ST. SOPHIA CATHEDRAL (СОФИЙСКИЙ СОБОР)

Situated on a hill instead of the ancient citadel, this magnificent cathedral dominates the right bank of Western Dvina. Excellent example of late Baroque baroque, it was built between 1044 and 1066 by Byzantine architects, like the St Sophia cathedrals of Kiev and Novgorod. At the time of the Brest Union, the cathedral passes to the Uniates at the end of the th century. In 1710, during the northern war between Russia and Sweden, Peter the Great broke into the church, killed five monks and commanded to throw their bodies into the river. After an explosion that destroyed most of the building, the Baltic architect Johann Glaubitz rebuilt the cathedral using the fragments recovered after the disaster. In 1839, the Orthodox regained possession of it. The crosses adorning the facade bear witness to the time when it belonged to the uniate denomination. Today, the cathedral houses the Museum of History of Architecture. Live concerts are held there regularly.

The stone Boris (Борисов камень): This is so called large rocks, sometimes several metres high, on which crucifix and inscriptions have been carved. Their name evokes that of Prince Boris Vseslav of Polotsk (th century) who ordered to dispose of them along the Dvina. The name of the prince is engraved on each of them. Destroyed in Soviet times, there is one on which the following inscription is engraved: «Lord, help your servant Boris».