Braslaw - is a small town of Vitebsk region of Belarus, the administrative center of the Braslaw district. The main architectural attraction of the city of Braslaw is the Catholic church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, built here in 1824. Later in 1897 the church in the city of Braslaw was expanded, it was very substantially rebuilt in the Neo-Romanesque style and became the way it can be seen today. It was the new building of this church that was consecrated in honor of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary. In 1950, the church was closed by the Soviet authorities and converted into a granary, but in 1953 the believers were able to achieve the return of the church to the parish. However, services in the church were resumed only in 1967, after a thorough repair and restoration of the Braslaw Catholic church. Since then, the temple has never been closed and has gone through several stages of restoration work. As a result, today the Catholic church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in the city of Braslaw is an active temple, which is in excellent condition.

The church in the city of Braslaw is built of natural stone and plastered brick. An interesting architectural feature of the temple is that the space between the large stones is filled not just with lime mortar, but lined with small fragments of stones that form various patterns. Outwardly, the result resembles a mosaic. This element of the church decor is called nowadays: "Braslaw mosaic". Moreover, this technique was implemented in different ways on those parts of the walls of the temple, which were built in 1824 and in 1897. Therefore, in our time, the border between the old and the new parts of the church in Braslaw is clearly visible.

In the Catholic church in the city of Braslaw is a valid organ, which is considered one of the best in the entire region. This organ was created at the beginning of the 20th century in Krakow. The sound of the organ and the acoustics of the temple itself leave unforgettable impressions, and the locals are justly proud of this musical instrument. However, the main feature of the Catholic church in Braslaw is that the miraculous icon of the Mother of God of Braslaw is kept here, widely revered by Christians of various faiths.

The Mother of God of Braslaw is also considered the patroness of the famous Braslaw lakes and the whole Braslaw region, and for this reason the miraculous image is also known as the “Icon of the Mother of God of the Lakes Queen”. Another name of this icon, which is less common, is the “Icon of the Mother of God of Monastery”. This name is connected with the fact that until the beginning of the 19th century, this icon was kept in a Uniate male monastery located on an island formed on one of the local lakes. However, in 1832 a fire occurred in the monastery. All monastic buildings completely burned down, only the icon survived. After that, the icon of the Mother of God was transferred to the Catholic church in the city of Braslaw. Nowadays, the icon is located on a central place in the main wooden altar of the temple. By the way, this altar was created in 1974.

For several centuries, the Catholic church and the icon in Braslaw have attracted many travelers and pilgrims to these places. However, at the beginning of the 21st century, on the basis of the Catholic church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in the city of Braslaw, a regional sanctuary was formed. In addition, in 2009, the icon of the Mother of God of Braslaw was crowned papal crowns. The Braslaw icon became the first crowned icon in the Vitebsk region and the seventh in Belarus. These events emphasized the special status of the church and icons for Belarusian Catholics and provoked an additional stream of tourists and pilgrims from different countries to the city of Braslaw. Thus, the Catholic church in the city of Braslaw is undoubtedly a valuable architectural, historical and cultural monument of the 19th century, as well as an important landmark of Belarus. But the icon of the Mother of God of the Queen of the Lakes is an important historical and cultural value and religious relic.

There are in the city of Braslaw and many other attractions. First of all, we note the Orthodox church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin. This temple was built in 1897 and is a monument of architecture of the retrospective-russian style of the late 19th century. The Orthodox church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin in the city of Braslaw was not closed during the Soviet era. Currently, the church continues to function and is in good condition. The church contains several unique icons of the 18th and 19th centuries. Presumably they were painted by local craftsmen, and these icons were transferred to the Braslaw temple from a church that was closed during the Soviet era in the village of Druya. Another decoration of the Orthodox church in the city of Braslaw is a wooden carved three-tier iconostasis, created in the 1980s.

The churches in Braslaw is located very close to each other. The small area between these temples was once the central (market) area of ​​the entire city. Now on this site is organized parking. Together the Braslaw temples form a very interesting, beautiful, and most importantly typical for Belarus (but unique for other regions) architectural ensemble of the historical center of a small town. Of course, the Orthodox church in the city of Braslaw is a historical and cultural value and an interesting attraction of Belarus.

Another attraction worthy of the attention of tourists, travelers and pilgrims is St. Panteleimon women's monastery, which was established in the city Braslaw in 2006 as a structural unit of the Polatsk Spaso-Euphrosyne women's monastery. This monastery is located in the building of the former district hospital, which was built in 1906.

In the city of Braslaw there are also quite a lot of other buildings that can be attributed to the historical city buildings. Most of these buildings belong to the end of the 19th - early 20th centuries. Many of these buildings are made in the so-called Zakopane style, which gives them uniqueness and value. All these small sights perfectly complement the very good tourist atmosphere of the city of Braslaw, here you can spend a lot of time with pleasure.

Another very important cultural, historical and archaeological monument of the city of Braslaw is the Castle Hill, or, in other words, the hillfort (ancient settlement place). This site belongs to the 9th century. Castle Hill is located in the historic center of Braslaw, directly opposite the Catholic and Orthodox churches, which in turn are located at the foot of this mountain. The ancient settlement place "Castle Mountain" in Braslaw is a flat hill of impressive size with steep slopes, and is one of the largest hillforts in Belarus.

It is Castle Hill, towering over the entire modern settlement, and two temples, which also stand out against the background of low-rise buildings of the city, and form the panorama of the whole Braslaw. The last fragments of any historical buildings that were previously located on the Castle Hill were completely lost during the fire of 1859, then the mound and became close to the modern look. Nowadays several modern monuments, thematic sculptures and arbors are installed on the mountain. Nevertheless, a visit to the Castle Hill is included in the compulsory tourist program of all travelers arriving in the city of Braslaw, because this is where the best views of the stunning surrounding landscapes, overflowing with blue lakes, open up.

The city of Braslaw is very popular among tourists. But it should be noted that this is what he is obliged to do not at all to architectural landmarks, but to the surrounding nature. The fact is that there are a lot of lakes near the town of Braslaw, and some of them are very large. We are talking about the famous Braslaw lakes. There are so many of these lakes, and they are located so tightly that sometimes it seems that the city of Braslaw itself is located almost on the island, although in reality this is not so. Among the lakes near Braslaw there is a wide variety.

For example, the largest local lake, along the coast of which the city of Braslaw stretches, is called Dryvyaty and has very, very gentle shores and warms up well in summer. This lake also has several sandy beaches, so Lake Dryvyaty is popular among tourists as a place for a beach holiday. By the way, proper infrastructure has been created on this lake, there are cafes and bars, boat and catamaran rentals and much more. Also, this and other lakes near the city of Braslaw give tourists and travelers the opportunity to fish very well. In the city of Braslaw itself, of course, there are all the necessary tourist infrastructure, for example: shops, banks, hotels, farmsteads and much more. It is thanks to the opportunity to swim well, to fish superbly and just to have a great rest among the beautiful landscapes of the lake region and most of the tourists come to the city of Braslaw.