Editing Vitebsk

{{pp-move-dispute|small=yes}}
{{Short description|City in Vitebsk Region, Belarus}}
{{expand Belarusian|date=February 2024|topic=geo}}
{{Infobox settlement
| settlement_type                 = [[List of cities and towns in Belarus|City]]
| name                            = Vitebsk
| native_name                     = {{unbulleted list |{{native name|ru|Витебск}}|{{native name|be|Віцебск}}}}
| other_name                      = Vitsyebsk
| image_skyline = {{multiple image
| border = infobox
| total_width = 270
| image_style = border:1;
| perrow = 1/3/2
| caption_align = center
| image1 = Віцебскія краявіды 03.jpg{{!}}Historic tenements at Suvorava Street
| image2 = Свято -Воскресенская церковь (Рынковая) г. Витебск, Беларусь..jpg{{!}}Vilnian Baroque Church of Christ Resurrection
| image3 = Витебск-костел.jpg{{!}}St. Barbara Church
| image4 = ВІЦЕБСК. Ратуша - VICIEBSK. Town hall..jpg{{!}}Town Hall
| image5 = Вокзал Витебск.jpg{{!}}Main railway station
| image6 = Віцебск. Краявіды. 2019 30.jpg{{!}}Vilnian Baroque Church of the Assumption
| caption1 = Suvorava Street
| caption2 = Resurrection Church
| caption3 = St. Barbara Church
| caption4 = Town Hall
| caption5 = Main railway station
| caption6 = Church of the Assumption
}}
| image_flag                      = Flag_of_Viciebsk%2C_Belarus.svg
| image_shield                    = Coat of Arms of Viciebsk, Belarus.svg
| flag_size                       = 150
| shield_size                     = 75
| mapsize                         = 230px
| map_caption                     = Location of Vitebsk in Belarus
| pushpin_map                     = Belarus#Europe
| pushpin_relief                  = 1
| subdivision_type                = Country
| subdivision_name                = [[Belarus]]
| subdivision_type1               = [[Regions of Belarus|Region]]
| subdivision_name1               = [[Vitebsk Region]]
| leader_title                    = Chairman
| leader_name                     = Nikolay Orlov
| established_title               = Founded
| established_date                = 974
| area_magnitude                  = 
| area_total_km2                  = 124.54
| area_land_km2                   = 
| area_water_km2                  = 
| population_as_of                = 2025
| population_footnotes            = <ref name="pop">{{cite web|url=https://www.belstat.gov.by/ofitsialnaya-statistika/solialnaya-sfera/naselenie-i-migratsiya/naselenie/statisticheskie-izdaniya/index_148168/|title=Численность населения на 1 января 2025 г. и среднегодовая численность населения за 2024 год по Республике Беларусь в разрезе областей, районов, городов, поселков городского типа|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250329210112/https://www.belstat.gov.by/ofitsialnaya-statistika/solialnaya-sfera/naselenie-i-migratsiya/naselenie/statisticheskie-izdaniya/index_148168/|archive-date=29 March 2025|website=belsat.gov.by|access-date=29 March 2025}}</ref>
| population_urban                = 358,927
| population_metro                = 
| population_est                  = 
| population_est_as_of            = 
| population_density_km2          = auto
| timezone                        = [[Moscow Time|MSK]]
| utc_offset                      = +3
| coordinates                     = {{Coord|55|11|30|N|30|12|20|E|region:BY-VI_type:city(366,000)|display=inline,title}}
| elevation_m                     = 172
| postal_code_type                = Postal code
| postal_code                     = 210000
| area_code                       = +375-212
| blank_name                      = License plate
| blank_info                      = 2
| website                         = [http://www.vitebsk.gov.by/en Official website]
| footnotes                       = 
}}

'''Vitebsk''' or '''Vitsyebsk'''<!--See WP:BELARUSIANNAMES--> ({{langx|be|Віцебск|Vitsyebsk}},{{efn|[[BGN/PCGN romanization of Belarusian|BGN/PCGN transliteration]].}} {{IPA|be|ˈvʲitsʲepsk|IPA}}; {{langx|ru|Витебск}}, {{IPA|ru|ˈvʲitʲɪpsk|IPA}}; {{Langx|yi|וויטעבסק}}) is a city in northern [[Belarus]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Vitsyebsk |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Vitsyebsk-Belarus |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> It serves as the administrative center of [[Vitebsk Region]] and [[Vitebsk District]], though it is administratively separated from the district.<ref name="pop"/> As of 2025, it has 358,927 inhabitants,<ref name="pop"/> making it the country's [[List of cities and largest towns in Belarus|fourth-largest city]]. It is served by [[Vitebsk Vostochny Airport]] and [[Vitebsk (air base)|Vitebsk Air Base]].

