Ushachy District: Museums, History and Lakes

• The Vasily Bykov Family Museum-Estate is located in the village of Bychki; guided tours are available by prior arrangement.
• The Ushachy Museum of People's Glory has four exhibition halls on the history of the partisan movement during the Second World War, a partisan art gallery and materials on Ushachy's past.
• The district is home to the Proryv Memorial Complex, buildings in Ushachi and Selišče, and a manor house in Orekhovno.
• Vechelye is one of the ten deepest lakes in Belarus; Otolovo is particularly notable for the shape of its shoreline.
• Bus services connect the district with other cities and regions of Belarus. The R29 highway runs through Ushachy.

The exhibition at the Vasily Bykov Family Museum-Estate in Bychki includes documents, photographs, works by V. V. Bykov, copies of his drawings and the writer's personal belongings. The collection offers different ways to explore his work and personal effects. The museum offers guided tours to visitors by prior arrangement. Arrange your visit in advance so that this part of your trip fits into your plans.

The Ushachy Museum of People's Glory focuses on the history of the partisan movement in Ushachy during the Second World War. Its four exhibition halls, partisan art gallery and materials on Ushachy's past complement one another. By comparison, the Bykov Museum focuses on the writer's documents, photographs, drawings, works and personal belongings. Depending on your interests, you can focus on literature and personal testimony or on the region's wartime history.

The Proryv Memorial Complex is a monument to partisan glory. Ushachi is also home to the Church of Saint Lawrence, built in 1913. An earlier period is represented in Selišče: the Church of Saint Veronica was built in 1726 near a Bernardine monastery. Today, only the ruins of the buildings remain at the Selišče Bernardine complex; check access to the ruins locally.

The district's surviving architectural heritage also offers a comparison across periods: Orekhovno is home to a manor house dating from the mid-19th century. Together with the church from 1913 and the building from 1726, it illustrates different historical dates, while Proryv has its own connection to partisan glory. These sites and buildings thus provide different points of interest for a cultural history trip.

Vechelye and Otolovo are distinguished by different geographical features. Lake Vechelye is in Ushachskiy Rayon and is one of the ten deepest lakes in Belarus. The site of a partisan airfield, which is one of the district's important tourist attractions, is also located by the lake. Here, a landscape feature and a memorial site come together.

By contrast, what stands out about Lake Otolovo is the shape of its shoreline: in this respect, it ranks second in Belarus. The comparison is therefore not based on the same feature—depth for Vechelye and shoreline for Otolovo. If you are interested in the district's lakes, you can choose between them based on these different points of interest.

Bus services connect Ushachskiy Rayon with other cities and regions of Belarus. As routes and operators may change, check the latest timetables before you leave. For road travel, the R29 republican highway runs through Ushachi. If you plan to visit the Bykov Museum-Estate, remember that guided tours must be arranged in advance. Access to the ruins of the Selišče Bernardine complex should be checked locally.

Discover more destinations: Orsha District, Polotsk District and Talachyn District.

Where is the Vasily Bykov Family Museum-Estate?

The Museum-Estate is in the village of Bychki in Ushachskiy Rayon. Guided tours for visitors are available by prior arrangement.

What is the difference between Vechelye and Otolovo?

Vechelye is one of the ten deepest lakes in Belarus. Otolovo is distinguished by the shape of its shoreline and ranks second in Belarus in this respect.

What should you know about the Selišče Bernardine complex?

The Church of Saint Veronica was built in 1726 near a Bernardine monastery. Today, only the ruins of the buildings remain at the complex; check access locally.

For the broader travel overview: Vitebsk Region.