Third day

So, our trip led us to Brest.

Between Belavezhskaya Puscha and Brest Fortress, right on the border with Poland there stands the city with rich and complicated history, noisy bars and charming characters like the man who lights lanterns on Savietskaya Street every night. Geniuses lived and worked here. You can always find something new in Brest, and i'm tell you how to spend some quality time in the city on the river Bug.

The iconic place that attracts lots of tourists is, of course, the Brest Fortress. You can’t miss it. Unfortunately, there is no convenient way to get there by public transport, so it’s better to drive or walk. The place is not so close to the city center, but the road is beautiful. Recently there has been launched a free mobile app by The Brest Fortress Development Foundation, which is available both in Russian and English. It will help you create an individual route, visit more than 60 spots and see more than 200 historical and modern photos.

On the memorial’s territory you can see the sculpture Zhazhda (“Thirst”), think about your life by the eternal fire and visit St. Nicolas Presidial Church. Listen to the recording of the announcement of declaring the war that is always on at the star shaped main entrance and take a photo of Kholmskiye Vorota which are depicted on the new 50 rubles banknote.

The entrance to the fortress is free, but if want to visit museums, you’ll have to pay a couple of rubles. There are The Museum of Defence of the Brest Fortress and the new “Museum of War is The Territory of Peace”. A bit aside from the city the museum The Fifth Fort is situated. It’s much less visited, so the security doesn’t really care if you get into each chink of the fort to explore underground rooms and passages.

The Art Museum is located in the South barracks. The collection includes defense theme and social realism. There you can find a miniature of medieval Brest that had been situated on the territory of the memorial before the fortress was built.

Near the Kholmskiye Vorota there is a unique museum that has nothing to do with the memorial but stands on the territory on the ancient town. It’s the Archeological Museum Berescie. Here the wooden houses of 11-13th centuries are presented. They are preserved in accordance with all the temperature and humidity standards, that is why no one is allowed to walk in. Nevertheless, you can perfectly examine it from the above. This is the only museum of medieval eastern European city in the world. The ticket costs € 1.25.

One of the most interesting museums in the city is the Museum of Saved Values. Pieces of art and antiques, which were confiscated after unsuccessful attempts of smuggling, are collected there. You can see traditional Japanese silk art and pottery, Chinese vases, or works by Aivazovski and Vrubel. Cultural evenings and workshops are organized every now and then.

The Natural History Museum has been renovated recently and now may be proud of its modern exhibit. It tells about clothes, furniture and weapons and also about Soviet times. There is a cool exhibition of traditional clothes of different regions.

If you are interested in history, don’t miss The Museum of History of the City of Brest: there are more than 800 showpieces that tell the story of the city from the moment of its foundation in 1019.

When locals say “see you in the center” or “old town” they mean Savietskaya Street and its neighborhood. It’s the main pedestrian street, which is flooded by people every evening. There are tons of cafes, boutiques and cute shops.

A chorale synagoge was located in the building of Belarus cinema. It is said that you can still find its brickwork in the men’s room. Actually, Brest was one of the Jewish cities till the beginning of 20th century. Menachem Begin, a Nobel Prize winner and the first prime-minister of Israel, was born here.

If you come to Brest by bus or train, then one of the first things you see will be St. Nicolas Brethren Church. Right in front of it there is an excellent Winter Garden with tropical, subtropical and desert plants. The ticket costs € 1.

Then you’ll reach one of the Brest’s landmarks – The Music Clock. A beautiful clock face, stone foundation and metal emblems of Brest of different historic periods. A funny detail: instead of IV four roman IIII are written. Pay attention to the wall paintings.

Lately there has been installed the Shoe of Wealth. It promises that everyone who tries it on would get incredible earnings and luck in financial issues. So try the shoe on, maybe it’ll start working.

Make sure to see the oldest building of chemist shop in the city. It was built back in 1925 by Solomon Grinberg.

One of the main monuments in the city is dedicated to the upcoming 1000 anniversary of Brest. Its total height is 15 m. There are figures of dukes and the image of a mother and a soldier, the high relief with 6 stories: the legend of the foundation of the city, the building of the city, the participation of local people in the Battle of Grunvald, the publication of Brest Bible, the defense of Brest Fortress and space exploration. The monument already has its own scandalous story: there are 75 mistakes in the historical texts! How did that even happen? Well, somebody put У instead of Ў.

On the corner of Savietskaya and Astrouskaha streets there is another unusual sign – the Old Lantern. The order to establish the position of city lamplighter is engraved on the scroll. According to it, the lamplighter should light the lanterns every day at sunset. The figure of a bat holding the lantern symbolizes that Brest will never be covered with darkness. Every evening the lamplighter puts a small ladder and lights the lanterns. This performance attracts lots of people, so don’t miss it. Approximate time is shown on the clock.

It’s interesting to walk in the neighborhood too. For example, head for Gogalya Street where the Avenue of  Lanterns is. Each lamp is dedicated to a work by Gogol, try to guess them all. Check out Kamsamolskaya Street, 17 Vierasnya Street and Svabody Square with old houses of the middle 19th century and then go to Levaneuskaha Street.

The houses were built in 1920s, when this territory was a part of Polish Republic. The street almost hasn’t changed since then (well, just the casino in the building 7 doesn’t work any more). From Levaneuskaha you can go right to the Park of 1 of May, the main city park and recreation zone. Here you’ll have a chance to mediate on the bench, feed ducks on the lake and walk on lots of bridges. This is the favourite venue for wedding photoshoots. In summer there is a couple of park amusments, mostly for children. Extreme lovers will love Mars though, it costs € 1.5. Another interesting place is Central Market. Go inside to see the dome cealing that would be more appropriate in a circus than in the place where sauerkraut and meat are sold.

If you’re lucky enough you’ll get to an organ concert in the Church of St. Cross. One of the most respected icons in Belarus, the icon of Brest Mother of God, is kept there. It is the replica of the image from the Basilica Santa Maria Madgore on Rome. And in the St. Simeon Church there are relics of St.Afanasiy.

A nice way to escape city fuss is a walk or a bike ride along the rowin basin. In summer there is a beach, and in the evening you’ll meet a lot of families riding bicycles or running. And here the sunsets are most beautiful, they can be your next cool Instagram post.

Kryly Khalopa  is a project by active young people that is worth mentioning. It’s a place where there are no borders, where a performance transforms into an exhibition, and a gallery into an informal university. Follow their page to see what is going on and take part in a workshop or concert.

A similar space, which promotes on belarusian culture, is the cultural center Hruntounya. From time to time they invite artists and writers, organize book presentations, cultural evenings or workshops or talk about travelling. They appreciate Belarusian speech.

Another youth organization Dzedzich focuses on work with local young people and develops bike culture in the city.

Time-club High Voltage is a place where a lot of concerts and meeting are organized.

In the Art Center Dom  you can see a performance of independent theatre “Naprotiv”, PLUM BUM or Muzart concert, and take part in summer festival Sumashedshiy Dom (Crazy House).

Don’t forget that Belavezhskaya Puscha is just an hour away! There is also the Niemcevichi Manor in Skoki village, where you can get by minibus from the city center in 30 minutes. A nice place to go for a walk, the manor and the 18th century park. A writer and political activist Julian Niemcevich lived there. He was the adjutant of Tadeush Kascushka and one of the authors of the first Constitution in Europe (1791). Right here in the manor a protocol about military armistice WWI between Soviet Russia and German Empire was signed.