwangsarbeit/haftstaetten/index.php?action=2.2&tab=7&id=100000955|title=Gefängnis Vicebsk|website=Bundesarchiv.de|access-date=16 March 2024|language=de}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Megargee|first1=Geoffrey P.|last2=Overmans|first2=Rüdiger|last3=Vogt|first3=Wolfgang|year=2022|title=The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos 1933–1945. Volume IV|publisher=Indiana University Press, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum|page=301|isbn=978-0-253-06089-1}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bundesarchiv.de/zwangsarbeit/haftstaetten/index.php?action=2.2&tab=7&id=100000956|title=SD-Lager Vicebsk|website=Bundesarchiv.de|access-date=16 March 2024|language=de}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bundesarchiv.de/zwangsarbeit/haftstaetten/index.php?action=2.2&tab=7&id=100001300|title=Zivilarbeitslager Vicebsk|website=Bundesarchiv.de|access-date=16 March 2024|language=de}}</ref> The Soviets recaptured the city during the June 1944 [[Vitebsk–Orsha Offensive]], as part of [[Operation Bagration]].

===Post-war period===
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 [[Programme One|1st Central Television program]].

In 1990, a club of voters "[[For Democratic Elections]]" was founded in Vitebsk.

===Independence of Belarus===
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.{{cn|date=March 2024}}