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Minsk
The capital of Belarus, situated 340km (213 miles) northeast of Warsaw and 120km (75 miles) southeast of Vilnius, was first mentioned in 1067, but little of the old city now survives except a few 17th-century buildings. The city grew to be an important axis of communication and suffered badly during World War II. Modern Minsk is symmetrically designed with wide embankments flanking the Svisloch River. The cultural scene is very diverse with the Belarusian Ballet and good museums such as the National Museum of Belarusian History and Culture, the National Arts Museum, the Museum of History of the Great Patriotic War and the Museum of Old Belarusian Culture. Other interesting museums deal with the major Belarusian writers Kolas, Kupala, Bogdanovich and Brovka. Icons form a large part of the National Gallery. Museums generally open Tues-Sun 1000-1900. The suburb of Troitskoye Predmestye should not be missed; it gives an insight into the way Minsk once looked – 19th-century houses with colourful façades line the streets. There are also excellent examples of Baroque architecture such as the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit (1642), the Cathedral of St Peter and Paul (1613) and the Maryinsky Cathedral, which has been rebuilt to its original shape.
EXCURSIONS: About 22km (14 miles) from the capital is the picturesque village of Raubichi with an interesting ethnographic museum housed in a disused church. Not far from Raubichi (10km/6 miles) is the idyllic Minsk Lake dotted with numerous islets and surrounded by dense pines. The Museum of Folk Architecture is situated in Ozerto (15km/10 miles southwest of Minsk), and features original pieces of century-old buildings from different regions in Belarus. The Dudutki Museum of Material Culture is to be found 40km/25 miles from the capital city and is the only private museum in Belarus showing traditional crafts and ways of life. The onion-shaped domes of Russian Orthodox churches dominate the landscape throughout the country, but especially around Logoysk (40km/25 miles from Minsk), Krasnoe (60km/38 miles from Minsk) and Molodechno (80km/50 miles from Minsk). The memorial at Khatyn commemorates its destruction by the German army during World War II.
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