June 2017:
This post features: Minsk, Khatyn, Vitebsk, Polotsk, Berezinsky Reserve, Lida, Murovanka, Grodno, Ruzhany, Brest, Belovezhskaya Pushcha, Pinsk, Nesvizh, Mir and Strochicy
Poor old Belarus kept getting pushed back – maybe next year – I didn’t think there would be much of interest to see and I had an expectation of a country at least ten years behind Ukraine. With Belarus also getting the same sort of bad press in Europe as Azerbaijan and a reputation for being more Russian than Russia, things didn’t augur well.
I booked this trip with Native Eye – www.nativeyetravel.com – who created a tailor-made itinerary based on my list of places I thought I ought to visit. The was put together in conjunction with Belarus Prime Tour – www.belarusprimetour.com – and involved visiting four of the six oblasts (administrative regions) thereby giving me a reasonable feel for the country. I did wonder if I’d overdone it, though…
Ten days in Belarus? Was I mad?
I also wondered if I’d find a dismal country full of dour, miserable, oppressed people…
But I didn’t.
As with Azerbaijan, I found a friendly, happy country that is – outside the towns and cities – incredibly pretty. Roughly 43% of the land is covered with forest, and another 44% given over to agriculture, it is not surprising it is so green. It claims to have 20,000 rivers and 10,000 lakes, which, along with the marshes and swamps, makes it a haven for wildlife.
Note that, as with Azerbaijan, there can be three ways of spelling things: Belarus, Russian and anglicised. Where relevant I have shown an alternative spelling. Although Belarusian uses many Russian words, it is closer to Ukrainian while also using Polish words and spellings. It uses few Lithuanian words and spellings despite having been part of the Grand Duchy for several hundred years. Lithuanian is a unique language in Europe – related to Sanskrit; it is the oldest surviving Indo-European language.
Brief History
Belarus was once part of Kievan Rus – an empire founded in 879 that stretched from the Baltic to the Black Sea. It included southern Finland, parts of the Baltic States, Belarus, bits of Russia and Ukraine and traded with the Byzantine Empire. The empire adopted Orthodox Christianity in 988. This helps to understand the history behind St Sophia’s Cathedral in Polotsk and why its original design mirrored that of the Hagia Sophia. The empire divided and sub-divided until the 13th century when it was invaded by the Mongols. By the 14th century, what is now Belarus was taken over by Lithuania and Poland before becoming part of the Polish–Lithuanian Grand Duchy. During the 14th and 15th centuries, Lipka Tatars (Sunni Muslims) settled in Belarus, Lithuania & Poland. The Tatars were invited by the Lithuanian Grand Duke Vytautas to help him defend Lithuania from the Teutonic knights.
Where does the name Belarus come from? Everyone seems to agree that “bela” means “white” but there is some dispute over the origin and meaning of “rus”. Interestingly, there were a red rus and a black rus, as well. One theory is that as Belarus was part of Kievan Rus then,”rus” probably refers to the Scandinavians who first settled there. It is likely to also be the base for “Russia”. Another theory is that “rus” is derived from Ruthenia – but theories, like splodgeness, abound…
Trade was controlled by Poles and Jews, and most Belarusians remained peasants – poor and illiterate. After the Partitions of Poland (1772, 1793 and 1795–96), Belarus was absorbed into Russia. During the 19th century Belarus was part of the Pale of Settlement, the area where Jews in the Russian Empire were required to settle, so Jews formed the majority in many cities and towns. During the late 18th century and early 19th century, Belarus suffered considerable damage during a series of Swedish-Russian battles, which had been rumbling on intermittently since the 15th century.
In March 1918, after German occupation during WWI, a short-lived independent Belarusian Democratic Republic was declared, but the land was soon under the control of the Red Army, and the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR) was formed. The Russians signed the 1918 Treaty of Brest-Litovsk ending their participation in WW1 and ceding Brest and Grodno to Poland. The 1921 Treaty of Riga allotted the western half of Belarus to Poland. The eastern half was left to the Bolsheviks, and the re-declared BSSR was a founding member of the USSR in 1922.
