Polatsk

Polotsk: St. Sophia Cathedral

Polatsk, also spelled Polotsk, city, Vitsyebsk oblast (region), Belarus. It is situated on the Western Dvina River at its confluence with the Polota. Polatsk, first mentioned in 862, has always been a major trading centre and an important fortress with a remarkably stormy history. Modern Polatsk and its satellite town, Navapolatsk (Novopolotsk), are railway junctions and industrial centres, with oil-refining, petrochemical, glass-fibre, woodworking, and food-processing industries, as well as a teacher-training institute. Pop. (2006 est.) 82,400.