==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}}

==Attractions==
{{multiple image |align=right |caption_align=center |perrow=2 |total_width=375
| image1 = Витебск. Успенский собор..JPG
| image2 = ВИТЕБСК. Покровская церковь (бывший костёл)..jpg
| image3 = ВІЦЕБСК. Дабравешчанская царква - VICIEBSK. Church of the Annunciation - ВИТЕБСК. Благовещенская церковь (XII).jpg
| image4 = ВІЦЕБСК. Музей Марка Шагала - VICIEBSK. Marc Chagall Museum..jpg
| caption1 = [[Vilnian Baroque]] Church of the Assumption and monastery
| caption2 = Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary
| caption3 = Annunciation Church
| caption4 = [[Marc Chagall Museum]]}}
The city has one of the oldest buildings in the country: the [[Annunciation Church, Vitebsk|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 [[Orthodoxy in Ukraine|Ukrainian]] or [[Russian Orthodox Church]] or the Kievan Rus state. It was constructed in the 1140s as a pagan place of worship.{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}}

In the 14th and 17th centuries, the building was built 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.{{efn|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. <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.russiancity.ru/books/b57.htm|website= russiancity.ru|title=Зодчество Древней Руси|lang=ru|trans-title=Architecture of Ancient Rus|first1=P.A. |last1=Rappoport|access-date=8 February 2023}}</ref>}}

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.{{cn|date=March 2024}}

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 TV Tower|Grodno]], but a few metres shorter (245 metres in Vitebsk versus 254 metres at Grodno) was completed in 1983.{{cn|date=March 2024}} The city is also home to the [[Marc Chagall Museum]] and the [[Vitebsk regional museum]].

==Geography==
===Climate===
Vitebsk has warm summer [[humid continental climate]], [[Köppen climate classification|Köppen]]: ''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 {{cvt|724|mm}} of precipitation falls here per annum.
{{Weather box
|width = auto
|location = Vitebsk (1991–2020, extremes 1886–present)
|metric first = Y
|single line = Y
| Jan record high C = 10.4
| Feb record high C = 10.9
| Mar record high C = 23.1
| Apr record high C = 28.5
| May record high C = 32.5
| Jun record high C = 35.4
| Jul record high C = 34.7
| Aug record high C = 37.8
| Sep record high C = 30.1
| Oct record high C = 24.6
| Nov record high C = 14.9
| Dec record high C = 10.7
|year record high C = 37.8
| Jan high C = -2.7
| Feb high C = -1.8
| Mar high C = 3.7
| Apr high C = 12.0
| May high C = 18.7
| Jun high C = 22.2
| Jul high C = 24.2
| Aug high C = 23.1
| Sep high C = 17.1
| Oct high C = 9.7
| Nov high C = 2.7
| Dec high C = -1.3
|year high C = 10.6
| Jan mean C = -5.0
| Feb mean C = -4.7
| Mar mean C = 0.0
| Apr mean C = 7.2
| May mean C = 13.3
| Jun mean C = 17.0
| Jul mean C = 19.0
| Aug mean C = 17.7
| Sep mean C = 12.3
| Oct mean C = 6.3
| Nov mean C = 0.7
| Dec mean C = -3.2
|year mean C = 6.7
| Jan low C = -7.2
| Feb low C = -7.4
| Mar low C = -3.3
| Apr low C = 2.7
| May low C = 8.1
| Jun low C = 12.1
| Jul low C = 14.2
| Aug low C = 13.0
| Sep low C = 8.3
| Oct low C = 3.6
| Nov low C = -1.2
| Dec low C = -5.2
|year low C = 3.1
| Jan record low C = -40.6
| Feb record low C = -38.4
| Mar record low C = -29.7
| Apr record low C = -17.5
| May record low C = -4.4
| Jun record low C = -1.6
| Jul record low C = 3.8
| Aug record low C = 0.2
| Sep record low C = -4.9
| Oct record low C = -15.0
| Nov record low C = -24.0
| Dec record low C = -34.6
|year record low C = -40.6
|precipitation colour = green
| Jan precipitation mm = 57
| Feb precipitation mm = 49
| Mar precipitation mm = 44
| Apr precipitation mm = 39
| May precipitation mm = 63
| Jun precipitation mm = 76
| Jul precipitation mm = 93
| Aug precipitation mm = 77
| Sep precipitation mm = 63
| Oct precipitation mm = 67
| Nov precipitation mm = 59
| Dec precipitation mm = 57
|year precipitation mm = 744
| Jan snow depth cm = 15
| Feb snow depth cm = 19
| Mar snow depth cm = 14
| Apr snow depth cm = 0
| May snow depth cm = 0
| Jun snow depth cm = 0
| Jul snow depth cm = 0
| Aug snow depth cm = 0
| Sep snow depth cm = 0
| Oct snow depth cm = 0
| Nov snow depth cm = 2
| Dec snow depth cm = 9
| year snow depth cm = 19
| Jan rain days = 8
| Feb rain days = 6
| Mar rain days = 9
| Apr rain days = 13
| May rain days = 16
| Jun rain days = 17
| Jul rain days = 17
| Aug rain days = 14
| Sep rain days = 16
| Oct rain days = 17
| Nov rain days = 14
| Dec rain days = 10
|year rain days = 157
| Jan snow days = 23
| Feb snow days = 21
| Mar snow days = 14
| Apr snow days = 4
| May snow days = 0.3
| Jun snow days = 0
| Jul snow days = 0
| Aug snow days = 0
| Sep snow days = 0.2
| Oct snow days = 3
| Nov snow days = 13
| Dec snow days = 22
|year snow days = 101
| Jan humidity = 85
| Feb humidity = 81
| Mar humidity = 76
| Apr humidity = 67
| May humidity = 66
| Jun humidity = 72
| Jul humidity = 73
| Aug humidity = 75
| Sep humidity = 80
| Oct humidity = 83
| Nov humidity = 87
| Dec humidity = 87
|year humidity = 78
|source 1 = Pogoda.ru.net<ref name= pogoda>{{cite web
| url = http://www.pogodaiklimat.ru/climate/26666.htm
| title = Weather and Climate- The Climate of Vitebsk
| publisher = Weather and Climate (Погода и климат)
| language = ru
| access-date = 8 November 2021}}</ref>
|date = November 2015}}

