The town of Volkovysk is located on the bank of the Volkova River. In 2005, the town marked its 1000th anniversary. Remains of the ancient town-fortress survives on the Swedish Hill (it was inhabited in the 10th century).
Volkovysk turned into a town, the centre of crafts and trade, in early 12th century. The fortress was transformed into a castle. On January 11, 1386, in the castle Polish ambassadors signed a document which confirmed that Jogaila would be elected Polish King and would marry Yadviga. The town started growing fast after it was granted the Magdeburg Right in 1503. Today in the town you can see the two-tower Catholic Church of St. Nicholas (the 18th century), the Waclaw Catholic Church (the middle of the 19th century), the Orthodox Church of St. Nicholas, the Bagration’s House (1805), where on June 10-17, 1812, the headquarters of the 2nd Army was stationed, front houses of the 18th – the first half of the 19th century.
There is the town of Gnezno 3 kilometers away from the regional centre. The town was founded in the end of the 14th – the beginning of the 15th century. Gnezno is mentioned in the Lithuanian ancient documents as a village of the Grand Duke of Lithuania. There is the Catholic Church of Mikhail Archangel (1527) – an interesting specimen of architecture showing the transition period from Gothic to Renaissance, a mansion with two wings and utility premises (the 19th century), remainders of an ancient garden with original water system in the town. There are an old garden and one-store palace of the middle of the 19th century in the village of Podorsk. Since the middle of the 18th century till 1939 it belonged to the Scipio del Campo’s Family. There is the Segeny’s Palace (the middle of the 19th century) in the village of Kraski. Today this is a children’s health centre.
The village of Mstibovo (Mstibogov Gorodok, Mstibogov, Mstibov) has been known since the 18th century.
The village of Yarilovka is located three kilometers away from Mstibovo. It si famous for a house, where Belarusian and Polish artist A.I. Kamenskiy lived in 1885-1890.
The village of Petukhovichi was mention in the first half of the 16th century. Since the middle of the 18th century the village belonged to the Flemings who renamed it in honour of daughter Izabelin. There is the Catholic Church of St. Peter and Paul (1778) and the Church of St. Michael (the 18th century) in the village. The village of Ross was first mentioned in the beginning of the 16th century. There is the Trinity Catholic Church (1856), the Holy Trinity Orthodox Church (1912) in Ross. From the beginning of the 18th century to 1939 the village of Ross belonged to the Pototsky Family who laid a garden, some fragments of which survive.
The village of Volpa takes its roots in the 16th century. It belonged to the Duke of Golshany and Bishop of Vilno Pavel Alshmunt, then to Queen Bonna. The estate also belonged to Chancellor of the Great Principality of Lithuania Lev Sapega and his son Kazimir Lean who received King Wladislaw with his wife there. The estate was seized from the last owner – Pavel Sapega for his participation in the November uprising of 1831. Stefan Batory used to hunt near Volpa. There is the Catholic Church of St. John (1773) in Volpa. You can also see the Orthodox Church of Alexander Nevskiy (the middle of the 19th century) in the village of Kuzmichi.
There are more than 10 stone burial grounds of the Yatvigi tribes in the region.
The mines where silicon was extracted and processed in the Stone and Bronze Ages which are located near the settlement of Krasnoselskiy. The mines are the only ones in Eastern Europe. More than 80 practically undamaged mines survived. There is a burial ground of the 3rd millennium B.C., settlements of the Iron and Middle Ages in the area. In 1969, the Krasnoselsk archeological compound was announced as the national reserve.
The nature heritage sites are the surviving fragments of the gardens in the villages of Shnipovo, Machulno, Vereika (the beginning of the 19th century), Teolin (the 19th century), Subochi (the end of the 19th century). There is an oak which is 500 years old in the Volkovysk forestry.
Today, the region occupies 1,193 square kilometers. More than 82.7 thousand people live in 190 settlements, including 46.6 thousand people – in the regional centre of Volkovysk. There are 17 agricultural, 15 construction, 16 industrial and 5 transportation companies in the region. The regional centre is a big railway junction.
There are 4 sports schools, 180 sports facilities and a facility to host European motor sports championships in the region.
The educational system of the region includes 27 kindergartens, 30 secondary schools, a gymnasium and two colleges. There is a children’s art school, 5 children’s music schools with 6 branches, the regional centre of folk arts, 34 libraries, Bagration military-historical museum in the Volkovysk region. the town hosted the national harvesting festival Dazhynki in 2004.