During the 1920’s, the Soviet regime encouraged Belarusian literature and culture. This changed dramatically during the 1930’s under Stalin. Nationalism and the Belarusian language were discouraged and their proponents ruthlessly persecuted. Many churches and monuments were destroyed. The 1930’s also saw industrialisation, agricultural collectivisation, and purges in which hundreds of thousands were executed – most in the Kurapaty Forest, outside Minsk. See: http://www.sciencespo.fr/mass-violence-war-massacre-resistance/en/document/kurapaty-1937-1941-nkvd-mass-killings-soviet-belarus
In September 1939, following the invasion of Poland, western Belarus was given back to the Russians as part of the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact. When Nazi Germany invaded Russia in 1941, Belarus was on the front line and suffered greatly. German occupation was savage and partisan resistance widespread. Eventually the Red Army drove the Germans out in 1944, with massive destruction on both sides. Hundreds of villages were decimated, and most cities badly damaged. Minsk suffered badly – around 85% was destroyed or damaged.
Western Belarus remained in Soviet hands at the end of the war, with Minsk developing into the industrial hub of the western USSR and Belarus becoming one of the Soviet Union’s most prosperous republics.
MAZ (www.maz.by) is a major producer of trucks and buses; Belarus Tractors is a major producer of tractors (www.belarus-tractor.com); M1NSK (www.minsk-moto.by) produces mopeds and motorbikes and Bel-Az (www.belaz.by) produces monster dumper trucks for mines. You can find very good chocolate in Belarus, too – the major producers being Kommunarka (www.eng.kommunarka.by) and Spartak (www.spartak.by)…
Sadly, destruction of churches, monasteries and monuments by the Soviets continued right up to the 1970’s. Since gaining independence the government has set about restoring and rebuilding what was left of the once rich cultural heritage.
The 1986 Chernobyl disaster left about a quarter of the country seriously contaminated. While Chernobyl is in Ukraine, the prevailing winds at the time of the disaster blew the radiation over Belarus causing the country to suffer about 60% of the fall-out. The effects are still felt today, particularly in the Gomel oblast, in the south-east of the country, with some towns and villages still off-limits.
On 27 July 1990, the republic issued a declaration of sovereignty within the USSR. On 25 August 1991 a declaration of full national independence was issued. Apart from a brief period in 1918, this was the first time Belarus had existed as an independent, self-governing country.
Since July 1994 Belarus has been governed by Alexander Lukashenko, a former collective-farm director. His presidential style has been seen by many as autocratic and authoritarian. Lukashenko has on several occasions altered the constitution rendering the parliament essentially toothless and extending both his term in office and the number of times he can campaign for president. Media distribution is handled by the state, so independently produced publications are easily quashed. Internet access remains state controlled, and anti-government sites are easily blocked.
The presidential elections, in October 2015, saw Lukashenko re-elected with almost 84%, while parliamentary elections in September 2016 saw just 2 independent MPs elected. Lukashenko keeps a tight grip on power, and democracy activists continue to be harassed and arrested. Many Belarusians reject foreign criticism of their political system, however, citing the stability and relative economic prosperity that Belarus has enjoyed compared with many post-Soviet states. Russian hikes in the historically low gas prices it sets for Belarus are likely to change things in the near future. Putin and Lukashenko have enjoyed a useful anti-European partnership for the past decade. But as the cheap gas supplies dry up, Lukashenko has been courting the EU in a bid to increase its bargaining position with Russia.
This all changed following the elections in 2020, which saw Lukashenko win with virtually no opposition. This sparked a series of anti-government protests that continued into 2021…
Minsk
Although there is a visa-waiver scheme in place now for tourists flying into the country this only covers visits up to five days. So for my ten-day visit I needed to get a visa at a cost of €60. Curiously the embassy will only accept payments in euro. Getting the visa took a week and was no more painful than any other visa process. There is an express service (€120 and 2-days) but the consular official was determined that I didn’t want it and it wasn’t necessary – quite sweet really and she was right, despite the 2 public holidays occurring during the coming week.
I booked my flights with LOT via Warsaw. The flight out was nice & straightforward with an easy onward connection to Minsk.
