Mode of transport: bus-pedestrian, automobile, bicycle.
Type of tourism: historical and cultural.
Distance: ~ 9 km.
Duration: ~ 6 hours.
Lepel has been located at the intersection of important transport arteries since ancient times: at one time, these places were part of the famous "From the Varangians to the Greeks" trade route. As now, the city is located near major transport routes, such as the M3 Minsk-Vitebsk highway, and is always happy to welcome guests. A feature of the region is the abundance of water resources, as well as a rich historical and cultural heritage. The first mention of Lepel dates back to 1439, but there were settlements here even before that, as evidenced by archaeological data. In the early 17th century, Lew Sapieha moved the centre of the town from the island to the opposite bank, to where the modern city is located. In 1797-1805, the famous "Berezina Water System" was built – an artificial waterway connecting the Dnieper basin with the Western Dvina River. And in Lepel lives Tsmok – a real Belarusian dragon. It is the abundance of water lilies growing in the reservoirs and the numerous boulders found throughout the district that reflect the natural wealth of the Lepel region. This landscape appeared here during the glacial and meltwater processes. The largest lake in the district, Lake Lepel, is among the ten largest lakes in Belarus in terms of coastline length and depth. The entire city is located on its shore. On the route, you will be able to get acquainted not only with Lake Lepel but also with other significant places in our city, its natural resources, historical and cultural heritage, and the most interesting tourist attractions.
Route start:
Arrival at the State Institution "Tourist Information Centre of Lepel District" (intersection of Volodarskogo and Lenina Streets, 54.888426, 28.693443), which is located in a historic building together with the editorial office of the district newspaper "Lepelsky Krai". The building was constructed in 1915 as commercial and residential premises. It housed a bakery and a haberdashery shop, and since 1930, the editorial office of the district newspaper.
Next, we suggest heading to the Central Park of the town (54.890459, 28.691771), which is located on the shore of Lake Lepel. You will reach it by walking along Lenin Street, which has been a place for recreation and strolls for local residents and town guests for hundreds of years. It is one of the central streets, featuring several cafes, a restaurant, and a bar. Additionally, food trucks operate here during the summer, ensuring there's always an opportunity to grab a bite. The park boasts a large number of monuments and sculptural compositions: the monument to Lev Sapieha, a sculptural composition with cartoon characters, the sculpture of a Dragon and a Mermaid, a mural on the dance floor, benches from enterprises of the Lepel district, the "Water Lily" topiary composition, and cannons from the Great Patriotic War era. The pearl of our town – the Church of St. Casimir (1876) (Gertsena St. 1, 54.889952, 28.693171), and the embankment along the lake shore, leading directly to the town beach (54.897546, 28.698438) – are all located within and around the town park.
After visiting the town park and strolling along the embankment, we suggest heading to the Lepel Hydroelectric Power Station (54.893346, 28.701277) and, at the same time, observing the Ully River flowing out of Lake Lepel. If you wish, you can stop at the town beach (located on the left side at the end of the embankment). The beach is free and equipped with all necessary facilities: changing cabins, swings, gazebos, a car park, and a summer cafe. A lifeguard post is operational.
Proceed to the central square of Lepel town – Freedom Square (54.886948, 28.693418). The square has a radial shape, which is why it is popularly called "Pyatachok" (Little Coin). The famous sculpture of a cheerful Lepel resident, erected in 2011, bears the same name, with the artist striving to create an image of a local inhabitant. Also located here is the communications and post office building, constructed in 1902, which continues to serve these functions to this day. Freedom Square hosts the Lepel District Executive Committee, the Educational Institution "Lepel Children's Art School," the Cultural Institution "Lepel District House of Culture," cafes, bars, shops, and a children's play centre.
Relocation to the State Cultural Institution "Lepel Regional Museum of Local Lore" (38 Sovetskaya Street, 54.885228, 28.691975). Until 2022, the museum was located in the building of the former office of the Berezina Water System, which was situated (before the construction of the hydroelectric power station in the 1950s) on the bank of Lake Lepel, and was "moved" further up, to Kalinin Street, due to flooding caused by the construction of the hydroelectric power station. Currently, the State Cultural Institution "Lepel Centre of Crafts" is located in this building – the next stop on the route. The Lepel Regional Museum of Local Lore is now housed in the former wine bottling warehouse, built in 1897. The museum can be visited independently or with a guided tour.
