Klimovichi

The town of Klimovichi is located on the river Kalinitsa. This is a relatively small town of Mogilev region with a population of nearly 17 thousand people.

The first mention of Klimovichi dates back to 1581 when the territory of the town was a part of Mstislav province. Since the town is situated at the borders of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, its territory often suffered from wars with Russia. First its buildings were destroyed, then they were rebuilt anew.

Around the 18th century the Beletsky and Golynsky families, and later – the princes Meshcherskie began to own the town. The town of Klimovichi became the centre of struggle during the anti-feudal uprising led by Vasil Vashchily.

As a result of the first partition of Poland the territory of the town went to the Russian Empire.

A mansion of the princes Meshcherskie can be truly considered as a landmark of the town. It was built in 1867. It was built in pseudo-style and the similar can not be found in Belarus. Nikolay Meshchersky built this estate for his daughter Mary. It became the centre of the county life: artists, musicians and painters came to visit her. After the 1917 revolution, Mary Meshcherskaya was moved into a small house on the outskirts of Klimovichi, and the Committee of the Bolshevik Party was set in the mansion, and a school was located in the building after the World War II. Only in the 1980s, the leadership of the town decided to set up a district local history museum in the mansion.

Today there is a museum that has preserved all of the history and traditions.

Another impressive sight is the church of Archangel Michael. It is the oldest temple in the town. It was built in the middle of 19th century in the late classicism style.

There is one more historic landmark in the town, which may seem strange to many tourists at first sight – a prison building. It was built between 1778 and 1800. Historians believe that in the 17th century there was a Dominican monastery on the site of the prison that was destroyed by wars. But the foundation remained on which the prison was built. Now the editorial office of a regional newspaper is situated in the prison building.

One of the features of the town, which attracts tourists firstly, is the ordinary buildings of pre-revolutionary period houses. These houses are fully preserved and give an idea of how the town looked like many years ago.

An obelisk set in the town park resembles the events of the Great Patriotic War. Not far from it a small memorial in honor of soldiers-internationalists is also installed.

Klimovichi is not only rich in its eventful history, but also in cultural traditions. The International Art Festival "Golden Bee" is held here every year in late May – early June.