It was founded on the left bank of the Berezina river in 1102 by the Great Prince Boris Vseslavovich. But there is also an another version: the town was founded by a Kiev Prince Yaroslav Mudry (Yaroslav the Wise) in 1032. For the first time Borisov is mentioned in Lavrentievskaya Letopis (chronicle) (in 1127) as the town of Polotsk area. Traveling through the town I always begin my route from the excursion in regional museum. Indeed, museum workers constantly find something new, every year the exposition is being appended. Besides, collection of photos, post cards and even negative images in museum is so rich that it would be possible to publish a book about the town using only these photo illustrations, not falling back on other sources. Furthermore, Borisov museum workers have wide experience of book publishing industry in the last decades. And on my regional book shelf with literature about Minsk area there are historical and economical essay “Borisov”, photo albums “Borisov regional museum” and “Borisov”, a small book “Borisov and suburbs” and many other publications of regional historians.
Quivering attitude to the description of dear and close history is a tradition in the town. That is why, probably, the greatest part of the museum collection is the collection of script monuments.
Among 7 thousand of storage units in museum there are books of the end of the 17th — beginning of the 18th centuries, many of them are in wooden — made of oak, and also leather bindings. There are plans of changing of Borisov outskirts, three unique maps, pictured on a lawn fabric. Manuscripts, schemes, documents, scientific tractates, memoirs… In museum the manuscripts of writers — Borisov natives and the scientific work of a famous Vladimir Kovalenok, twice the Hero of the Soviet Union, are stored. (Unfortunately, museum areas do not allow displaying all these riches to public). Alongside with ancient showpieces made of ceramics there are articles of the famous temporary craftsmen — Astapenka, Grigorishin, Rzheussky.
The main topic of excursions both in museum and in the town outskirts is the Great Patriotic War of 1812. The stories about Frenchmen running away from the Russian troops and crossing over the Berezina near Borisov, have preserved in variety of testimonies, became the contents of many thousand pages of historical memory.
The time will come and in Borisov will certainly appear, I consider, one more museum — museum of the Great Patriotic War of 1812. Surely its visitors will become tourists not only from Russia and France but also from many other European countries.
Ales Karlyukevich.
Card from collection
of Vladimir Likhodedov