Immigration was reasonably straightforward – but the lady on duty was grim. She kept looking at my passport and then glaring up at me – expecting either my photo or me to have changed. She even got out a magnifying glass to pore over the visa and other pages in the passport. It was comical, really, but I knew better than to laugh at her antics…
Eventually I was allowed on my way with a little immigration form that, I subsequently discovered, has to be stamped and recorded at every hotel I stayed at. This, of course, required most of the hotels having to staple additional pieces of paper to the form. A paper-trail of everywhere I’d been and stayed. Exiting the country was going to be a joy…
I collected my luggage and went outside into the sunshine to meet Victor, my driver, and his silver Mercedes Viano for the drive into Minsk. As you leave the airport you drive past an open air museum of old Soviet aircraft – in various Aeroflot and Belavia liveries – there are Tupolev 154 and 134; a Yakovlev Yak-40; an Iluyshin Il-76 and some others I didn’t recognise.
Belavia, the state airline, has a modern fleet of Boeing 737 and Embraer jets. The last two Belavia Tupolev 154’s were withdrawn in October 2016.
The airport is about 40km from the city so there’s a drive along motorways through the countryside. On the way to Minsk you pass the Hill of Glory at the crossroads to Moscow and the airport. It is an impressive memorial of four symbolic bayonets atop a hill created by people bringing soil – the land around is flat so the hill (35m) makes the monument to victory stand out.
Entering Minsk itself is like entering any former Soviet city with banks of tower blocks of flats on either side of the road but then on entering the city centre it becomes largely low-rise. The centre of Minsk was rebuilt according to Stalin’s plans with wide streets flanked by uniform, 5-storey buildings. Stalin wanted the centre of Minsk to be the model for future city planning and a showcase to the world. It is on the list to achieve UNESCO world heritage status…
My hotel – Hotel Belarus – is a 21-storey monolith with views over the Staroscinska Slabada Park and the River Svislač. It is a short walk from the Holy Trinity historical quarter and, in the opposite direction, the Great Patriotic War Museum.
Having checked-in and had my immigration form stamped I went for a wander around the Holy Trinity area with its restored churches, monasteries, town hall and streets. It is the tourist area of the city – it has the oldest buildings and has been nicely restored. The pedestrianised streets are easy to wander around and there are lots of bars and restaurants. The Cathedral of the Holy Spirit and the Cathedral of the Holy Virgin Mary are lovely – if not as spectacular as you’ll see in Kyiv.
But this is Minsk – this is Belarus – and what the second world war didn’t destroy the Soviets did. So what little remains in Belarus is all the more special and remarkable.
I then wandered up to the Great Patriotic War Museum but it was closed by the time I got there and so just wandered around, got my bearings and took more pictures.
The Bradt guidebook to Belarus (2015 edition) declares that there are no coins in circulation. How quickly a guidebook can date. The Belarus rouble (byr) was re-valued in July 2016 and new notes and coins were issued. Before revaluation there were 21,000byr to one euro – now it is a more sensible 2byr to the euro. Avoid getting 50byr notes as these can be difficult to change. Other than in top-end restaurants in Minsk you’ll struggle to spend more than 20byr on a meal including beer. The country is still good value for western tourists. I wonder how quickly that will change, though, as the country opens up.
Until recently, most of the tourists were from the American, Australian and Canadian diaspora coming back to trace their roots.
There are several theories on the origin of the name “Minsk”. Minsk is situated on the crossing of some old trading routes linking the Baltic to the Black Sea and so may have taken its name from the word “miena” – to barter. Another theory is that it takes its name from the River Menka.
My guide, Yuliya, turned up at 08.30 to begin our tour of Minsk and sat down opposite me on one of the bench seats near the lobby bar. She didn’t introduce herself and I didn’t speak to her because I wasn’t entirely sure it was her. The reason for my caution was that the previous evening I had been sitting in the same seat, drinking a beer and reading when a lady came along, sat down and started talking to me…
Yuliya finally broke the ice with the enigmatic question: “Are you waiting for Victor?” – just when you thought the Cold War was over – the tour then got underway.
We started with the monument on the Isle of Tears to Belarus soldiers that died in the Afghan conflict. The Isle of Tears has been created in the River Svislač and the monument itself is more restrained than typical Soviet-style monuments, imaginatively designed and quite affecting. The monument is a short walk from Hotel Belarus and on the way to the Holy Trinity area. We then walked around the restored streets with a running commentary on the area, its history and life in Minsk. After that we crossed the bridge to see the Orthodox Church of St Peter and St Paul, oh – and St Catherine – but usually referred to simply as the yellow church. Nearby is a huge Soviet-era frieze called: “Solidarity” – a brutal, ugly thing.
