Poltsk as the Centre of Europe

Many countries, including Ukraine, Russia, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary have their own 'Centre of Europe'. The existence of such 'Centres of Europe' is defined in the legislation of some countries.

A reverence towards good old days?

A memorable sign, symbolizing the Centre of Europe already exists in Belarus. In 2002 experts of "Belaerocomogeodesia" developed a PC programme that can calculate where the centre of Europe is located. Six years ago scientists came to a conclusion that the centre of our part of the world is located in  Lake Sho at the border of Glubokoye, Ushachi and Dokshitsy regions of Vitebsk oblast.

Mr. Vladimir Shevchenko, Director of  "Belaerocomogeodesia", where the Centre of Europe has been recalculated in 2008 explained that the previous data was approximated. However what is the credibility of this new research establishing that Lake Sho is not the Centre of Europe any more?

"It is still so in principle. The precision achieved using the new software and methodology shows that the difference is minor; only around fifty kilometers…", says Mr. Shevchenko.

Polotsk-born Mr. Piatro Vasuchenka, a Romanist, Play-writer and Literature expert, says:

"The idea that Belarus is located in the Centre of Europe is an old idea and consideration of Polotsk as the Centre of Belarus is also a rather old idea. One of the first to mention the centrality of Plotosk for founding Belarusian i.e. Kryv civilization, was Mr. Vatslav Lastovsky. He is also the author of a slightly speculative theory of Kryv civilization which according to him was more ancient than the Egyptian and Greek civilizations; Kryv civilization he believed dated back to the same era as the Shumerian civilization.

I believe that, as in most cases, the theory is running ahead of the factual evidence. Facts in this case are following the theory and as a result support it. To put it in another way; historically the Centre of Europe is proved geographically to be located in Polotsk as Mr. Lastovsky thought. There is certain magnetism about whether the centre is there or not. It is the magnetism of a place that people gather and settle around. This doesn't happen for no reason".

Q: "To hear it from you personally, were you born in Polotsk?"

"That is the reason I am so excited about it…", says Mr. Vasuchenko.

Mr. Vladimir Shevchenko, Director of "Belaerocomogeodesia" replied:

"That is only a coincidence. However looking at it from historical point of view, there must have been a reason for building a town in the centre of historical events rather than somewhere in the outskirts. Indeed, no one applied science back then or even aimed for that. However intuition also exists. In the old times people were guided mostly by what nature was telling them rather than by knowledge. They were choosing places for settlements and were building houses at 'higher' and central places not to be influenced by climatic changes. Therefore everything should be taken into consideration and depending on one's imagination".

'The end of poetic slavery"

Many famous people in Belarus have their summer houses at the bank of Lake Sho. The Chief Director of Kupalovsky Theatre, and a prominent Belarusian actor Valery Raevsky, says that he was always pleased to 'boast' in front of his guests about living in the Centre of Europe. "Now there is no such opportunity", says Mr. Raevksy.

"Well, in the beginning people might feel lost however later on people will start thinking in a rational way: the Central Point was not taken away, but only was moved a bit! I once said to myself and this doesn't mean that am against someone, I just characterized my personal attitude and people around me, ones that were born in this territory: two wonderful words: "poetic slavery". I do not wish to degrade my people. In reverse, I am pleased with that. I wish all nations could be characterized like that".

Mr. Vladimir Shevchenko says, that to be precise, the Central Point of Europe turns out to be not in the city but near it.

However on 31 August, on the Day of Polotsk, the Polotsk authorities decided to place a memorial sign in a quarter at Marx Avenue between the hotel " Dvina" and the Main Post Office building in Polotsk. Artists and architects have already started working on a symbol for the Polotsk Centre of Europe.

At the moment the Polotsk Executive Committee is drafting a decision to give the Centre of Europe a special status. The Centre that was located at Lake Sho earlier has lost its status.

Mr. Shevchenko says that it is not possible to locate with exact precision the centre of a country, let alone the centre of the Continent due to the fact that the real scale is not fully matched by the maps and is only an approximation. Primarily one should consider such centres as an advertisement of a place.

Geographical Central Points of Europe are being delightfully advertised to tourists in Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Ukraine and Russia. Poland claims that the real centre is located near Krakow. Yet in the past century the Slovak Republic called its mountain Kragule in the Kremnets region a 'Centre of Europe'. Hungarians have their 'own' centre in the Carpathian mountains. In Russia there are two villages with the status of 'Centre of Europe': in Smolensk and Kaliningrad oblasts.

Source