# Epiphany Cathedral and Printing Museum, Polotsk > The Epiphany Cathedral in Polotsk is a working 18th-century Orthodox cathedral, consecrated in 1777; the former monastery wing next door houses the Museum of Belarusian Book Printing. The cathedral is free to enter. The museum costs 8 BYN (4 BYN for students) and is open Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00–18:00, closed Mondays. Allow 45–60 minutes for both. Web page: https://yesgo.io/belarus/polotsk/polotsk-epiphany-cathedral - City: [Polotsk](https://yesgo.io/belarus/polotsk), Belarus - YesGo score: 44/100 (Yes, if nearby) - Time on site: 45 min - Entry: Church free, museum 8 BYN - Opening hours: Museum: Tuesday–Sunday 10:00–18:00, last tickets 17:30; closed Mondays. The cathedral is open for prayer and services - With kids: Fine with kids - Cathedral: Free; a working church - Book Printing Museum: 8 BYN; school pupils and students 4 BYN - Simeon of Polotsk Museum-Library: 3 BYN; school pupils and students 2 BYN - Audio-guided tour: 15 BYN, includes entry to both museums - Guided tour: 30 BYN per group of up to 20; 45 BYN for larger groups - Museum hours: Tue–Sun 10:00–18:00; ticket desk until 17:30 - Closed: Museum: Mondays and some public holidays - Phone: Museum desk +375 214 46-05-49; tours +375 214 46-53-40 - Address: Cathedral 24 Nizhne-Pokrovskaya St; museum No. 22 next door - Getting there: 3–5 min walk from Freedom Square along Nizhne-Pokrovskaya St - Paying: Belarusian rubles; foreign cards work unreliably — carry some cash - Time needed: Cathedral 15 min, museum 30–45 min - Coordinates: 55.48389, 28.76861 - Facts checked: 30.10.2026 ## Key facts - **5 August 1777** — the stone cathedral was consecrated; building began in 1761 (source: Russian Wikipedia; paper by M. A. Ivankovich (Polotsk State University)) - **8 September 1990** — the Museum of Belarusian Book Printing opened in the monastery wing, for Francysk Skaryna’s 500th anniversary (source: Museum of Belarusian Book Printing; Rossiyskaya Gazeta) - **Simeon of Polotsk** — the poet and scholar took his vows here and taught at the monastery’s brotherhood school before leaving for Moscow (source: Russian Wikipedia; sobory.ru) - **1582** — King Stephen Báthory granted an Orthodox brotherhood land in central Polotsk for the monastery (source: Russian Wikipedia; Azbuka Palomnika) - **1991** — returned to the church; since then the cathedral of the Polotsk and Hlybokaye diocese (source: Russian Wikipedia; Azbuka Palomnika) - **1981** — after use as a Soviet sports hall, the closed cathedral became an art gallery (source: Russian Wikipedia; Azbuka Palomnika) - **1780s** — the monastery was enlarged with state money to a design by Giacomo Quarenghi (source: Russian Wikipedia; sobory.ru) - **Twin towers** — on the main façade, in the Vilnius baroque manner (source: Know Your Land (my-places.by); tonkosti.ru) - **Three fragments** — of late-18th-century wall painting survive inside the cathedral (source: Russian Wikipedia; Azbuka Palomnika) - **1595** — the Teaching Gospel from the Mamonich press in Vilnius, one of the oldest books on show (source: Rossiyskaya Gazeta; tonkosti.ru) ## Tickets and opening hours The cathedral is a working church and costs nothing to enter. The **Museum of Belarusian Book Printing** costs **8 BYN**, or 4 BYN for school pupils and students; the small Simeon of Polotsk Museum-Library in the same building is 3 BYN. The best deal is the **15 BYN audio-guided tour**, which already includes entry to both museums. The museum is open **Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00–18:00**, and the ticket desk stops selling at 17:30. It is closed on Mondays and on some public holidays. A live guide costs 30 BYN for a group of up to 20 and 45 BYN for a larger group — book through the tour office on +375 214 46-53-40 and ask which languages are available, as most tours are in Russian. Everything is paid in Belarusian rubles (BYN). Foreign Visa and Mastercard cards do work in Belarus, but not at every terminal, and outages happen — this is unofficial, so carry some