After that we drove along Independence Avenue – which is awaiting UNESCO World Heritage status as a classic example of Stalin-era city planning and architecture – to Independence Square. Belarus is one of the few countries that still has statues of Lenin in most towns and cities. The huge one here is in front of the government offices. Confusingly, while the square is no longer called Lenin Square – the Metro station is. Also in the square is the red brick Catholic Church of St Simon and St Helena built in 1910 and restored after independence. The church is striking inside and out, while in the courtyard there is a replica of the Nagasaki bell – donated in 2000 by the Japanese in memory of the Chernobyl disaster.
The square is also home to several faculties of the Belarus State University – grim, dowdy 1950’s buildings. From there we drove out to the National Library – a big glass structure designed to look like a diamond. The design is a bit clunky and could be more graceful – but when compared to the British Library in Kings Cross it’s an absolute peach. We didn’t go inside – apparently there is an observation deck – instead we stood outside getting cold and wet as the weather had changed…
We left the city and drove out in the direction of the airport to stop off at the Hill of Glory (also known as the Mound of Glory) – it wasn’t on the itinerary, oddly, but Yuliya and Victor were quite happy to stop. The Hill of Glory (35m) commemorates Belarus’ liberation from the Germans. This was conducted on four fronts – hence the four bayonets (70.6m). I climbed the 241 steps to the summit on my own as Yuliya didn’t want to get blown about nor any wetter. In fairness to her, it is pretty breezy at the top and it was raining – in all directions…
There is a café at the site – so after my climb I joined Yuliya and Victor for a coffee. This was the first coffee stop of the day. I was soon to discover what a rare treat it was…
From there we drove to Khatyn and the memorial to the village that was destroyed and villagers killed by the Nazis in reprisal for allegedly assisting partisans. The memorial has been broadened in scope to represent all 186 villages and inhabitants across the country that were similarly eradicated and to commemorate the hundreds of thousands killed in concentration camps in Belarus during WW2. It is a deeply affecting site – intriguingly laid-out and designed. The grey, wet weather added to the sombre tone.
For most Soviet countries, the Great Patriotic War, as they call it, ran from 1941 – 1945. For western Belarus it started in 1939 when the Germans overran Poland and then began again in 1941 when the Hitler decided to invade Russia.
We left Khatyn to head for Vitebsk and a stop for lunch – albeit it was about 14.30 by this time. Again, a rare treat – I wasn’t going to get lunch again until day 4 and then again on day 10, my final day…
Khatyn
At least 25% of the Belarusian population (over two million people) died between 1939 and 1945. Many of them, Jews and others, died in 200-plus concentration camps; the third-largest of the Nazi concentration camps was set up at Maly Trostenets, outside Minsk, where over 200, 000 people were executed. The memorial complex at Khatyn is a reminder of the 186 villages that were eradicated during the war and of the hundreds of thousands killed in the concentration camps. See: www.khatyn.by
Khatyn (pronounced “hattin”) should not to be confused with the massacre of over 4,000 Polish service personnel by the Russians at Katyn, near Smolensk – in fact Katyn was one of three such sites where, collectively, around 26,000 Poles were executed. See: www.katyn.org.au
Vitebsk
The city of Vitebsk is around 280km from Minsk and the journey takes about 3½ hours. We headed out of Minsk on the M3, rather than taking the M2 and then the M1 – which is a bit longer but quicker. Most of the journey along the M3 is through forest and farmland – and as you drive along you start realising how pretty Belarus is. The Vitebsk oblast has 2,800 lakes, 500 rivers and a third of it is covered in forest. The city is famous in Belarus for hosting an international music festival at the purpose-built, semi-open arena and famous internationally for being the birthplace and home of the artist Marc Chagall.
We stayed in the 15-storey Luchesa Hotel. On checking-in & getting my immigration form stamped I went to my room – which was a symphony of blue – or maybe a rhapsody of blue. Whichever – the room was very blue.
I took advantage of some sunshine to have a quick look at Vitebsk. The hotel is a ten-minute walk from the city centre and Victory Square – which is huge and features the inevitable war memorial and statues of soldiers. Vitebsk is named after the Vitba River. The Dina River also flows through the city and is larger, but it seems that Belarus towns and cities are always named after the smaller river.
I made it back to the hotel before the weather turned again and ate at the hotel restaurant and then had a couple of beers at the hotel lobby bar.
