Drutsk (, ; , , also known as ''Дрютескъ'' (''Dryutesk'') or ''Дрюческъ'' (''Druchesk'') in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

), is a historical town in

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

, 40 kilometres (ca. 25 miles) west of

Mogilev Mogilev (; , ), also transliterated as Mahilyow (, ), is a city in eastern Belarus. It is located on the Dnieper, Dnieper River, about from the Belarus–Russia border, border with Russia's Smolensk Oblast and from Bryansk Oblast. As of 2024, ...

. The town was established in 1078 as an outpost of the

Principality of Polotsk The Principality of Polotsk (obsolete spelling: ''Polock''; ; ), also known as the Duchy of Polotsk or Polotskian Rus', was a medieval principality. The origin and date of the establishment of the state are uncertain. Chronicles of Kievan Rus' ...

on the road from

Polotsk Polotsk () or Polatsk () is a town in Vitebsk Region, Belarus. It is situated on the Dvina River and serves as the administrative center of Polotsk District. Polotsk is served by Polotsk Airport and Borovitsy air base. As of 2025, it has a pop ...

Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

and

Chernigov Chernihiv (, ; , ) is a city and municipality in northern Ukraine, which serves as the administrative center of Chernihiv Oblast and Chernihiv Raion within the oblast. Chernihiv's population is The city was designated as a Hero City of Ukrain ...

. According to the Drutsk Gospel, the town was built around one of the oldest Christian churches in

White Ruthenia White Ruthenia (; ; ; ; ) is one of the historical divisions of Kievan Rus' according to the color scheme, which also includes Black and Red Ruthenia. In the Late Middle Ages and Early Modern period, the name White Ruthenia was characterized by i ...

erected in 1001. In the 12th century and 13th century it was a centre of the early medieval

Principality of Drutsk The Principality of Drutsk (; obsolete spelling: ''Druck'') was a small appanage of the Principality of Polotsk, centred in the city of Drutsk. It was located on a three way stick between Vitebsk, Minsk and Mogilev regions in modern Belarus. T ...

, ruled by the dukes of the

branch of the

Rurikid The Rurik dynasty, also known as the Rurikid or Riurikid dynasty, as well as simply Rurikids or Riurikids, was a noble lineage allegedly founded by the Varangian prince Rurik, who, according to tradition, established himself at Novgorod in the ...

dynasty. Since the 13th century there is only limited information about the town available in the chronicles. In 1524 Drutsk has been burned down by Russians in a war and started to lose its political importance. Exact time and reasons of the town's decline are unknown. Historians estimate the period of decline to between the 15th and 17th centuries. Archaeological researches state that Drutsk has been an important military fortress for some period of time. Until the mid 17th century it had a castle. Both the castle and the town have been destroyed and rebuilt for several times. According to the German ambassador of the 17th century

Johann Georg Korb Johann, typically a male given name, is the German form of ''Iohannes'', which is the Latin form of the Greek name ''Iōánnēs'' (), itself derived from Hebrew name '' Yochanan'' () in turn from its extended form (), meaning "Yahweh is Gracious" ...

, in the 16th century Drutsk was a large city that had about two hundred churches but that was then entirely destroyed in a war. Therefore, Korb compared the city with

Troy Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...

. The town is also the name-sake of the Drucki-Lubecki and Druckoy-Sokolinski

noble families Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. Th ...

and the name-sake for their coat of arms, the

Druck Coat of Arms Druck is a Polish coat of arms. It was used by several ''Szlachta'' (noble) families under the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. History The Druck coat of arms goes back to ancient times. It was the coat of arms of the Princely House of Dru ...

. The most famous member of those families is

Franciszek Ksawery Drucki-Lubecki Prince Franciszek Ksawery Drucki-Lubecki (. ; 4 January 1778–10 May 1846) was an important Polish people, Polish politician, freemason and diplomat of the first half of the 19th century. He served as the minister (government), minister of the ...

Sources

* Анатоль Мяснікоў. Горад на вольнай Друці... // Звязда, 27.6.2001. * Аляксееў Л. В. Друцк // Беларуская Савецкая Энцыклапедыя. У 12 т. Т.4. Графік — Зуйка / Беларуская Савецкая Энцыклапедыя; Рэдкал.: П. У. Броўка (гал. рэд.) і інш. — Мн.: Бел.Сав.Эн., 1971. — 608 с.: іл., карты. No ISBN. * Друцк старажытны: Да 1000-годдзя ўзнікнення горада / Рэд.кал.: Г.П.Пашкоў (гал.рэдактар) і інш.; Маст. У.М.Жук. –Мн.: БелЭН, 2000. —128 с.: іл. * Populated places in Vitebsk region Talachyn district Villages in Belarus 1078 establishments in Europe Polochans Vitebsk Voivodeship {{belarus-geo-stub