Fifth day

The journey ends with the capital of Belarus - Minsk. In addition to local attractions, today I will be able to watch the victory parade.

Its industrial, cultural and scientific center. The city is located in the Central part of the country, on the banks of the river Svisloch. Minsk is one of the oldest European cities with a huge cultural heritage and rich traditions. It surprises with a combination of medieval and Soviet architecture, its well-groomed and unhurried. It is worth coming here to get acquainted with the heroic past of the city, visit its museums, temples, churches and ancient estates. The capital of Belarus is home to 1,941,000 people, Minsk ranks tenth in Europe in this indicator.

Begin your acquaintance with Minsk at Praspiekt Niezaležnasci (former Francysk Skarina Avenue, former Lenina Avenue, former Stalina Avenue), a 15-kilometer thoroughfare that cuts the city in half. Most of the classic Minsk attractions are located either on the Avenue itself or close to it. In fact, the Avenue itself is also a landmark and a unique sample of the Stalin Empire style. The artist and writer Artur Klinau has come up with the term “Sun City” to describe this part of Minsk as the main artery of the Big Communist Dream. The route of Bus No. 100, also one of Minsk’s icons, by the way, goes along the Avenue. Note the corner house number 31 (on the banks of Svislach near Plošcha Pieramohi) – this is where the legendary murderer of John Kennedy, Lee Harvey Oswald, lived in the early 60’s.

Plošča Niezaležnasci. You can start your tour at the Lenin monument, of which, for some reason, you are not allowed to take pictures. The monument faces the main building of the Belarusian State University with its back to the Government House, on the steps of which all the key events of December 19, 2010 took place. Government House was built back in the 1930s by Iosif Langbard, whose style still defines the appearance of present-day Minsk. His works also include the Officers Club, the Academy of Sciences, the Opera and Ballet Theatre, and the Pobeda Cinema. In a good Belarus tradition the Red Church of Saints Simon and Helena, built in 1910, is just a step away from the Lenin monument. Behind the church hides a small building that houses the Museum of the Belarusian Cinema History.

The National Library of Belarus. This is the rhombicuboctahedron that has become one of the most controversial symbols of present-day Minsk. It was built quickly in the early 2000s; the entire country pitched in, sometimes on a willy-nilly basis. It has a view point and Book Museum tours as tourist attractions.

Vierchni Horad (Upper Town). This is Minsk historic center where you can try to feel the spirit of the early 19th century city. This is where the Holy Spirit Cathedral is located. It is the most important Russian Orthodox church in the city built in 1633-1642. The Minsk Town Hall is on Plošcha Svabody. It was built in 1600 in honor of Minsk receiving the Magdeburg Rights and was restored in 2003 according to the old drafts and drawings. In summer, some streets of the Upper Town become pedestrian, in winter a Christmas fair appears here, in the evening on weekends you can catch a music performance.

Across the street from the Town Hall, squeezed in between Stalin-era houses is the Catholic Cathedral of Saint Virgin Mary built in 1700-1710 in the Vilna sacred baroque style. It is also known as the “Church of the Jesuits.”

If you go down from Plošcha Pieramohi to vulica Niamiha, you will see another Minsk landmark – the Cathedral of Saint Apostles Peter and Paul built in 1612. Note that the building of the cathedral is actually facing the street sideways – you can well imagine the scale of re-building that went on in this area of Minsk in the 1970s. If you are interested in religious buildings and their legends, we've got a special article about the temples of Minsk.

Trinity Hill (Traeckaje Pradmescie) is the official tourist “piece of Old Minsk.” In 15th – 19th centuries it was craftsmen and merchants who came to live here; nowadays, Trinity Hill houses offices, residential areas, restaurants, artist studios, as well as the Literary Museum of Maksim Bahdanovich. Next to this district is the Isle of Tears Monument – a memorial dedicated to the soldiers who died in Afghanistan. The view of Trinity Hill is glaringly spoiled by an “elite high-rise” built right behind it and popularly known as “Chizh House” (after the businessman who was behind its construction). You can view it as a monument of sorts to the epoch lacking common sense.

Opera and Ballet Theatre. This is a memorial of the Soviet-era constructivism. Initially, the building was supposed to have four floors, however, in the course of construction the money abruptly ran out. Nevertheless, the building is still majestically impressive thanks to the ideal symmetry of the park, the statues on the pediment, and the abundance of marble and crystal inside. With tickets starting at € 2 it would be a shame to miss it. Although you should take care of the tickets in advance – they are gone pretty quickly for all classical productions. In the park by the Opera Theatre there is a statue of the poet Maksim Bahdanovič, which is moved from one spot to another with every reconstruction. Right now the poor guy has to look at the back of the Chizh House. Learn more about the history and legends of the theater in our podcast.

There is a large green belt around the Opera Theatre. Starting at the mysterious skvier Marata Kazieja (with a-must selfie next to the hero’s statue) across the Yanka Kupala Park you can get to Gorky Park. This is the central recreational area of Minsk with children’s rides, a couple of simple cafés and the training center of the Hockey Club Yunost-Minsk (where even in the summer you can roll around in the snow that comes when they clean the ice in the rink). We advise that you take a ride or two on the Ferris Wheel; just make sure you pick the closed cabins – they are better for viewing the city.

Łošyca Riverside Park. This is the most inspired and romantic park in Minsk, the main recreation area for those who live in the Łošyca community. The central part of the park has been well repaired; it now features straight trails, cozy pavilions, and the Lyubanskiy estate. If you go further into the park, you can find apple orchards and the remains of a mill where, according to legend, a young pani hung herself for love. There are rumors that somewhere nearby is the site of drowning of the parts of the Stalin statue, which used to stand on Kastrychnickaja Square in the very heart of the capital in the early 1960’s.

