Vyerkhnyadzvinsk or Verkhnedvinsk (Belarusian: Верхнядзвінск, romanized: Vierchniadzvinsk;^{[lower-alpha 1]} Russian: Верхнедвинск), previously known as Drysa or Drissa^{[lower-alpha 2]} until 1962, is a town in Vitebsk Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Vyerkhnyadzvinsk District.^[1] It is located at the confluence of the Drysa River [be] and the Daugava River. Its population in 2009 was 7,600. As of 2024, it has a population of 6,870.^[1]

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Quick Facts Верхнядзвінск (Belarusian)Верхнедвинск (Russian), Country ...

Vyerkhnyadzvinsk Верхнядзвінск (Belarusian) Верхнедвинск (Russian)
Town
Flag Coat of arms
Vyerkhnyadzvinsk
Coordinates: 55°47′N 27°57′E
Country	Belarus
Region	Vitebsk Region
District	Vyerkhnyadzvinsk District
First mentioned	1386
Administrative center	1924
Population  (2024)[1]
• Total	6,870
Postal code	211631
Area code	+375 2151
License plate	2

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Drissa is first mentioned in a chronicle of the year 1386.^[2] During the medieval period it formed part of the Principality of Polotsk, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. From 1801 it was the center of the Drissa uyezd of the Vitebsk Governorate, and during the War of 1812 it was the site of a fortified camp described by Leo Tolstoy in Book Three of War and Peace.

It became a raion center in 1924. During the Second World War, it was occupied by Germany and most of the local population was massacred.^[3]