Sights of Minsk and its environs deserve a long and thorough study. This beautiful and very modern city of European level was once almost completely buried under the ruins of World War II. However, he managed to rise from the ashes, and he managed to save most of the historical buildings in it. Some architectural monuments had to be restored according to the preserved evidence and photographs, but from this they did not lose their value. Description of the attractions of the capital of Belarus will be devoted to this article.
Museum of Civil Aircraft
Many travelers start exploring the city from the airport. The national Belarusian airport Minsk-2 is located forty-two kilometers from the capital. You can get from the city to the airport and vice versa by bus number 300E, which will take you to the Central Bus Station for about 15,000 Belarusian rubles . Museums in Minsk will be interesting to visit for any traveler. One of them, dedicated to civilian aircraft of the times of the USSR, is located at the airport. The best examples of Soviet aircraft construction are exhibited in the open air. The pearls of the collection are: Tu-134A (modification Tu-134), created in the 1960s, the Yak-40 (short-range aircraft), designed for regional flights, the pretty AN-2 (corncob), developed in the distant 1940s.
Minsk Gate
Sights of Minsk and its environs are located near the railway station of the city. This building in itself is a very beautiful monument of architecture. In addition, here newly arrived guests of the Belarusian capital can do a lot of necessary things: have a snack, exchange money, stock up on medicines or buy souvenirs. Two towers, created in the style of Stalinist classicism, are located on the forecourt. This building is called Minsk Gate and is one of the most recognizable symbols. Symmetric eleven-meter towers were built from 1947 to 1953. The upper part of the left structure is decorated with huge watches, the diameter of which is four meters. This huge mechanism was created over 100 years ago in Germany and brought to Minsk after the end of the Second World War. On the right side of the Minsk Gate is the coat of arms of Belarus.
Independence Square
A map of Minsk with attractions immediately leads us to one of the most significant places in the city - Independence Square. Here there are several sights of the capital. Church of St. Simeon and St. Helena locals call "red". This building is one of the most famous and popular Catholic churches in Minsk. A beautiful legend is associated with its construction. She says that in the Voynilovich family, on whose funds the church was built, her daughter Elena was seriously ill. In a dream, the girl saw the temple and asked dad and mom to erect it after her death. Then another child died in the family - the son Simeon. The inconsolable parents complied with Elena’s request and now the Red Church adorns the main square of the capital.
Opposite the temple is a statue of St. Michael - the main patron of Belarus. Nearby is the Government House - one of the most monumental and magnificent monuments of constructivism. On Independence Square is the building of the Belarusian State Pedagogical University, in the lobby of which there is a Foucault pendulum - a mechanism that clearly demonstrates the rotation of the Earth.
Karl Marx Street
Minsk is a city that has its own analogue of Moscow Arbat. On weekends, in summer, on Karl Marx Street, traffic is blocked and it becomes pedestrian. Here musicians, artists, artisans and hand-made sellers love to stay. Karl Marx hosts various cultural and recreational activities. In the fall of 2013, the first in the Belarusian capital forum of street theaters was held on its territory.
Independence Avenue. KGB building
Minsk (Belarus) was badly destroyed during the war with the Nazis. It took a long time to restore the metropolis, but after that it sparkled with bright new colors. One of the first was revived Independence Avenue. The architecture here is a bizarre mixture of Art Nouveau, Empire style and Classicism. One of the most significant sights is the KGB building, built in 1947 on the site of a hotel destroyed during the bombing. On its roof there is a tower with a viewing platform, nicknamed the "Tsanava Tower". The head of the Ministry of National Security - Lavrenty Tsanava - personally supervised the construction of the building in the 1940s, and the construction of the excess architectural element on the roof is ascribed to his personal order, even a whim. However, in reality, the Tsanava Tower is a compositional center for the restoration of the avenue from Victory Square to Independence Square.
Upper city. Freedom Square
A map of Minsk with sights indicates that the most interesting and significant objects of ancient times are in the Upper Town. Here is Freedom Square - the historical, cultural, commercial, religious and administrative center of the old city. It was once called Cathedral Square and the High Market. On it festivals, holidays, fairs, meetings of citizens were held. There are many architectural monuments of the past on the square: Jesuit and Bernardine churches of the 17th century, Seating yard of the 18th century, a complex of Basilian monasteries, as well as residential buildings, the construction of which dates from the 18th-19th centuries.
Nearby is the city hall. Its construction in 1600 was timed to the receipt of the Magdeburg Law by Minsk. The town hall, which was destroyed during the war, was restored in 2003 according to old drawings and drawings. Now next to it are established points selling souvenirs. On Freedom Square, you can find the Archcathedral of the Holy Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary, also known as the Jesuit Church. Only this building testifies to the fact that once there was a quarter of the mighty church order.
