Devil's Beard

Devil's Beard is a local botanical reserve in the tract of the same name. Few people know about this place for quiet walks, because the path to it is rather thorny. You can come here only through the fields or from a neighboring village - and the road was laid nearby quite recently.

The reserve was established in 1980 to protect rare plants. On an area of 58.3 hectares, everything grows: here you will see majestic oaks, and pines, and firs, and lindens, and ash trees. Of the plants listed in the Red Book, there are noble coppice, spring primrose, peach-leaved bell, broad-leaved bell, large-flowered foxglove.

The name "Devil's Beard" has its own legend: since ancient times, a steep and steep cape has risen above the Dvina, which makes a turn here. From it, the whole district was visible far away, the forests on the opposite left bank and the meandering ribbon of the river

Unfortunately, the reserve has not reached our time in its original form. During World War II, oak groves and centuries-old trees were cut down here. The coast crumbled, changed, deep whirlpools swam, the cape no longer protrudes as before. But at the end of the 20th century, the reserve was nevertheless restored: young trees were planted here, and now a man-made forest is growing on the site of the old one. But as before, a picturesque panorama opens up from a very high bank. True, not on dense forests, as in ancient times, but on the surrounding landscapes and Vitebsk. And it is beautiful at all times of the year, but especially at the time of golden autumn.