"Night of Museums" in 1150-year-old Polotsk will "write off" fifty years for the city

May 10, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. Visitors to the National Polotsk Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve during Museum Night will travel back to the 1960s, Tamara Dzhumantayeva, acting director of the museum-reserve, told a BELTA correspondent. Traditionally, on the eve of International Museum Day, the "Write Yourself into the History of Polotsk" campaign is held in the oldest city of Belarus. Its essence is that the museum accepts gifts that are in one way or another connected with the history, culture, and traditions of the city. This year, the city celebrates the 1150th anniversary of its first mention in chronicles, and Museum Night, which will take place on May 18, and the campaign will be held under the slogan "Polotsk ±50". As Tamara Dzhumantayeva explained, this idea arose because the 1100th anniversary of Polotsk was widely celebrated, and the city received many gifts that are still worthy of attention. Moreover, it is easier for an ordinary person to comprehend and understand a fifty-year history and compare the events of their own lives with the events of the city. Therefore, this year the museum is ready to accept items from citizens reflecting the era of fifty years ago - the 1960s of the last century - to update existing and create new museum exhibits. Families, individuals, enterprises, and organizations can be donors. "Donor tables" operate in all 11 museums of the reserve. On International Museum Day, May 18, the National Polotsk Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve promises its visitors many surprises. Participants of the campaign will be awarded personal certificates for free admission to all museums of the reserve for a year, and the names of the donors will be inscribed in the Honorary Book of Donors. In addition, all museum visitors who fill out special coupons become participants in a lottery, which will be drawn on May 18. Among the fifty memorable prizes will be season tickets for free admission to the museums of the reserve, invitations to organ concerts, the right to hold wedding ceremonies in the Museum of Weaving and the Saint Sophia Cathedral, and an invitation to a walking tour of the city. And young Polotsk residents will have the opportunity to imagine their hometown in half a century, when it celebrates its 1200th anniversary. They will draw the next major anniversary, and their works will await their time in the museum. The National Polotsk Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve is a unique historical territory, the monuments of which are protected, studied, restored, and adapted for museum exhibits. The expositions of some museums are located in architectural monuments: the Saint Sophia Cathedral (mid-11th - mid-18th centuries), the building of the former Jesuit Collegium (18th century), the Lutheran Church (1888), the Brotherhood School (late 18th century), residential buildings at 1 Voykova Street and 46 Nizhne-Pokrovskaya Street (19th - early 20th centuries), Peter I's House (1692), and the water tower (1956). The museum fund consists of about 90 thousand items. In total, the National Museum-Reserve includes 11 Polotsk museums. The main holiday of the world museum community is celebrated on May 18. Its task is to show that museums are an important means of cultural exchange, enrichment of cultures, and development of mutual understanding, cooperation, and peace among people. Museum Night is an annual event dedicated to International Museum Day. Museums, large and small, traditionally open their doors to visitors in the evening and at night, and also prepare a special program. The event is international and takes place in 42 European countries. Almost 2,000 museums stay awake once a year, opening their doors to everyone interested in seeing a museum at an unusual time of day. -0-