Editing Vitebsk (section)

===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]].