The Saint Sophia Cathedral in Polotsk is closing for restoration

June 1, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. The Saint Sophia Cathedral in Polotsk will be closed for restoration, Director of the National Polotsk Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve Olga Borodich told a BELTA correspondent. The restoration project is designed for three years and includes the replacement of the rafter system, carpentry work on replacing window units, and repairs to the facade and blind area. The work will be financed from the republican budget. In two weeks, builders will begin the first stage - replacing the rafter system. It is planned that the roof will be repaired during the summer, and during this time, access to the museum, which also serves as a concert hall, will be closed. The famous Polotsk organ will be covered with protective materials during the work, and after the repairs, specialists from Germany will carry out its sanitary treatment. As Olga Borodich emphasized, the Saint Sophia Cathedral will stop receiving numerous tourists only during the roof repair period; however, museum tours will continue. They will be virtual, in the form of multimedia presentations, and will be held at the Museum of Belarusian Book Printing. The Saint Sophia Cathedral is an architectural monument of the mid-11th to mid-18th centuries. Built on the high bank of the Western Dvina River, it is one of the earliest churches of Kievan Rus', along with the Saint Sophia Cathedrals in Kyiv and Novgorod, and the oldest stone building in the territory of modern Belarus. The Polotsk temple has been rebuilt several times. In the 15th century, it acquired the features of a fortress church, and in the 18th century, under the influence of Vilna Baroque, the exterior of the Orthodox church was completely changed. Currently, small fragments of the apse and foundation remain from the 11th-century church. The Saint Sophia Cathedral has existed as a museum since 1987. The exhibition area is 870 sq.m. The museum exhibits tell about the history of architecture, numerous reconstructions, repairs, and the last restoration of the monument, which took place in the late 1960s. The concert hall in the Saint Sophia Cathedral was opened in 1983 and has a seating capacity of 304. Festivals of ancient and modern chamber and organ music are held annually in April and November in the concert hall of the Saint Sophia Cathedral, with organ music concerts every Sunday. -0-