National Art Museum. This is the most prominent collection of art in Belarus. There is a large collection of classical Russian paintings, old Belarus icons, and Sarmatian portraits of the Radziwily family. The Socialist Realism collection here warrants a special mention. There is an exhibit of the Belarus classical artist Mai Dantsig, the author of the milestone painting “My Minsk”.

Kastryčnickaja Street truly deserves to be mentioned. If you ask how the process of gentrification and revitalization is going on in Minsk, you can always point to the Kastryčnickaja’s example – the former industrial street has in recent years become pretty much the most important exhibition-and-hang-out place in the city. This is where Huligan Bar, Depo crêpe house, snack-bars Laŭka and Ultrabar, and café Enzo work and where progressive advertising agencies, publishing houses, and IT companies have opened their offices. This is also the location of the yoga studio and fitness center Moby Dick. The former plant’s walls are decorated with the murals left over after the Vulica Brazil street-art festival. The most important things happen here at night in the warm time of the year – in the street, of course. Fridays and Saturdays are a time for fun and chaotic parties when several thousands of people might be hanging out on a little patch of ground. Download the printable map of the street here. 

OK16  is a cultural hub, where on the area of 1500 sq.m. there’re performances, experimental music projects and huge parties. There’s also Ruin Bar with the cocktails named according to the building’s industrial past: “Sex in the workshop” or “From bell to bell”. Look for more points of alternative culture in Minsk in a separate guide.

Gallery is a gallery of contemporary art which lets you feel the vibe of modern Belarusian (not only) artists, photographers, and performers.

Cultural Center Korpus. Educational programs, workshops, exhibitions, concerts, parties – you can enjoy all this in the old industrial building that has been transformed into the cool cultural center by BoPromo team. 

Art Belarus Gallery was opened in April 2017 at the Minsk Palace of Art by Belgazprombank. The collection is small but pretty cool: Marc Chagall, Chaim Soutine, Léon Bakst, Valenty Vańkovič, Ossip Zadkine, etc. Here you’ll see the most expensive painting in Belarus (learn which one it is during the tour). The ticket costs € 2.4. By the way, the gallery has wi-fi and comfortable chairs to relax and post an Instagram story with Eva by Soutine.

The neat little court of the Church of Holy Trinity also known as St. Roch Church is a secret island of peace fifty-five yards (fifty meters) away from Praspiekt Niezaliežnasci. It is always peaceful and quiet here and it is really nice to have some coffee here when it’s sunny. The church itself is also noteworthy: there are often organ concerts here, for example.

You should also visit the Military Cemetery. In addition to quite a few worthies buried here (Yanka Kupala, Yakub Kolas and Kuzma Chorny, to name a few), the beautiful Church of St. Alexander Nevsky, built in the late 19th century is also located here.

Park Čaluskincaŭ. It’s a beautiful park with old pines built in 1928-1931. Turn off the main roads to walk quietly and get a blow of fresh air, feed squirrels and ride 30 year old merry-go-rounds (“Ładźja” is our favorite) or some modern ones, grab a spun sugar and feel as if you were a child again. Minsk Botanical Garden is right next to it. Everything about the parks of Minsk, we carefully collected in a separate issue of our podcast series.

If you’re looking for more authentic atmosphere and soviet vibe, take the trouble to get to Park Piacidziesiacihoddzia Kastryčniku. Vintage carrousel, dancing floor and Russian pop music – it’s a true time machine.

The territory near water basin Drazdy is the best way to spend some time outside the city without actually leaving it. Here you’ll find forest waterfalls, a red dike, field of wheat and a nice view to the big city. The easiest way to get there is to follow the bike path or turn to the water behind the Minsk Arena.

If you’re willing to the cinema in Minsk, choose not a super modern Dolby movie theater, but authentic places with soul. For example, Centralny, the oldest cinema in Minsk, or cozy Raketa with a small art-room and films in English. Make sure to see Pobeda cinema, even though it’s under construction right now. You’ll totally take some killer architecture shots (and it’s pretty close to most bars and coffee houses – read about them in the following sections of our guide).

Minsk is not just about soviet Empire style of the central streets and concrete of bedroom suburbs. Check out Asmaloŭka district, for example. It’s a neighborhood of two- or three-floor houses behind the Opera Theater, which was built in the 1940s and is threatened to be demolished during recent years. Green backyards clothes drying on a line, street art – it’s probably the quietest and relaxed spot in the city center. Another contemplative place in the center is vulica Čyrvonaarmiejskaja.

Pasiołak traktarabudaŭnikoŭ is a residential area built right after the WWII. It was supposed to be built for the workers of the Minsk Tractor Plant. It was a huge project with its own architecture and service systems. The district of the tractor plant is local Valetta with the most beautiful balconies in the city, Empire-style pilasters, arcading, and columns. Find the house on the corner of 2 Stachanaŭskaja street and 11 Kłumava street – it’s a true attraction of the district!

Waterpark Lebyazhy. After a day of roaming the city, it is best to relax at the waterpark. It boasts of seven slides inside and five more outside, a Jacuzzi, a salt room, and saunas with various temperatures and scents. We particularly recommend the surfing exerciser where you can learn to conquer the waves and feel your every muscle. The important thing is not to go there on the week-end – it is very popular. Prices start at € 11.

If you are lucky to come here in summer, you can find a place to swim and relax even in the city center. We are talking about the open air pool Olimpiyskiy. We especially like the pool with mineral water and the opportunity to play volleyball. A huge drawbackis that it’s always crowded.