Novoe Lyadno. Priest's island.

Previously, Priest's Island was a peninsula on which carts and then cars with tractors rode freely along a wide isthmus. The modern island has an area of 10 hectares, and the former peninsula was much larger. The island elevation was surrounded not by lake waters, but by floodplain meadows.

The island's name is due to the fact that the Catholic faith was dominant in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the peninsula in Lake Lepel was allocated for land use to the Church of St. Casimir, which had existed here since 1604. After the seizure of these territories by the Russian Empire, the island lands were transferred to the possessions of the closest landowners of the Zavidichi - Kustinsky. The name of the island has been fixed since the time of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. But the Catholics used the island of the Priests not only for economic purposes. Part of the land was occupied by a picturesque forest, which was adjacent to an oak grove. The Catholics adapted the island forest for the recreation of the townspeople. On Catholic holidays, mass celebrations and folk festivals were organized in the island forest. The whole cultural Lepel visited the Priest's island. The people walked, not forgetting to glorify the Lepel priests. Later, all these events were continued by the progressive Kustinsky nobles family.

At the moment, the island is occupied by the boarding house "Lode". People from many countries come to rest there. Vacationers are attracted by the pristine nature of the island, the remoteness from noisy places, and the purity of Lake Lepel. Cozy wooden cottages, cafes with a terrace, sports and children's playgrounds, gazebos, a sauna, and an inner flooded lake are hidden in the shade of trees.

For the entertainment of vacationers, there is a small zoo, horses for horseback riding, sled dogs, malamutes, for skating on the ice of the lake in winter. And the beach and the equipped pier attract travelers at any time of the year with their comfort and the prospect of the lake.

However, such a flourishing of the island was preceded by a long period of abandonment and desolation. These places have always been very beautiful and impressive, but people at the end of the 20th century did everything to spoil this unique natural place. Once there was an orchard here, which was uprooted for lack of profitability, and later the campsite of the Vitebsk Institute of Technology. 

Over the past 14 years, Priest's Island has become a cultural recreation center. This natural object was very lucky - the once abandoned island has turned into a modern recreation center and pleases visitors with its beauty and comfort.