Next morning we set off to explore the city – starting with the Summer Amphitheatre. Then we went for a walk around the restored old-quarter including the stunning Uspensky Cathedral and the lovely Holy Resurrection Church. It is a lovely area to walk around – with more restoration underway promising to bring restaurants and bars to liven up the atmosphere.
We had an appointment at the Marc Chagall Museum for 11.00. I subsequently discovered that many of our visits ran to a strict timetable and was probably the reason I wasn’t allowed anything as frivolous as coffee or lunch breaks. The museum is quite sweet – based in the house that Marc was born and grew up in. It was interesting to see how home life was for people in the 1890’s to the early 1900’s. After that we went to a gallery of his paintings and sketches. His early sketches are quite interesting in a cartoonish way – but his later work – oh dear. To my mind artists like him give art a bad name – pointless drivel – and having a guide describe each picture followed by a translation was painful. Eventually we got out of there and I was allowed a coffee break. I went mad and had two coffees. I needed them…
We left Vitebsk for the drive to Polotsk – about 110km.
Polotsk
Polotsk is the oldest recorded town in Belarus – founded in 862. On arriving in Polotsk we went to the St Sophia Cathedral – one of three with the others in Kiev and Novgorod – all based on the design of The Hagia Sophia in Constantinople. The Cathedral dates from the 11th century but was blown up on the orders of Peter the Great in 1710. The Polish re-built the Cathedral during 1738-1750 in a baroque style. Some remnants of the 11th century building still exist and we went down into the crypt to see the old walls and relics. The location of St Sophia’s on the banks of the Dina River is lovely and gives a commanding view of the area – similarly, St Sophia’s can be seen from afar. After that we went to the Convent of Saint Euphrosyne – which contains an incredible little 12th century chapel (the Church of the Holy Saviour) with floor to ceiling frescoes – really quite astonishing and pretty much original although it is undergoing some needed restoration now. The slightly larger church is the Church of the Transfiguration, built in 1842 and the largest is the Cathedral of the Exaltation of the Cross, built in 1897. It is a working convent – so you see lots of nuns scurrying around – amazing that it has survived and still going.
We continued into town and checked into the Hotel Dvina – where the receptionist had to staple a piece of paper to my immigration form with the requisite stamp and details. I was also given a breakfast coupon – which I subsequently lost but got a replacement. Fortunately the receptionist was very friendly and she spoke some English – bless her! I didn’t even get a withering look when I told her I’d lost my breakfast coupon. She just smiled and gave me another one.
The free Wi-Fi only worked in reception and then only intermittently.
June 1st is International Day for the Protection of Children – so there were hundreds of children and parents milling around the hotel reception and Svoboda Square. There were lots of attractions for children to play on and a stage where there was music and dancing.
All very jolly, if a bit chaotic.
The centre of Polotsk is quite attractive as the long Svoboda Square is tree-lined – it has the usual war memorial and statue of Lenin and something unusual: a memorial claiming to mark the geographical centre of Europe. Several countries have towns that make this claim – but it makes for an interesting landmark. Yuliya and I wandered around the town before heading back to the hotel and going our separate ways. I found a restaurant a short walk from the hotel that had a menu with English descriptions and pictures – it was quite good but then I was ravenous as it hadn’t been a lunch-day…
The weather had turned by the time I left the restaurant, so I stopped at the beer tent outside the hotel to shelter from the rain and have a couple of glasses of Zlaty Bažant – the Slovakian beer now brewed by Heineken in Belarus.
Next morning I took my breakfast coupon to the adjacent café. Here I was required to choose what I wanted to eat from a display cabinet and then a choice of tea or coffee. It wasn’t very inspiring – though the coffee was good. I had to pay for a second coffee, though…
Beers I tried while in Belarus:
Rechitska and Bobrov – owned by Heineken; Alivaria and Žateckŷ Gus (Zhatetsky Goose) – owned by Carlsberg; Lida Brewery (Lidskoe Pivo), owned by Olvi of Finland; Zolotaya Bochka – owned by Efes; Aleksandrya – brewed by Krinitsa, the state-owned brewery and largest producer of beer in Belarus. There is an emerging craft-beer sector, too. In posh places beers are around 6byr and normal places between 3 to 4byr – €1.50 to €2, which isn’t bad. The Belarusian word for beer is “piva” rather than “pivo”.
