Sebezh

It was first mentioned in 1414 as a fortress protecting Pskov from the south, when Vytautas of Lithuania sacked it. In 1535 it was captured by Muscovy. On August 1, 1927, the uyezds and governorates were abolished and Sebezhsky District, with the administrative center in Sebezh, was established as a part of Velikiye Luki Okrug of Leningrad Oblast. It included parts of former Sebezhsky Uyezd. On June 3, 1929, Sebezhsky District was transferred to Western Oblast. ==Administrative and municipal status==

Within the framework of administrative divisions, Sebezh serves as the administrative center of Sebezhsky District, to which it is directly subordinated. As a municipal division, the town of Sebezh, together with sixty-eight rural localities, is incorporated within Sebezhsky Municipal District as Sebezh Urban Settlement. ==Economy==

Transportation The M9 Highway, which connects Moscow and Riga, passes Sebezh. Another road connects Sebezh with Opochka. There are also local roads. The railway connecting Moscow and Riga also passes Sebezh. ==Culture and recreation==

Sebezh contains one cultural heritage monument of federal significance and additionally fifteen objects classified as cultural and historical heritage of local significance. The federally protected monument is the Trinity Church, a formerly Catholic church consecrated in 1648, when Sebezh was still part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It is probably the oldest baroque structure in Russia. As of 2013, the church is closed to the public because of reconstruction. Sebezh is home to the Sebezh District Museum, founded in 1927 and displaying collections of local interest. ==Notable people==

• Semyon Dimanstein, Jewish Soviet state activist, publisher • Zinovy Gerdt, Russian Soviet actor • Witold Rudziński, Polish composer ==References==