Verkhnedvinsk
Encyclopedia
Verkhnyadzvinsk or Verkhnedvinsk is a city in Belarus
in the northwest of Vitsebsk Region; it is the administrative center of the Verkhnyadzvinsk raion
. Until 1962, it was named Drysa (in Russian transliteration: Drissa). It is located at the confluence of the Drysa River and the Daugava River.
Its population in 2009 was 7,600.
, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. From 1801 it was the center of the Drysa uyezd
of Vitebsk gubernya
, and during the War of 1812
it was the site of a fortified camp described by Leo Tolstoy
in Book Three of War and Peace
.
It became a raion center in 1924. During the Second World War it was occupied by Germany and seriously damaged.
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
in the northwest of Vitsebsk Region; it is the administrative center of the Verkhnyadzvinsk raion
Verkhnyadzvinsk Raion
Verkhnyadzvinsk Raion is a second-level administrative subdivision of Belarus in the Vitebsk Region....
. Until 1962, it was named Drysa (in Russian transliteration: Drissa). It is located at the confluence of the Drysa River and the Daugava River.
Its population in 2009 was 7,600.
History
Drissa is first mentioned in a chronicle of the year 1386 . During the medieval period it formed part of the Principality of Polatsk, the Grand Duchy of LithuaniaGrand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 12th /13th century until 1569 and then as a constituent part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1791 when Constitution of May 3, 1791 abolished it in favor of unitary state. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic...
, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. From 1801 it was the center of the Drysa uyezd
Uyezd
Uyezd or uezd was an administrative subdivision of Rus', Muscovy, Russian Empire, and the early Russian SFSR which was in use from the 13th century. Uyezds for most of the history in Russia were a secondary-level of administrative division...
of Vitebsk gubernya
Guberniya
A guberniya was a major administrative subdivision of the Russian Empire usually translated as government, governorate, or province. Such administrative division was preserved for sometime upon the collapse of the empire in 1917. A guberniya was ruled by a governor , a word borrowed from Latin ,...
, and during the War of 1812
French invasion of Russia
The French invasion of Russia of 1812 was a turning point in the Napoleonic Wars. It reduced the French and allied invasion forces to a tiny fraction of their initial strength and triggered a major shift in European politics as it dramatically weakened French hegemony in Europe...
it was the site of a fortified camp described by Leo Tolstoy
Leo Tolstoy
Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy was a Russian writer who primarily wrote novels and short stories. Later in life, he also wrote plays and essays. His two most famous works, the novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina, are acknowledged as two of the greatest novels of all time and a pinnacle of realist...
in Book Three of War and Peace
War and Peace
War and Peace is a novel by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy, first published in 1869. The work is epic in scale and is regarded as one of the most important works of world literature...
.
It became a raion center in 1924. During the Second World War it was occupied by Germany and seriously damaged.