Vitebsk is Belarus's second city, set on the confluence of the Western Dvina and Vitba rivers. Before World War II it was predominantly Jewish — over twenty synagogues served the community — but the war destroyed both the population and most of the city. What stands today is largely Soviet-era reconstruction, though a few pre-war buildings survive.
The city is best known as the birthplace of Marc Chagall, and his family home on Pokrovskaya Street is now a museum. The Marc Chagall Art Centre nearby holds a collection of his graphic works — lithographs, etchings, and aquatints. Each July, the Slavianski Bazaar festival fills the city with music and performers from across the former Soviet Union.
Vitebsk has a pleasant, walkable centre with a small-town feel despite its population of 350,000. The riverside promenades are good for an evening stroll, and the rebuilt Holy Resurrection Church on the bluff above the Dvina is worth the climb for the view.