Employees of the State Archives of the Vitebsk Region took part in the round table «The Town Hall for the Development of the City», dedicated to the 250th anniversary of the Vitebsk Town Hall

The city of Vitebsk received Magdeburg Rights twice. In 1597, the right to self-government was granted to the city by Sigismund III Vasa. But already in 1623, the privilege was taken away as punishment for the murder of the Uniate Archbishop Josaphat Kuntsevich, who unleashed persecution of Orthodox believers.

The Town Hall was destroyed, and its bell was melted down.

The right to self-government was returned to the city in 1644.

The Town Hall, which today adorns the city, was built of brick in 1775. The townspeople knew the year of construction, but for a very long time the exact date was unknown. This year, historian and local history expert Lyudmila Khmelnitskaya published documents showing that the contract with architects for the construction of the Town Hall was signed on March 16, 1775.

The building incorporated features of Baroque and Classicism. The Vitebsk Town Hall housed a bank, a court, a city government, and a police force. The high tower of the Town Hall also served as an observation post for firefighters.

A round table dedicated to the 250th anniversary of the Vitebsk Town Hall was held on March 24, 2025, at the Vitebsk Regional Museum of Local History. Museum employees from cities that now have their own town halls came to Vitebsk to participate in it: Minsk, Nesvizh, Mogilev, and Shklov.

At the event, with a report on the state of the Town Hall in 1946-1947, (based on documents from the State Archives of the Vitebsk Region) Deputy Director of the Archives Tatyana Vladimirovna Buevich spoke.

1. On March 21, 2025, a round table «Town Hall for the Development of the City» was held at the Vitebsk Regional Museum of Local History, dedicated to the 250th anniversary of the Vitebsk Town Hall.

2. Model of the Vitebsk Town Hall.

3. Deputy Director of the State Archives of the Vitebsk Region, Tatyana Vladimirovna Buevich, speaks with a report on the state of the Town Hall in 1946-1947 (based on documents from the State Archives of the Vitebsk Region).