After breakfast we set off for the Berezinsky Reserve – about 120km from Polotsk. This involved driving back in the direction of Minsk on the M3 before turning off into the reserve. The M3 runs through the middle of the Reserve – which makes it a nice road to drive along as you have dense forest on either side.
On route we passed a memorial to a part of the “Stalin Line” – a chain of defensive installations along the border between eastern and western Belarus. The aim of the line was to protect Russia from Poland (those were the days). The Stalin Line was built between 1928 and 1939 at which point it became redundant as Russia gained western Belarus as part of the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact. There are still several places along the line that you can stop at and there is a Stalin Line Museum just outside Minsk.
The Reserve covers 82,000 hectares of which there are 11,000 hectares of un-drained peat bog – the largest peat bog in Europe. It is a patchwork of rivers and lakes as well as forest – making it a haven for wildlife such as bears, bison, deer, elk, lynx and wolves. It is also home to around 220 species of birds, including eagles. It is every bit as wonderful and beautiful as it sounds. The Reserve is managed and conserved in equal measure – with parts off-limits to visitors and no human interference beyond rangers keeping watch. It is both a UNESCO World Heritage site and a UNESCO Biosphere (www.berezinsky.by).
We stayed at the on-site Serguch Hotel. I checked-in and had yet another piece of paper attached to my immigration form and went up to my nice, airy room. I couldn’t get my iPhone to connect to the Wi-Fi – luckily the receptionist could but it was a bit slow and erratic. Still, I was in the middle of nowhere…
We had an appointment to visit the museum and a guide to take us around. The museum is essentially a collection of stuffed animals and birds – which are found in the Reserve but which you are unlikely to see. It was actually quite interesting. After that we went with another guide for a walk along a designated route in the forest. This guide spoke English – and was very amusing – it made a nice change to only hear things once. It was a nice walk and enabled me to get an idea of the scale of the Reserve and to see some of the peat bog. A few birds and lots of mosquitoes being the only wildlife we encountered, though…
Back to the hotel and lunch – after which Yuliya and I went for a horse ride. The ride was through a part of the forest where people are allowed, obviously, and very enjoyable.
There were hardly any people staying – so I was alone for dinner in the restaurant. Breakfast next morning was more sociable as I joined Victor and Yuliya. A waitress appeared and took our orders – though I can’t remember the choices, the breakfast was nice (that I do remember) and I was allowed more than one coffee… A long drive was ahead of us – 280km to Lida and then another115km to Grodno…
We got back onto the M3 (not a motorway) in the direction of Minsk, then headed west on the E28 in the direction of Vilnius before picking up the M6 to Lida and Grodno. On the E28 and first part of the M6 we drove through or near the Naliboki forest. According to Yuliya, this forest is the largest in Belarus but isn’t a national park and doesn’t seem to be protected in any way.
The forest is famous for having been the base of the Bielski brothers who led a group of partisans accredited with saving the lives of over 1,200 Jews during the war. The main river flowing through the forest is the Neman, from which the glass manufacturer Neman takes its name.
Yuliya mentioned the town of Ilye (Iŭje,) as we drove past it, which is famous for having a memorial commemorating four religions: Catholic, Islam, Jewish & Orthodox. Traditionally, the four places of worship would have faced each other around the town square. As Ilye is just a short diversion off the M6 and about 43km from Lida, I’m not sure why we couldn’t have stopped. As it was, we did have a break at a petrol station as Victor needed to refuel the Mercedes. The petrol station was new & surrounded by forest – so quite a nice location.
We even had coffee there!
Lida
On arrival in Lida we visited the Church of the Exultation of the Holy Cross – except that it was closed, presumably for renovation – so couldn’t go in. The church was built during the years 1765 to 1770 in a baroque style and is supposed to be lovely inside. The other main attraction in Lida is the castle – built in the 14th century by Grand Duke Gediminas. The design is reminiscent of the castle at Trakai, just outside Vilnius (www.trakai-visit.lt). It was listed as a protected monument in 1953 and restoration began in 1976. The exterior walls and towers have been restored or rebuilt as necessary. There isn’t much inside – in fact the interior wasn’t included in my tour. Yuliya was happy for me to go in and see what was there – so I paid the requisite 5byr and wandered in. They have created a little museum of life in the middle ages but there isn’t much apart from that. It would be easy to sneer but you have to keep reminding yourself that the fact that anything vaguely historical remains is a miracle and should be treasured. The locals are clearly proud of the castle – there were lots of people wandering around dressed in medieval costumes and stalls outside the castle selling colourful things (I didn’t look too closely).