Next, we invite you to immerse yourself in the world of creativity and national crafts by visiting the renovated Lepel Centre of Crafts (66 Kalinin Street, 54.880924, 28.697564). You will become acquainted with the traditional crafts of the Lepel region, its intangible cultural heritage, and also visit the "Skarbonka" salon-shop – an excellent place to purchase souvenirs. Masterclasses and excursions can be organised by prior arrangement. It was in this building that the Lepel Regional Museum of Local Lore was located until 2022; now it is a treasure trove of folk crafts of the Lepel region.
After purchasing souvenirs, we suggest you head to the branded shop of the Lepel Dairy and Canned Goods Plant "Lepelka" (54.871087, 28.672508) to purchase the famous Lepel ice cream and other products. Opposite the "Lepelka" branded shop is the "Myasnaya Lavka" (Meat Shop), where you can buy meat products.
But before enjoying delicious and high-quality local products, we suggest visiting the Station Square (Chuykova St. 36, 54.876069, 28.689618), on the way from the Lepel Crafts Centre to the branded shop of the Lepel Dairy and Canned Goods Plant. It houses two stations: the bus station and the railway station (1954), as well as a square with a mass grave of Soviet soldiers and partisans from 1944 (1961).
We look forward to welcoming you!
Stops on the route:
State Institution "Lepel District Tourist Information Centre", (Leninskaya St. 8). Latitude: 54.888426, Longitude: 28.693443
Central Park of Lepel City, embankment of Lake Lepel (Central Park, entrance at the intersection of Leninskaya and Dzerzhinskogo streets). Latitude: 54.890377, Longitude: 28.692620
City Beach (At the end of the embankment, on the left side, beginning of Vitebskaya Street). Latitude: 54.897546, Longitude: 28.698438
Lepel Hydroelectric Power Station (After the end of the embankment, on the right side). Latitude: 54.893346, Longitude: 28.701277
State Cultural Institution "Lepel District Museum of Local Lore" (Sovetskaya St. 38). Latitude: 54.885228, Longitude: 28.697564
State Cultural Institution "Lepel Crafts Centre", "Skarbonka" shop (Intersection of Kalinin and Gorky streets, Kalinina St. 66). Latitude: 54.880924, Longitude: 28.697564
Station Square, railway station (1954), square with a mass grave (1961) (Chuykova St. 36). Latitude: 54.876069, Longitude: 28.689618
Branded shop of the Lepel Dairy and Canned Goods Plant (Borisovsky Trakt St. 120). Latitude: 54.871087, Longitude: 28.672508
!!! Please note that this route is provided for self-guided tours. You can modify it according to your preferences, time constraints, and capabilities.
In addition to this route, we suggest using the free audio guide available on the izi.travel platform. The excursion route on the platform titled "Excursion around Lepel" is perfectly suited for this purpose and begins on Vitebskaya Street.
Tourists enter this street in the town by turning off the M3 Minsk-Vitebsk highway near the Dendrological Park of the State Forestry Institution "Lepel Forest Enterprise", towards the city beach (you need to keep moving straight along Vitebskaya Street, and you will arrive directly at the city beach, whose coordinates are: 54.892863, 28.699159). If possible, we also recommend visiting the dendrological park itself, and the recently equipped ecological trail "Zayachya Polyana" of the State Forestry Institution "Lepel Forest Enterprise".
We remind you that you can choose the most interesting objects from the presented routes and visit them in the order that is most convenient for you. Information from the free audio guides and the three main routes ("Lepel Region Religious", "Nature of the Lepel Region", and "Lepel Welcomes You!") will help you with this!
City Park – Lepel Lake Embankment – St. Casimir's Church – City Beach – Lepel HPP – Svobody Square – Lepel District Museum of Local Lore – State Cultural Institution "Lepel Center of Crafts" - Station Square – LLC "Lepel Dairy and Canned Food Plant"
Walking, cycling, car.