BYN in cash from a bank ATM and choose BYN when a machine offers a currency conversion. > **Museum closed on Mondays — the cathedral is not** If you are in Polotsk on a Monday you can still step into the cathedral, but the printing museum and the Simeon museum-library will be shut. On other days aim to reach the ticket desk before 17:30. ## What is the Epiphany Cathedral? It is what remains of the **Epiphany Monastery**, founded on the bank of the Western Dvina in the very centre of Polotsk. Two buildings survive: the white cathedral with its twin towers and gilded domes, and the long two-storey monastery wing beside it. The cathedral has been the seat of the local Orthodox bishop since 1991. The wing now belongs to the National Polotsk Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve. Its main tenant is the **Museum of Belarusian Book Printing**, opened in 1990 for the 500th anniversary of Francysk Skaryna — the Polotsk-born scholar who printed the first books in a Belarusian version of Church Slavonic in the early 16th century. Since 1994 the same wing has also held a museum-library for **Simeon of Polotsk**, the 17th-century monk and poet who started out in this monastery. ## Is it worth visiting? Yes, if it fits your walk — and it almost certainly does, because it sits between St Sophia and Freedom Square. The cathedral takes 15 minutes: a whitewashed interior, a new three-tier gilded iconostasis and a few surviving scraps of 18th-century painting. It is pleasant rather than spectacular. The printing museum is the stronger reason to stop. A reconstructed 16th–17th-century print shop, a scribe’s workshop with a monk at his desk and early printed books make the story of the book easy to follow, even without Russian — and children usually like the press. Don’t expect original Skaryna editions: in 2012 Rossiyskaya Gazeta reported that no Polotsk museum held one, so ask at the desk what is on show now. If museums aren’t your thing and your day is short, see the cathedral and move on. ## What to see - **The façade** — two towers in the Vilnius baroque manner, gilded domes and a central drum above the crossing. - **The carved entrance door** with archangels in relief. - **The interior** — a new three-tier iconostasis and three surviving fragments of late-18th-century wall painting. - **The scriptorium** in the museum, with a monk copying a manuscript. - **The print shop** — a reconstructed press with a typesetter and printer, showing how an early book was made. - **Early printed books**, among them the 1595 Teaching Gospel from Vilnius, plus a scholar’s study and a book artist’s workshop. - **The Simeon of Polotsk Museum-Library** — a small room recreating the setting of his time; photo shoots are allowed here for a fee. ## A short history In 1582 King Stephen Báthory of Poland-Lithuania gave an Orthodox brotherhood land in central Polotsk, free of town taxes, for a monastery. After the Union of Brest in 1596 it became the stronghold of Orthodox townspeople, as nearly every other monastery in Polotsk passed to the Uniate church. In the mid-17th century Simeon of Polotsk took his vows and taught at its brotherhood school before moving to Moscow. The wooden church burned — in 1757 or 1761, depending on the source. The stone cathedral was begun in 1761 and consecrated on 5 August 1777, although some sources date its completion to 1779. In the 1780s, after Catherine the Great’s visit, the monastery was enlarged with state funds to a plan by **Giacomo Quarenghi**. The Soviets closed it and turned the cathedral into a sports hall; from 1981 it was an art gallery. In 1991 it was handed back to the Orthodox Church, and the monastery wing became home to the two museums. > **Dress code for the cathedral** This is a working Orthodox church. Women should wear a skirt or dress below the knee and cover their hair; men should remove hats and wear long trousers; everyone keeps shoulders covered. Don’t take photos or walk around during a service. The museum has no dress code. ## Services and visiting the church Services are held