When traveling around Belarus, connoisseurs of folk traditions often visit the town of Vietka, located in the southeast of the country, 28 km from Gomel. In the 17th-18th centuries, this town and its surroundings became the Belarusian center of the schism of the Orthodox Church. Today, the town's Central Park houses a branch of the Vetka Museum of Old Believer Faith and Belarusian Traditions.

The creation of the museum in 1978 was based on the personal collection of Fyodor Shklyarov, a descendant of a local Old Believer family, an artist, and collector of antiquities. In 1987, the exhibits got a permanent home in the Merchant Groshikov’s house, a historic building that had undergone restoration.

Today, the collections of the Vetka Museum contain more than 10 thousand exhibits. These are objects that tell about the history and culture of the Old Believers and the life of the Belarusian Orthodox village. There are painted icons and manuscript books with ornaments created by the Old Believers of Belarus. For example, a significant part of the exhibits consists of ancient images, collections of drawings from icon painters of the 17th-20th centuries, books of the 16th-19th centuries (both handwritten and old-printed), including rare copies from book printers Ivan Fedorov and Pyotr Mstislavets.

The museum displays items embroidered in rare decorative techniques using gold threads, pearls, beads. A part of the collection is dedicated to decorative elements of 19th-20th-centuries houses (made by cutting thread), folk costumes, and many ritual towels. By the way, visitors can not only see traditional woven towels but also buy them.

Besides, the branch has its weaving workshop. The machines in the Living Crafts Hall are not just exhibits – they are functioning. So all visitors can get acquainted with the traditions and secrets of Belarusian weaving, get basic craft skills under the guidance of the museum staff. They say that mini-courses on weaving are in demand among museum visitors, including tourists from other countries.

The museum offers guided tours, an electronic guide in 4 languages, and thematic exhibitions.

A branch of the Vetka Museum also operates in Gomel (Lenin Square, 4; on the territory of the Palace of the Rumyantsevs and the Paskeviches and Park Ensemble). It regularly holds folklore festivals ("Belarusian evenings") and seasonal masterclasses (like painting Easter eggs, weaving).