Freedom Square

The Cathedral of Holy Wisdom in Polotsk (Belarusian: Полацкі Сафійскі сабор; Russian: Собор Святой Софии в Полоцке) was built by Prince Vseslav Briacheslavich (r.1044–1101) between 1044 (it is first mentioned in the Voskresenskaia Chronicle under the year 1056) and 1066. It stands at the confluence of the Polota and Western Dvina Rivers on the eastern side of the city and is probably the oldest church in Belarus.

Boris Stones (Belarusian: Барысавы камяні, [baˈrɨsavɨ kamʲaˈni]; Russian: Борисовы камни), also called Dvina Stones (Russian: Двинские камни), are seven medieval artifacts erected along the bank of the Western Dvina between Polotsk and Drissa, Belarus. They probably predate Christianity in the area, but were inscribed in the 12th century with text and an image of Christ.

The Jesuit College in Polotsk (Latin: Collegium Polocense) was a college (equivalent to a secondary school) in Polotsk, Belarus, then part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and later Russian Empire. It was established in 1580 and continued to function until 1820 when Jesuits were banished from the Russian Empire.

The Siege of Polotsk was laid in 1518 by forces of the Grand Duchy of Moscow on Polotsk during the Fourth Muscovite–Lithuanian War (1512–1522). The Lithuanians defended the city. According to a legend, Prince Casimir Jagiellon appeared before the Lithuanian troops and helped them to achieve victory. It was the first miracle attributed to Casimir, which perpetuated his cult and led to his eventual canonization.

Palata (Belarusian: Палата́) or Polota (Russian: Полота́) is a river in Belarus and Russia, a tributary of the Western Dvina river. Rising in Pskov Oblast of Russia and flowing through northern Belarus, it joins the Western Dvina at Polatsk. The meaning of the name is Puolauta and this in the Lithuanian language means 'falling into', i.e., the river which flows into a bigger river.

The Siege of Polotsk (Russian: Осада Полоцка, Polish: Oblężenie Połocka) was a siege by forces of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth under Stefan Bathory on the Russian-held city of Polotsk. Polotsk had been captured and heavily fortified by the Russians under Ivan the Terrible in 1563 because the river Dwina, which led to the key city of Riga, flowed through it.