regularly and the all-night vigil is sung before church feasts; the patronal feast is **Epiphany on 19 January**, when the cathedral is crowded. The schedule changes weekly, so we don’t print it — the Polotsk diocese publishes it. For sightseeing, come between the morning and evening services, when the church is quiet and you can look at the iconostasis properly. ## How to get to the Epiphany Cathedral 1. Start from **Freedom Square** (Ploshchad Svobody) in the centre, with the [1812 war memorial](https://yesgo.io/belarus/polotsk/polotsk-1812-monument). From the railway and bus stations, side by side east of the centre, take a city bus west along [Skaryna Avenue](https://yesgo.io/belarus/polotsk/polotsk-skaryna-avenue) or a taxi — about 10 minutes; walking takes around 30 minutes. 2. From Freedom Square walk west along [Nizhne-Pokrovskaya Street](https://yesgo.io/belarus/polotsk/nizhne-pokrovskaya-street) for 3–5 minutes. The white cathedral stands on the right, towards the river, at No. 24. 3. The museum entrance is in the two-storey wing next door, No. 22; the ticket desk is inside. 4. Coming from [St Sophia Cathedral](https://yesgo.io/belarus/polotsk/polotsk-sophia-cathedral) on the Upper Castle hill, walk east along the same street — 5–7 minutes. ## Before you go: checklist - [ ] It is not Monday — or I only want the church - [ ] I’ll reach the museum desk before 17:30 - [ ] Headscarf and covered shoulders for the cathedral - [ ] Some Belarusian rubles in cash - [ ] Allowed 45–60 minutes ## Epiphany Cathedral vs St Sophia and the Euphrosyne Convent | | Epiphany Cathedral | St Sophia Cathedral | Euphrosyne Convent | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | What it is | Working church plus printing museum | Museum and organ hall | Working Orthodox convent | | Highlight | Old books and a working press | Organ, baroque towers, hilltop view | 12th-century church with frescoes | | Entry | Church free, museum 8 BYN | 8 BYN | Grounds free | | Where | Centre, by Freedom Square | Upper Castle, centre | ≈ 2.5 km north of the centre | | Time needed | 45–60 min | ≈ 1 h | 1–1.5 h | Polotsk’s two essentials are St Sophia and the [Euphrosyne Convent](https://yesgo.io/belarus/polotsk/polotsk-euphrosyne-convent). The Epiphany Cathedral lies on the walk between St Sophia and Freedom Square, so add it on the way — it costs you almost no detour. ## Churches of Polotsk compared Every church and monastery in Polotsk rated by YesGo. - [Epiphany Cathedral and Printing Museum](https://yesgo.io/belarus/polotsk/polotsk-epiphany-cathedral) — YesGo score 44/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 45 min · Church free, museum 8 BYN - [St Sophia Cathedral](https://yesgo.io/belarus/polotsk/polotsk-sophia-cathedral) — YesGo score 43/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · 8 BYN, concession 4 BYN - [Convent of St Euphrosyne](https://yesgo.io/belarus/polotsk/polotsk-euphrosyne-convent) — YesGo score 41/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Free entry to the grounds ## Old Polotsk on foot in half a day St Sophia on its hill, the Boris Stone, a stroll along Nizhne-Pokrovskaya, the Epiphany Cathedral and printing museum, then Freedom Square — all walkable. YesGo fits in the timing and transfers. 1. [St Sophia Cathedral](https://yesgo.io/belarus/polotsk/polotsk-sophia-cathedral) — YesGo score 43/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · 8 BYN, concession 4 BYN 2. [Boris Stone](https://yesgo.io/belarus/polotsk/polotsk-boris-stone) — YesGo score 45/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 15 min · Free 3. [Nizhne-Pokrovskaya Street](https://yesgo.io/belarus/polotsk/nizhne-pokrovskaya-street) — YesGo score 44/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 30 min · Free, open 24/7 4. [Epiphany Cathedral and Printing Museum](https://yesgo.io/belarus/polotsk/polotsk-epiphany-cathedral) — YesGo score 44/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 45 min · Church free, museum 8 BYN 5. [1812 War Memorial on Freedom Square](https://yesgo.io/belarus/polotsk/polotsk-1812-monument) — YesGo