The memorial on Victory Square in Vitebsk will be restored for the first time in 35 years

March 1, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. The memorial complex in honor of the liberator soldiers, partisans and underground fighters in Vitebsk will be restored for the first time in 35 years for the celebration of the 65th anniversary of the Great Victory. This was announced to a BELTA correspondent by the Deputy Chairman of the Vitebsk City Executive Committee, Dmitry Sherikov. The reconstruction of the historical and memorial part of Victory Square has already begun in the regional center. As emphasized by Dmitry Sherikov, the project developers have carefully approached the preservation of one of the most interesting memorial ensembles in Belarus, created by architect Yu. Shpit, sculptors Ya. Pechkin and V. Markov, so there will be no drastic changes in this part of the square. The asphalt pavement near the main monument will be replaced with tiles, and the stairs, the pools of two fountains, and 10 pylons will be repaired and covered with granite. Three 56-meter trapezoidal pylons-obelisks and a star-shaped podium, in the center of which the Eternal Flame burns, will also be restored. All work is planned to be completed by May 1 of the current year. The project for the creation of the Victory Park, which will frame the ensemble of the square, is also under review. In 2009, reconstruction was carried out in the shopping and entertainment part of the square. Victory Square in Vitebsk is the largest in Belarus and one of the largest in Europe, its size is over 72 thousand sq.m. In plan, it has a rectangular shape, bounded on three sides by residential and public buildings, the fourth side faces the Western Dvina River. The architectural dominant of the square is the memorial complex, located below the general level of the square. 14 steps lead down to the monument, and a road is laid between two long pools with fountains, symbolizing the mournful tears for the fallen. On their outer side, five rectangular pylons are placed, each marked with one year of the Great Patriotic War. Above the river, along the central axis of the memorial, rises the main monument in honor of the soldiers of the Soviet Army, partisans and underground fighters who liberated the Vitebsk region from the Nazi invaders. The monument itself consists of three trapezoidal pylons-obelisks, sharply narrowed at the top and joined at a height of six meters by a three-sided monolithic frieze, on the faces of which are the reliefs "Soldiers", "Partisans", "Underground Fighters". In the middle, the pylons-obelisks are connected by a ring. It bears the inscription "Glory to the heroes". Below, on a low star-shaped podium, the Eternal Flame burns. Three staircases descend from the monument to the Western Dvina. The memorial complex in honor of the liberator soldiers, partisans and underground fighters of the Vitebsk region was created in 1974. -0-