About 6 hours,
about 9 km
State Institution "Lepel Tourist Information Center"
Route start: village Domzheritsy, Domzheritskaya BSh – village Kvetcha – village Postrezhye village Kraitsy – village Savsky Bor.
Monument to burned villagers in village Kvetche, monument to partisans who died in the war during the breakthrough in village Postrezhye, monument to burned villagers and Red Army soldiers in village Kraitsy, near village Savsky Bor, in the Rashevshchina tract was a partisan hospital, in the Kuty tract were partisan dugouts.
Cycling. Conducted during the period
May-September, for tourists over 14 years old.
About 25 km,
Around 5 hours
Educational institution "Domzheritskaya basic school of Lepel district"
Meeting at Educational institution "Lepel district center of children and youth" Lepel – Kistelyovo village – Sosnyagi village – Ushachi town – St. Lepel village – Chertsy village – Vishesnki microdistrict – Zaslonovo village – Karayevichi village – Kistelyovo village – Sosnyagi village – Matyrino village – Borovka village – Zaborovye village – Zavydrino village – Zavechellye village – Ushachi town – Dvor Zhary village – Zaozerie village – Yurkovshchina village – Stary Lepel village – Lepel
Memorial complex "Vishenki" Chashniksky district, memorial sign at the site of the destroyed village of Kistelyovo during the Great Patriotic War, location of detachment No. 68 of V.E. Lobanok's brigade in Sosnyagi village – birthplace of the partisan movement in Vitebsk region, which later grew into the "Polotsk-Lepel" partisan zone, museum of the history of the Great Patriotic War in Ushachi town, memorial sign in Stary Lepel village, monuments and memorial places in Lepel, stop on the shore of Lake Nekoloch in Bor village, stop on Lake Vechelye.
Cycling. Conducted during the period
May-September, for tourists over 14 years old.
1-2 days,
Around 145 km
Educational institution "Polsvizhskaya basic school of Lepel district"
"Lepel: from history to modernity" for people with disabilities.
Lepel.
Meeting with the group at the center for social and labor rehabilitation of disabled people of Lepel district, end of the route – city park.
At the center for social and labor rehabilitation, you can order meals, master classes, film screenings, presentations, etc., Public association "Lepel district local history museum" (optional and if possible, you can order an excursion), Svobody Square in Lepel, city park.
Walking,
1.5 hours excluding additional activities
Around 1.5 km
State Institution "Lepel Tourist Information Center"
House of Environmental Education – park area near the nature museum – reservoir – boulder "wishing stone" – House of Environmental Education
Held in May-September for schoolchildren of grades 1-4. Used are magnifying glasses, loupes, petri dishes, guides to birds, insects, wild animals. Objects of inspection are: various trees and shrubs, stones, birdhouses, anthills, etc.
St. Casimir's Church (city park of Lepel) – St. Paraskeva Pyatnitsa Church, Volodarskogo street – Church of the Nativity of Christ parish, Lobanka street – Church of the Transfiguration parish, Chuykova street – Church of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God parish, Partizanskaya street
St. Casimir's Church 1876, St. Paraskeva Pyatnitsa Church 1868, Church of the Nativity of Christ parish 2005, Church of the Transfiguration parish, Church of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God parish.
Walking, cycling, car.
2-3 hours
3 km
State Institution "Lepel Tourist Information Center"
Lepel railway station square, Church of the Transfiguration – d. Zaslonovo, Church of St. Joseph of Volotsk the Miracle Worker – Holy Spring "Na Krustakh" d. Zaslonovo
Church of the Transfiguration, Church of St. Joseph of Volotsk the Miracle Worker, Holy Spring "Na Krustakh", with healing water, a bathing place.
Car
About 3 hours
18 km
Active routes
1.1. Water
No. p/p
Name of the tourist and excursion route
Settlements (streets) along the route
along the territory of which rivers (lakes), availability of equipped campsites,
Route start and end at the enclosures "Forest Zoo" and "Pet Zoo"
Pine forest, marsh bank, beekeeping glade
2 hours, approximately 5 km
3
The Lost World
The route starts and ends at the enclosures of "Forest Zoo" and "Pet Zoo" - d. Kraitsy – d. Perekhodtsy – d. Savsky Bor – d. Domzheritsy
Pine, mixed forest, Berezina River.