==Demographics==
{{historical populations|1897|65871|1923|86641|1926|91201|1939|167299|1959|148300|1970|230804|1979|296605|1989|350004|1999|340700|2009|347928|2019|364674|2023|359148|2024|358395|2025|358927|align=left|cols=2|source=pop-stat.mashke.org<ref>{{cite web|title=Cities & Towns of Belarus|url=http://pop-stat.mashke.org/belarus-cities.htm|date=2024-04-15}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.belstat.gov.by/ofitsialnaya-statistika/publications/izdania/public_bulletin/index_67469/|title=Численность населения на 1 января 2023 г. и среднегодовая численность населения за 2022 год по Республике Беларусь в разрезе областей, районов, городов, поселков городского типа|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417144107/https://www.belstat.gov.by/ofitsialnaya-statistika/publications/izdania/public_bulletin/index_67469/|archive-date=17 April 2023|website=belsat.gov.by|access-date=5 August 2023|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.belstat.gov.by/ofitsialnaya-statistika/solialnaya-sfera/naselenie-i-migratsiya/naselenie/statisticheskie-izdaniya/index_89355/|title=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|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240402055418/https://www.belstat.gov.by/ofitsialnaya-statistika/solialnaya-sfera/naselenie-i-migratsiya/naselenie/statisticheskie-izdaniya/index_89355/|archive-date=2 April 2024|website=belsat.gov.by|access-date=12 April 2024}}</ref><ref name="pop"/>}}
{{clear|left}}

==Education==
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==
[[HK Vitebsk]] of the [[Belarusian Extraleague]] is the local professional hockey team.
==Twin towns – sister cities==
{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Belarus}}
Vitebsk is [[Sister city|twinned]] with:<ref>{{cite web |title=Города-побратимы|url=http://vitebsk.gov.by/ru/goroda-pobratimy-ru/|website=vitebsk.gov.by|publisher=Vitebsk|language=ru|access-date=2020-01-13}}</ref>
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
<!--included cities which list Vitebsk as theirs twin town-->
*{{flagicon|RUS}} [[Astrakhan]], Russia
*{{flagicon|MDA}} [[Bălți]], Moldova
*{{flagicon|RUS}} [[Beloyarsky District, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug|Beloyarsky District]], Russia
*{{flagicon|LVA}} [[Daugavpils]], Latvia
*{{flagicon|RUS}} [[Gelendzhik]], Russia
*{{flagicon|CHN}} [[Harbin]], China
*{{flagicon|RUS}} [[Irkutsk]], Russia
*{{flagicon|CHN}} [[Jinan]], China
*{{flagicon|RUS}} [[Lipetsk]], Russia
*{{flagicon|GER}} [[Nienburg, Lower Saxony|Nienburg]], Germany
*{{flagicon|SRB}} [[Niš]], Serbia
*{{flagicon|RUS}} [[Pskov]], Russia
*{{flagicon|LVA}} [[Rēzekne]], Latvia
*{{flagicon|RUS}} [[Smolensk]], Russia
*{{flagicon|ARM}} [[Vanadzor]], Armenia

