Date :
Wednesday, October 19, 2022
On the shores of Lake Miory in the Vitebsk region, there is a small town bearing the same name - Miory.
Miory has been part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Poland, and the Russian Empire in the course of its existence since 1514. Miory earned the city status in 1972. And today Miory is rightly called the city of cranes, cranberries, and sustainable tourism. And there is a reason for this!
Of course, the main attraction of Miory is Yelnya Republican Landscape Reserve. This is the largest marsh and lake complex in Europe. These marshes are famous not only for their unsurpassed beauty but also for the abundant quantities of cranberries. And during the autumn migration to Israel and African countries, flocks of birds make stopover here to rest. The time from the end of August to October was the time that tourists liked so much. You can also watch cranes and black grouses performing courtship rituals on the territory of the reserve. Tourists go on various guided tours along eco-trails with visits to many beautiful marshes and lakes, where they can watch birds and butterflies, follow the trails of wild animals, and learn to recognize their tracks.
The “Cranes and Cranberries of the Miory Region” annual festival is held here in September, timed to coincide with the beginning of the berrying and the temporary settlement of birds in the marshes.
There is also something to see in the city. The Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, built in 1907, is in a fine state of preservation. Due to the red colour of the walls made of non-plastered bricks and its location, the neo-Gothic temple stands out greatly against the background of the city. The temple is also notable for the fact that the icons of the XIX century “Mother of God of Czestochowa”, “Mother of God Ruzhantsovaya”, and “Joseph with a baby” are kept in the church.
In 1951 the church was closed and used as grain storage. However, already in 1956, the temple was returned to believers, and in 1957 the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary was re-consecrated.
The Orthodox Church of the Placing of the Honorable Robe of the Most Holy Mother of God at Vlakherna, which was built in 1991 with money donated by parishioners, is also worth seeing by tourists.
Tourists are genuinely interested in visiting museums created at school No. 3. And it is no wonder because they include more than 30 thousand exhibits! The local history museum contains a mirror of Emilia Plater, a participant in the uprising of 1831, a mammoth tooth and a hoard of Polish coins found in Miory in 1984, and much more. The Books and Printing Museum has books that even the National Library of Belarus does not possess. And the ethnographic museum in the schoolyard, the exposition of which consists of archaeological items, art and craft items, numismatical items, and photographs telling us about the history of the development of the region, has been built as a traditional rural house.
All this has become possible thanks to absolutely amazing people and enthusiasts working at the school. After all, in addition to educational activities, the school museum in Miory carries out active educational work. It is to educate young people that a study group called “Argonauts of the Past” was created, which is designed to inspire young schoolchildren and introduce them to local history. Often excursions are conducted by school pupils, which gives this event a peculiar charm.
A well-maintained embankment along a picturesque lake with a gorgeous view of the church is considered a favourite place for the townspeople to walk. Interestingly, the slabs of the runway of the alternate Baltic Fleet airfield were used during the construction of the embankment.
The cozy town of Miory, with the preserved architecture of the XVIII-XIX centuries and the correct street geometry, is worth spending more than one day here.