The town of Glubokoe, one of the district centers of Vitebsk region, is famous for a great number of original monuments. You can find here the sculptures of Munchausen, a classic family, a grandfather-resident of Glubokoe, Jesus and a Samaritan woman, and also the sculptural composition called “The dedication to a book”. They are all attractions of this Belarusian corner which, however, became known for another reason.

On July 21-27, 2013 the town hosted the very first “Cherry festival” which now is a traditional annual celebration of local importance. The event was memorable to its audience for the unveiling of the monument to a cherry, a calling card of Glubokoe. This crop plant grows around the whole district that is considered to be a merit of many breeders. Once they began to bring here “overseas seedlings”.  Over time, a new plant has acquired quite an important quality that allowed it to exist in the Belarusian climate – hardiness.

Some features of the monument to a cherry

Despite the fact that several interesting versions of the design were proposed (for example, a girl with a basket of gathered cherries, a cherry tree, etc.), a preference was given to the artistic idea, which is similar to natural beauty and naturalness of the plant. A large twig with three ripe red fruits and green leaves is on a pedestal of a cylindrical shape stylized under a tree.  Here you can also see the image of other two leaves with the inscription “The cherry of Glubokoe”. The author of this composition of silumin became the sculptor from Vitebsk I.Kazak.  The height of the construction is over 2 meters and today its visiting has already become an almost obligatory part of any trip to Glubokoe.

As in the case with other significant sculptures, the monument to a cherry became an object of various folk omens. For example, the touch to the leaves promises wealth and to the stems promises a promotion track. It is quite natural that young residents and guests of Glubokoe aspire to touch the fruits, because this action is associated with the birth of children in the near future. The cherry became an indispensable element of the photo shoot of newlyweds because it is associated with a happy family life.

The space near the construction is a place of opening of the already mentioned above “Cherry Festival”. A small round area helps to emphasize effectively the originality of the construction against the background of the surrounding urban landscape. Quite an interesting detail is the tilt angle of the main part of the image, as it vividly demonstrates the completion of a ripening process of berries on tree branches. The veins on the leaves as well as an intricate arrangement of the leaves and small twigs were depicted with special care, as it is always in nature. Monumental and decorative features of the sculpture are very successfully combined here.

Glubokoe is the "cherry" capital of Belarus

Such a name has already belonged to different cities of other countries among which are Vladimir (Russia), Lovran (Croatia), Žagarė (Lithuania), Traverse City and Washington (the USA). Here are also regularly organized festivals dedicated to one of the most delicious berries.

In April 2013 there was laid a cherry orchard including 1414 trees. The choice of the quantity is not random, because it symbolizes the year of the town’s foundation. In addition the opening of a new street with the name Vishnyovaya took place as well.  

A visit to the monument to this berry has already become a direct proof of the trip in Glubokoe.