{{div col end}}

The city was previously twinned with:
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
*{{flagicon|POL}} [[Zielona Góra]], Poland
*{{flagicon|GER}} [[Frankfurt (Oder)|Frankfurt an der Oder]], Germany
*{{flagicon|LIT}} [[Panevėžys]], Lithuania
{{div col end}}

==Notable people==
[[Image:RIAN archive 411183 18th International Art Festival Slavyansky Bazar opens in Vitebsk.jpg|thumb|350px|[[Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk]], 2009]]
* [[Zhores Alferov]] (1930–2019), physicist, [[Nobel Prize in Physics|2000 Nobel Prize Winner for Physics]]
* [[S. Ansky]] (1863–1920), playwright (''[[The Dybbuk]]'')
* [[Anatoly Bogatyrev|Anatol Bahatyroǔ (Anatoly Bogatyrev)]] (1913–2003), Belarusian composer<ref>[https://hor.by/en/personalii/anatol-bagayrou/ Anatol Vasilevič Bahatyroǔ (Анатоль Васільевіч Багатыроў)]</ref>
* [[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 Günzburg]] (1812–1878), Russian financier and philanthropist
* [[Isser Harel]] (1912–2003), Israeli intelligence chief
* [[Lazar Khidekel]] (1904–1986), artist, architect
* [[Franciszek Dionizy Kniaźnin]] (1750–1807), poet and collector of Belarusian folklore<ref>U. Arloǔ. Country Belarus. Grand Duchy of Lithuania. - KALLIGRAM, 2012. P. 296 (Арлоў У. Краіна Беларусь. Вялікае Княства Літоўскае. — KALLIGRAM, 2012. С. 296)</ref>
* [[Tomasz Bohdanowicz-Dworzecki]] (1859-1920), architect
* [[Leon Kobrin]] (1873–1946), playwright
* [[Marcelo Koc]] (1918–2006), Argentinian composer
* [[Anna Kogan]] (1902–1974), Soviet artist
* [[Sergei Kornilenko]] (born 1983), footballer
* [[Lazar Lagin]] (1903–1979), writer
* [[El Lissitzky]] (1890–1941), artist
* [[Oleg Markov]] (born 1996), [[Australian Football League|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), [[National Hockey League]] ice hockey player for the [[Washington Capitals]]
* [[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 (religious leader)|Alexander Vvedensky]] (1889–1946), one of the leaders of the Living Church movement

==Artistic tributes==
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.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.aaroncopland.com/works/vitebsk/ | title=Vitebsk (1928) &#124; Works | date=5 August 2019 }}</ref>

==Sources==
* {{Cite book|author=Shishanov V. A.|title=[[Vitebsk Museum of Modern Art]]: history of creation and collection. 1918–1941.|place=Minsk|publisher=Medisont|year=2007|page=144}}&nbsp;In Russian. [https://web.archive.org/web/20090504025357/http://www.eastview.com/xq/ASP/sku%3D805251B/f_locale%3D/Shishanov/Valerii/Alekseevich/%D0%9C%D0%B8%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%BA/Belarus/Russian/qx/russian/books/product.asp 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. <ref>{{cite web|url=http://issuu.com/linkedin63/docs/ljubeznyj_mne_gorod_vitebsk_2005 |title=Ljubeznyj mne gorod vitebsk 2005 by linkedin63 |publisher=Issuu |date=2013-08-01 |accessdate=2022-07-18}}</ref>
* Шишанов В. [http://vash2008.mylivepage.ru/wiki/1306/422_%D0%A8%D0%B8%D1%88%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B2_%D0%92._974%2C_947_%D0%B8%D0%BB%D0%B8_914%3F_974, 947 или 914?]{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} // 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. <ref>{{cite web|url=http://issuu.com/linkedin63/docs/shishanov_izo_vitebsk2010_demo |title=Shishanov izo vitebsk2010 demo by linkedin63 |publisher=Issuu |date=2013-07-02 |accessdate=2022-07-18}}</ref>

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons|Віцебск|Vitebsk}}
{{wikivoyage|Vitebsk}}

* {{JewishGen-LocalityPage|1951346|Vitsyebsk, Belarus}}

{{Vitebsk Region}}
{{Belarus Seats}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Vitebsk| ]]
[[Category:Historic Jewish communities in Belarus]]
[[Category:Populated places in Belarus]]
[[Category:Populated places in Vitebsk region]]
[[Category:Polochans]]