Braslaw

Braslaw or Braslav is a town in Vitebsk Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Braslaw District. As of 2025, it has a population of 9,338.

==History== The town was first mentioned in 1065 as a castle in the border of the Principality of Polotsk with the Lithuanian tribes. Town's name has a typical East Slavonic etymology: the East Slavonic name *Braslavъ was composed with the Slavic anthroponomical –jь, resulting in Braslaw. Archaeologists excavated a Viking settlement in the village of Maskachichy not far from the town. They think that Viking mercenaries were used as dependable border guards. In the 14th century, Braslaw was incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and, in fact, became an important fortification near the disturbing line with the Livonian Order in the 14th and 15th centuries. Polish historian Krzysztof Pietkiewicz, based on archival data from the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries, describes Braslaw surroundings as a 'Ruthenian linguistic area' (na ruskim obszarze językowym). In 1500, Alexander Jagiellon privileged the townsfolk with limited self-administration rights and a coat of arms. In 1506, the castle was presented to the widowed queen Yelena Ivanovna, the daughter of Ivan III of Russia and wife of Alexander Jagiellon, who founded an Orthodox Christian nunnery there. The town was much developed thanks to its praepostor Lew Sapieha and the king Stanisław August Poniatowski.