Cultural institution of scientific research and education Polotsk National Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve is a unique historical area where its monuments are being preserved, studied, restored and adapted for museum expositions. Some of the architectural monuments house the museums’ expositions: the Sophia Cathedral (11 –18th centuries), one of the buildings of the former Jesuit college (18th century), Lutheran church (1888), Brethren School (18th century), house on Voikova Street,1 and Nizhne-Pokrovskaya Street, 46 (19th – beginning of the 20th century), Peter's I House (1692), the Water Tower (1953). Altogether, Reserve includes 11 museums.
The Museum-Reserve is a cultural institution of scientific research and educational that has republican significance and regional subordination. It is managed by the Culture Department of Vitebsk Oblast Executive Committee. The Museum-Reserve is headed by the director.
Funding sources of the Museum-Reserve:
- the limit of budget financing from the oblast budget;
- donations from enterprises, public organizations, private individuals;
- revenue from services performed, activities carried out under contracts with state, commercial and public organizations, enterprises, institutions.
By order of the director the following advisory and expert committees are created: Science and Methodology Council, Repository and Acquisition Commission, Scientific Restoration Council and Attestation Commission.
The main goals of the Museum-Reserve are:
- to ensure the general accessibility of museum objects and museum collections, their use for the intellectual and cultural development of society, including the dissemination of knowledge about the environment, history and culture;
- to contribute to spiritual development of society;
- to improve cultural education of the population;
- to collect, store, study, exhibit and popularize movable and immovable monuments of historical and cultural heritage.
The objectives of the Museum-Reserve are:
- to reveal items of museum value;
- to acquire items of museum value;
- to reveal and study items stored in archives, libraries and collections of other organizations with similar profile;
- to examine items of historical and cultural value;
- to carry out accession and storage of museum objects, scientific auxiliary materials and raw materials;
- to preserve and restore museum objects, scientific auxiliary materials and raw materials;
- to study, use and popularize museum objects, scientific auxiliary materials and raw materials, which may as well be used as a basis for scientific research of archives, libraries and other sources, public display of museum objects, scientific auxiliary materials and raw materials, as well as for the publication of relevant materials;
- to manag objects of precious materials and precious stones, storage of precious metals and precious stones;
- to manage objects related to service and civilian weapons and their ammunition, collect and exhibit weapons and ammunition;
- to study, use and popularize intangible historical and cultural values;
- to hold scientific and practical seminars, conferences and other events;
- to design and create museum expositions and exhibitions;
- to perform cultural and educational activities related to museum objects, scientific auxiliary and raw materials, as well as intangible historical and cultural values;
- excursion service for museum visitors;
Protection zones of the Museum-Reserve:
Museum-Reserve’s protection zone including all the monuments has the same borders as the protection zone of the Historical Centre of Polotsk, which was developed as part of a detailed plan for the town’s central part with a project for the historical zone regeneration. Urban planning activities in the protected area of the Museum-Reserve are regulated in accordance with the current legislation. Protective activities of the Museum-Reserve are carried out in accordance with the Culture Code of the Republic of Belarus.