After the castle we visited what could arguably be considered Lida’s greatest attraction – the Lida Brewery (www.lidskae.by), which was bought in 2008 by Olvi of Finland. Olvi also owns A Le Coq of Estonia and Warsteiner, which I didn’t know.
Anyway, Yuliya had promised a visit to the brewery the previous day – holding it out as a carrot to ensure I behaved. I tried their standard pilsner – which is a nice, light refreshing beer and something called Stari Zamak (old castle). I tried the Stari Zamak as Yuliya said it was her father’s favourite beer. It certainly has more depth of flavour – but then so it should as it is 6.2%abv.
Back in the van and on to Grodno – another 115km.
Murovanka
We stopped off at the village of Murovanka to visit an early 16th century fortified church. It suffered badly during the Russian-Polish war of 1657 and was damaged again on the orders of the Swedish King Charles XII. It was remodelled in the 1870’s and further restored in 2010. It is on a list for UNESCO World Heritage status along with two other fortified churches in Belarus.
Grodno
We arrived in Grodno (Hrodna) and checked into the Neman Hotel – right on the main square. My room was nice, light and airy with panoramic views over Sovetskya Square. I got another piece of paper added to my immigration form and another breakfast coupon. This time I didn’t lose the coupon. Hotel Neman has a beer cellar at one end of the building – so I went out and down into the cavern where I met a friendly waitress who spoke English. I ordered some food and had a couple of restorative beers. Then I went out into the sunshine to explore Grodno – by far the nicest city in Belarus and where, by some miracle, much of the historical centre has survived.
Under the rule of Grand Duke Vytautas, during the 14th century, Grodno acquired equal status with Vilnius and became the second capital in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The later Grand Duke Stefan Batory made Grodno his main residence during the 16th century. The 14th century old castle (stari zamak) was rebuilt in the 17th century, although what remains is much diminished.
The new castle (novi zamak) is adjacent to the old castle and is now a museum and library.
A model of the 17th century castle is on display in Mir Castle, of all places, so you can get an idea of how grand it must have been.
On Sovetskya Square is the stunning Jesuit Farny Cathedral. At the other end of the square is the hideous “Crown” theatre – the design supposedly emulating that of a crown – but it’s a clumsy, concrete, Soviet-era aberration. Opposite that is the Bernadine Church and Seminary – simply lovely inside, much more ornate than the exterior leads you to believe.
Near the castle is the Stauropegial (Stavropegial) Convent and Church of the Holy Nativity – which is a beautiful Orthodox nunnery – I’m not sure I was meant to go inside it…
A short walk on from the Convent is the Fire Station with watchtower. The Fire Station has been recently renovated and features a frieze depicting various firefighters – including one that looks suspiciously like Lukashenko and one whose face is that of the Mona Lisa – very droll. A bit further on you come to the very grand Synagogue that is still undergoing renovation.
Walking back to Sovjetska Square, I turned into Sovjetska Street – which is pedestrianised and lined with bars, cafes restaurants and shops. Wandering along there to the end and turning right brings you to the stunning Pakrouskaya Orthodox Church – glorious in pink and white. It has a twin in Brest – albeit the church in Brest is yellow and white. Near there is the grey and white Lutheran church – as sober inside as it is out.
Another gem is the 12th century Kalozha Church of St Boris and St Hleb. Kalozha (Kolozha) is the name of the area it is in. The church is a unique example of Eastern Orthodox architecture and has gained UNESCO World Heritage status.
Breakfast next morning was waitress-service and plentiful except that I had to pay for a second coffee. Then we went out for the tour of Grodno – covering the same ground as I had the previous evening. The difference being that this time I had Yuliya guiding me and telling me about the city, its history and the various monuments.
We even had time for an ice cream before leaving the city. Very nice sitting in the square watching the world of Grodno go by in the Sunday-morning sunshine…
Grodno is a gem: a lovely city to wander around and explore. The centre is reasonably compact and you’d struggle to get lost.
