Top 10 Intriguing Facts about Belarusian Museum of Typography

Photo by Boris Mavlyutov from Wikimedia

Top 10 Intriguing Facts about the Belarusian Museum of Typography

The Museum of the Belarusian Typography also known as the Museum of Book-Printing is one of the 11 museums of the Polack National Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve.

Its permanent exhibition is housed in the former residential building of Epiphany Monastery, which is an architectural monument of the 18th century.

The Museum opened its doors to visitors on September 8, 1990, during the celebration of the 500th anniversary of the first Belarusian and Eastern Slavic book printer, Francysk Skaryna.

Here are the top 10 Intriguing Facts about the Belarusian Museum of Typography.

1. Belarusian Museum of Typography exhibits around 1500 items

Today the Museum exhibits around 1500 items in 15 halls. The museum introduces the historical figures who stood at the origins of the Belarusian book culture.

Here you can explore writing materials and ancient forms of books. You can also learn about the history of paper, and marvel at the variety of book formats.

The best books of Belarus – the winners of the “Art of the Book” competition, including publications for the youngest readers, are presented in one section of the museum.

2. The museum is used as a research center

Photo by Viktorianec from Wikimedia

Scientific research work is one of the main works of the Museum. It gives the background for other kinds of museum activities such as scientific acquisition, restoration, and collection of exhibits.

 Scientific-research work foresees the studies of the original source and is carried on in accordance with the specialization of present existing and future museums. 

 It is carried on according to the following directions: museology, history, architecture, literature, art, Belarus book-printing, and printing activity.

3.  Visit the Museum’s Library

Photo Source: Wikimedia

Among the halls of the Museum of Belarusian Book-Printing, the Museum-Library of Simeon of Polotsk is one of the main features.

The library is decorated in the style of a Western European library of the 17th-18th centuries.  it has two-level placement of bookcases, busts of scientists and philosophers, and a reading room.

The museum demonstrates different periods of the life and work of Simeon of Polotsk. 

4.  Visit the Museum’s Art Gallery

Photo Source: Wikimedia

The art gallery is housed in one of the buildings of the former Jesuit Collegium, an architectural monument of the 18th century.

The gallery’s permanent exhibitions present collections of cult-applied art of the 12th-19th centuries, icon painting of the 18th-20th centuries, secular portrait painting of the 18th century, and fine art from Belarus of the 20th century.

The Gallery opens with the exhibition “Mural paintings of the 12th-19th centuries from Saint Transfiguration Church (12th century) of Polotsk Saviour Euphrosyne Monastery” demonstrating the development of the visual arts in Belarus.

5.  Visit the Children’s Museum

The exhibition is an educational and play space, where every visitor, regardless of age, will find something to their liking. They will be able to practice attentiveness, and ingenuity, and express themself creatively.

The bright and modern space of the three exhibition halls of the Children’s Museum forms a special, interesting attitude to the world of objects. It makes it possible to communicate with the children and to reveal their individuality and originality.

. The exhibition “Traveling with a Bookmark”, which is located on the third floor of the museum, offers children’s books, toys, and “magic” items from fairy tales.

6.  Visit the Museum of the History of Sophia Cathedral Architecture

Sophia Cathedral is the oldest stone architecture monument in Belarus. Its construction marked the beginning of not only stone construction, but also the original Polotsk school of architecture.

In addition to the main exhibition, the museum presents the Exhibition of Wooden Cult Sculptures of the 18th-19th Centuries. It also has temporary exhibitions from the repository of Polotsk National Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve.

7.  Visit the Museum of Local Studies

Polotsk Local Studies Museum is housed in a former Lutheran church, an architectural monument of the Neo-Gothic, built-in 1888.

It is the oldest museum in the city and was opened in 1926. Today its exhibitions reflect the most important pages of the city and regional history.

The economic life of the city in the 19th – early 20th centuries is reflected in documents, samples of products from local factories, and photographs. 

The revolutionary events of 1905, the First World War, and the German occupation of Polotsk in 1918, the development of the city in the interwar period are also reflected in the exhibition

8. Visit the Nature and Ecology Museum

Photo by Teacher Svetlana from Wikimedia

The museum is housed in a former water tower built in 1956. The exhibition halls are designed to show nature as a value and part of human existence.

The exhibition is based on the conflict between man and nature, and its effective development by man.

The museum is structured in such a way that the visitor has the opportunity to admire the native nature and familiar landscapes.

9. Visit the Historical and Cultural Complex

The complex is dedicated to the history of the Polotsk Fortified District which was an integral part of the fortification system known as the “Stalin Line”.

Polotsk FD is one of the few fortified districts that completed its combat mission in the initial period of the war.

Walk through the trenches and try to imagine what this place looked like during the war beginning. You will learn about people who held back the superior forces of the enemy and contributed to the  Victory.

10. Shop at the Museum’s Souvenir Shop

Photo Source: Wikimedia

The souvenir shop at the Museum of Belarusian Museum of Typography has a wide range of Belarusian souvenirs. They include magnets, badges, trinkets, souvenir bookmarks, ceramics, and glass products.

There are also various printed materials like books, photo albums, guides, and postcard sets. Other items include linen woven napkins, souvenir dolls, belts, women’s blouses, and men’s shirts with Belarusian traditional embroidery.

Address: Polotsk, Nizhne-Pokrovskaya St., 22; tel.: 42-64-01
Opening hours: Wednesday-Sunday 10.00-17.00, Monday-Thursday – Days-Off.