score 44/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 20 min · Free ## Good to know There are Epiphany cathedrals in many cities — Moscow’s Yelokhovo Cathedral is the best known — so look for the Polotsk one at 24 Nizhne-Pokrovskaya St, by the Dvina. The town’s name is also spelled Polatsk, the Belarusian form, and Simeon of Polotsk appears as Symeon Polotsky. ## Tips - Take the 15 BYN audio guide: it is cheaper than a guided tour and covers entry to both museums. - Visit the cathedral between services, when it is quiet. - Walk on along Nizhne-Pokrovskaya Street to St Sophia — it is the same street. - With children, start at the printing press and the scribe’s workshop. - Carry some BYN in cash — the museum desk takes only Belarusian rubles. ## Questions ### How much is the Museum of Belarusian Book Printing in Polotsk? 8 BYN, or 4 BYN for school pupils and students. The Simeon of Polotsk Museum-Library is 3 BYN, and the 15 BYN audio-guided tour includes both. ### Is the Epiphany Cathedral free? Yes. It is a working Orthodox cathedral and entry is free; dress modestly and avoid photos during services. ### What are the museum’s opening hours? Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00–18:00, with the ticket desk closing at 17:30. Closed on Mondays and some public holidays. ### Is the printing museum worth visiting? Yes, if you like books or travel with children: the reconstructed press and scriptorium explain early printing without words. Allow 30–45 minutes. ### How long do I need? About 15 minutes for the cathedral and 30–45 minutes for the museum — 45–60 minutes in all. ### Are there tours in English? Most tours are in Russian. Ask the tour office (+375 214 46-53-40) which languages are available, or take the audio-guided tour. ### Who was Simeon of Polotsk? A 17th-century monk, poet and teacher who took his vows at this monastery and taught at its brotherhood school before moving to Moscow. A small museum-library here is devoted to him. ### When was the Epiphany Cathedral built? Building began in 1761 and the cathedral was consecrated on 5 August 1777; some sources give 1779 for its completion. ### How do I get there? Walk 3–5 minutes west from Freedom Square along Nizhne-Pokrovskaya Street, or 5–7 minutes east from St Sophia Cathedral along the same street. ## How we checked Museum prices, hours and the Monday closure come from the museum’s official website (price list valid from 1 January 2026). The cathedral’s visiting hours are not officially published and entry is free, so that row is marked “verifying”; the service schedule changes weekly, so we don’t print it. Other facts are checked against at least two sources; the museum-library’s opening date comes from its own official site only. Where sources disagree we say so: the wooden church burned in 1757 or 1761, and the stone cathedral is dated by its consecration in 1777 or by completion in 1779. We leave out exhibition size and object counts because the museum and guidebooks give different figures. Card acceptance is unofficial. ## Sources - Museum of Belarusian Book Printing (book-printing.museum.by): address, hours, closing day, ticket and service prices from 01.01.2026, phone numbers, about the exhibition, 30.10.2026 - Simeon of Polotsk Museum-Library (polotsk-simeon.museum.by): building and opening date - Russian Wikipedia: Богоявленский собор (Полоцк) and Богоявленский монастырь (Полоцк); Wikidata Q2432348 - Azbuka Palomnika (azbyka.ru): Polotsk Epiphany Cathedral — history and status - Russian Orthodox architecture catalogue (sobory.ru): Epiphany Monastery, Polotsk - M. A. Ivankovich, paper on the Epiphany Monastery, Polotsk State University journal - Know Your Land (my-places.by) and tonkosti.ru: cathedral architecture and address - Rossiyskaya Gazeta, 11.10.2012: on the printing museum and Skaryna editions - Travel money guides on Belarus (ATM Fee Saver, Travel with Hello) — card acceptance, unofficial --- This is the Markdown version of a YesGo page for AI assistants. Quote the web page link above, not this file.