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Dokshitsy

Belarus cities and towns

The city of Dokshitsy

The city of Dokshitsy in Vitebsk region is the city of two rivers, flowing into different parts of the world and in different seas. The Viliya (a tributary of the Neman) leaves into the Baltic Sea, the Berezina (a tributary of the Dnieper River) leaves into the Black Sea. And both rivers have the same source which is Dokshitsy.

The image of the two rivers, carrying away water fr om Dokshitsy, finally became the symbol of this small town (about 7000 inhabitants). On the emblem of Dokshitsy, which they received in 1796, there are two pouring jugs shown on a green background.

What pours out of Dokshitsy pitchers?

Some locals interpret the image differently. They joke, for instance, that in fact a liquid which is quite strong, rather than the river water, pours out of them. There is a fact that in the mid-19th century in Dokshitsy there were only two businesses - a distillery and a mead brewery, this assumption is not unreasonable. But, fortunately, it is not confirmed by the real facts.

The sculptural composition with two pitchers stands out in all its beauty in the center of the town. Recently "The Festival of Two Rivers" has been held in the district center.

Note that by the name of one of these rivers the famous Berezinskiy reserve was named, a part of which is located on the territory of Dokshitsy district (a little more than 40 km from Dokshitsy).

Where did "Dokshitsy" come from?

If you think that Dokshitsy received its name in honor of the popular extensions .doc, you are very wrong. All is not so simple.

No matter how long historians have explained the origin of the name of the city but they didn’t agree.

  • Catherine version. When the empress Catherine rode through the city in her carriage, boards from a local sawmill were underlain so as not to get stuck in the Dokshitsy mud. And Catherine greatly distorted the Slavic word "doshchechka". From there "Dokshitsy" came from. However, the historians long since wrote off the scrap version, proving that Catherine had not gone through the town.
  • Tatar version. Many Tatars lived in Dokshitsy (a large Tatar’s cemetery has remained). They appeared here during the time of Vitovt as "dokshity" - masters who sewed horse saddles for the prince's army.
  • From "dokshit". In the Dahl’s dictionary this verb meant "dokstit, dokrestit". Taking into account that many people of non-Christian religion (Tatars, Jews) lived in Dokshitsy, it is a logical explanation.
  • Baltic option. Perhaps it is the most plausible one. "Dokshna" in Baltic –is "tatters". It is likely that this is wh ere Krivichi faced with the Balts and founded the settlement.

Bread flavor and Chupacabra

But in the ancient chronicles Dokshitsy was first mentioned only in 1407 (Vitovt’s Merit). It was the paper about some tributaries (doxyczahe), which were transferred into the possession of governor Manivid. Since 1407, it is the official count of the story of Dokshitsy.

The status of the city Dokshitsy received in 1795, but two years later at the behest of the authorities of the Russian Empire, the town once again became a borough between two districts - Vileyka and Borisov. Only in 1940 it became a town and a district center again. By the way, the City Day in Dokshitsy they celebrate in autumn on September, 15-16.

Except distilleries, which we have already mentioned, there were many mills in the town and the surrounding area. Dokshitsy has preserved its "bread" specialization to the present days. Dokshitsy Bakery is known in Belarus to many people, but in the city itself fresh loaves always smell.

Are you satisfied? Then catch the sensation which is generously generated by this town on the south-western part of Vitebsk region. If you do not know, they caught the notorious "Chupacabra" here in 2013…

5 remarkable places in the Dokshitsy city

  1. The Holy Church of the Intercession (1903). It’s a business card of the city. Services were held even during the Great Patriotic War.
  2. The building of the mill (brick, 1920).
  3. Mikulski Manor (XIX century).
  4. The Church of the Holy Trinity (1991). The first Catholic Church was built in 1608. But it was not preserved (it burnt twice).
  5. The Jewish cemetery. In 1939, out of 3600 inhabitants the majority of the population was Jewish. During the war the Nazis killed more than 2500 people in Dokshitsy ghetto...

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