Cathedral of the Descent of the Holy Spirit
Sights of Minsk and its environs include many places related to cultural and religious traditions that prevail in these parts at different periods of history. Their list would not be complete without a description of the Cathedral of the Descent of the Holy Spirit, also located on Freedom Square. It contains the most valuable shrine of the city - the icon of the Mother of God of Minsk, which is credited with miraculous properties. According to legend, Prince Vladimir of Kiev brought this icon from Constantinople to Kiev. During the invasion of the Crimean Tatars, the relic was thrown into the Dnieper, but floated not down, but upstream, after which, on August 26, 1500, it was found off the coast of Svisloch. Now this day is considered the holiday of Our Lady of Minsk.
Trinity Suburb
In the Trinity suburb, the city of Minsk (Belarus) has remained as it was at the beginning of the last century. This is another historical center of the capital. It is located on the left bank of the Svisloch. Here is the Kitaev Synagogue (currently the House of Nature), the literary museum of Bogdanovich Maxim dedicated to the memorial "Island of Tears", which fell to the Belarusian soldiers-internationalists in Afghanistan. This monument is made in the form of a temple, on all four sides of which are women mourning for their sons, husbands, lovers, brothers and grandchildren. You can get to Freedom Square, the Upper Town and Trinity Suburb by metro (station "Nemiga").
October Square
This is the main square of a city like Minsk. Sights, the visiting route of which is described in this article, are especially significant in this part of the city. The majestic Palace of the Republic is located here, the cult sign "Zero Kilometer" is located, which marks the beginning of all roads in Belarus. On October Square, you can visit the National Academic Theater named after Yanka Kupala (Kupalovsky), which has been preserved exactly in the form in which it was built in the 1920s. This is one of the oldest cultural centers of the republic. The square in which the theater is located is named after Alexander Nevsky and appeared in 1869. Here is the oldest and most beautiful fountain of the capital - "Boy with a Swan", built in honor of the opening of the aqueduct with clean artesian water. You can get to these sights of the city by going down the subway and leaving at the Oktyabrskaya or Kupalovskaya stations.
House of Vankovichi
The manor house erected in the 18th century, and now a museum, belonged to the noble old family of Vankovichi. The most outstanding representative of this kind was Vankovich Valentin - one of the Belarusian painters who became famous abroad. Minsk is a city inhabited by the most famous representatives of the country's cultural and social life. You can get an idea of the life and life of these famous people by reading the expositions of such house-museums.
Paris Commune Square
The map of Minsk indicates that in this large and beautiful city there are many interesting and significant places in historical and cultural terms. One of the most beloved and visited by locals is the Paris Commune Square, which boasts the snow-white building of the National Academic Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theater - a very spectacular complex in the historical part of the capital. There is also a magnificent fountain, which guests of the capital and Minsk residents themselves often admire. You can get to this pretty place in just 10 minutes from the Nemiga metro station.
Museum dedicated to the history of WWII
In 1943, September 30, by the decision of the Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Belarus (B) B, the Belarusian State Museum of the Great Patriotic War (Minsk) was established. In 1944, on November 7, he first opened his doors to numerous visitors. Initially, the museum displayed only two expositions - on the arming of partisans and the press in Belarus in wartime. In 1966, a new museum building was erected, in which unique exhibits of the Second World War were carefully preserved: home-made partisan banners and military magazines, leaflets written in blueberry juice, a large number of photographs, documents, military tools and newspapers.
On July 4, 2014, the War Museum (Minsk) moved to a new building at 8. Pobediteley Avenue, 8. Now it is a grandiose memorial complex that forms a single unit with the obelisk "Minsk is a hero city". The total area of the museum is 15 thousand square meters. It has 10 exhibition halls and a magnificent Victory Hall, located under a transparent glass dome. The modern building is equipped with multimedia complexes (installations and plasma screens).
Monuments in Minsk
Many grandiose structures in the capital of Belarus are connected with the victory over the Nazis during the Second World War. One of them is the architectural ensemble on Victory Square. The grandiose granite monument depicting large-scale figures of soldiers and partisans has a height of 38 meters and is a symbol of Victory in the Great Patriotic War. In the square named after the great Belarusian writer - Yakub Kolas - there is a monument to him, as well as sculptural compositions dedicated to the heroes of his works - "Grandfather Talash" and "Symon-music".
In the vicinity of the capital there are many impressive architectural compositions known throughout the world. One of them, of course, is the Khatyn memorial complex dedicated to the victims of the Great Patriotic War, located on the 56th kilometer of the Minsk-Vitebsk highway. Another grand monument of World War II - the Mound of Glory - is located on the 21st kilometer of the highway Minsk - National Airport Minsk-2 in the Smolevichi district. The height of the structure is 35 m, the diameter of the base is 100 m.
The Stalin Line memorial , located on 28 km of the Minsk-Molodechno highway , is of interest. It is dedicated to the heroic struggle of the Belarusian people with fascist invaders and is a symbolic line of defense.
This article does not list all the sights of Minsk and its environs. Some of these unique places have no analogues all over the world, many are of extraordinary historical value. Every traveler will be interested in visiting this grand metropolis.