5 hours, approximately 17 km
4
Forest Secrets
The start and end of the route are at the enclosures of "Forest Zoo" and "Pet Zoo" – d. Kraitsy – d. Brody (overnight stay in a guest house) – d. Perekhodtsy – d. Savsky Bor – d. Domzheritsy
Pine, mixed forest, Berezina River.
Lodging at the "Brody" Guest House
2 days/1 night
About 30 km
1.4. Skiing
No. p/p
Excursion (route) name,
Name of the water body used for recreation, sports and tourism
Lepel city – Tadulino village – Toronkovichi village – Domzheritsy village
City Park of Lepel, embankment of Lake Lepel, city beach, Lepel HPP, natural monument of republican significance "Tsar-Dub" in Tadulino village, "Pansky Brovar" in Toronkovichi village, ancient sanctuary, sacrificial stone, GPO "Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve", central estate in Domzheritsy village.
Walking, automotive, cycling
1-2 days,
State Institution "Lepel Tourist Information Center"
Slobodka village on the territory of Lepel Forestry – enclosures – Lepel city – Tadulino village – Toronkovichi village – Chashniksky district
Hunting complex "Kordon Dolgoe", "Tsar-Dub" – symbol of the Reut family, spring in Krasnoluchka village, "Pansky Brovar" in Toronkovichi village, ancient sanctuary, memorial "Vishenki"
St. Anthony's Church, St. Nicholas the Wonderworker Church, "Stone-Track", St. Casimir's Church, miraculous spring, natural monument of republican significance "Tsar-Dub", Holy Spring, Berezina Water System.
Walking, cycling, car.
1-2 days, about 130 km. Overnight stay in agro-tourism estates of Lepel district along the route, and other accommodation facilities, for example, in tents.
State Institution "Lepel Tourist Information Center"
Nature museum, reservoir, mixed forest, nest boxes, nature museum. The route is equipped with stands and rest areas. It passes through areas with the largest concentration of nest boxes.
Walking, 1.5 hours,
about 2 km
GPO "Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve", Department of Tourism, Environmental Education and Information Education
Type (knitting, weaving, cheesemaking, ceramics, etc.)
Brief description
Venue
Duration, maximum number of participants
Organizer contacts
1
Making souvenirs, paper tubes, beadwork, culinary baking master class, plant cultivation, mechanical assembly of a plug, candle and soap making, origami art, clothing repair, crochet and knitting, patchwork sewing.
Conducted free of charge, for people with disabilities
Lepel
Lobanka St. 30
On average, master classes from 30 min. to 1 hour
Lepel District Center for Labor and Socio-Domestic Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons.
Lepel
Lobanka St. 30,
+375-33-696-03-15
Head of the center
2
Master class on making a beeswax candle
Making round candles from natural beeswax using natural cotton threads for the wick. A piece of beeswax is rolled up with the wick, forming a candle.
Ecological Education Center
About 20 min, up to 60 people
GPO "Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve", Department of Tourism, Environmental Education and Information Education
Making a protective doll from fabric scraps of different sizes and knitting yarn, with the help of cotton wool. The dolls are wound in several layers and fixed with threads.
About 30 min, up to 60 people
4
Master class on making block printing.
Painting with colored paints on fabric
State Cultural Institution "Lepel Crafts Center",
Kalinin St. 66
About 40 min
State Cultural Institution "Lepel Center of Crafts"
8-021-32-361-79
5
Belt weaving master class
Making a woven belt. Individual and group master classes are possible
About 30 min
6
Loom weaving master class
The master class can be observed by the master (how the master works on the loom) or you can try it yourself
About 40 min
7
Ceramic item making master class
The master class can be conducted in several stages if you try it yourself (as after making the item it needs to dry and undergo further processing, firing, and decoration), or you can observe the master's work.
About 40 min
(one session)
10-15 min, observing the master's work
8
Tapestry making master class.
Individual and group master classes are possible
About 30 min
9
National doll and amulet doll making master class
Making an amulet doll from fabric scraps of different sizes and yarn, with cotton wool. The dolls are wound in several layers and secured with threads. National dolls are made using different techniques and methods.