Ruzhany
On leaving Grodno we had another long drive ahead of us to Brest (300km) with a stop planned in Ruzhany. Ruzhany is a small town about 130km from Grodno and famous for its 17th century palace and castle, built by the Sapieha family. The castle was destroyed in the mid-17th century and rebuilt as a palace in the 1770’s in a mix of baroque and classical styles. The entrance was rebuilt in 2008 – so, from the road, it looks very impressive. Once through the façade, however, and all that is left are the ruins of the former palace. You get a good impression of how the palace once was – and you can wander around the site surrounded by the pretty Belarus countryside. We had a lovely guide to take us around the museum and the grounds. I suspect she spoke English; while she did her spiel in Belarusian I noticed that she corrected Yuliya’s translation of a couple of things…
As we had turned up a bit early for our guided tour of the palace we had time to wander around the little town first. We went to its two churches, the remains of the synagogue and the pretty town square with its wooden carved figures representing historical figures connected with the palace.
Interestingly there is another palace at Kosava (Kossovo), 26km from Ruzhany. Judging by the pictures on Google it looks to be in a better – or a more restored – condition than Ruzhany. The palace was built in 1838 and badly damaged by fire in 1944. But you can’t visit everything and Brest was still quite a long drive. According to Yuliya it is still being renovated – so a place to visit when I come back.
Brest
We arrived in Brest about 18.30 and checked-in to the Vesta hotel for two nights – this only required one piece of paper being added to my ever-growing immigration form. I went out to wander around Brest in the evening sunshine. I found the lovely Orthodox church of St Nicholas – resplendent in yellow with blue cupola. I never did get to go inside it as it was closed by the time I got there each evening. Brest also has the Orthodox Cathedral of St Simeon and another Orthodox church in the Brest fortress.
I quickly found the pedestrianised Sovjetska Street and wandered along it until I found Korova – a restaurant that looked quite nice and wasn’t too busy. It was a bit of a find: good food and good beer served by a friendly waitress – albeit we communicated with my limited Russian and menu-pointing…
Now, the first thing I noticed on entering Brest was the railway station. I had been led to believe that there is a “Stalin’s wedding cake” in every Soviet capital – so I was expecting one in Minsk. There isn’t one. There is one in Kiev, one in Warsaw – even one in Riga, not forgetting the seven (yes, seven) in Moscow. But nary a one in Minsk.
The closest you’re going to get in Belarus is the railway station in Brest – which is a miniature version of the “Palace of Culture and Science” – otherwise known by various names such as “Stalin’s wedding cake”; “Stalin’s middle finger” and a couple of others I won’t be mentioning…
Anyway, the station looks very grand and impressive – Yuliya told me that most tourists wanted to start their city tour at the station – such a dry sense of humour…
From there we went to the city centre and walked around before meeting up with Victor and driving off to Brest Fortress.
The fortress was built in the 1830’s – 1840’s at the confluence of the Bug and Mukhavyets rivers and the 4km² site is built around three artificial islands. It was captured in 1915 by the Germans; returned to the Poles in 1918 and given to the Russians in 1939. In 1941 Brest became one of the focal points of the German invasion. The plan was based around the by then familiar blitzkrieg but floundered due to the incredible heroics of the soldiers in the fortress who managed to stall the German advance by a month. While the Germans swept around the fortress not being able to take the fortress itself was a major distraction. The Brest Fortress was later awarded “Hero City” status. In the grounds are some huge, brutal memorials to the war, the siege and the heroics of those in the fortress. These memorials are very symbolic and jingoistic – but also very impressive in scale. In the fortress complex is the restored Orthodox Church of St Nicholas with its gleaming golden dome. The church survived the Soviet era as the officers’ mess.
Near to the “star” entrance to the fortress is an open air railway museum with lots of old locomotives on display and, a bit further on, the green Orthodox Cathedral of St Simeon (www.orthodox-world.org).
We left the city and headed out to the Belovezhskaya Pushcha – at over 3,000km² it contains the last remnants of the primeval forest that once covered Europe from the Baltic to the Black Sea. It is both a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a UNESCO Biosphere – with around 75% of the forest in Belarus and 25% in Poland (Białowieża Forest). There are tourist trails that you can drive or cycle along and a reserved area where there is no human intervention whatsoever (www.bp21.org.by)
Driving along some of the trails we saw an oak tree estimated to be around 600-years old and three pine trees that are over 350-years old. There aren’t many old trees left in the public bit of the forest as a logging concession was granted after WW1 but in the off-limits reserve there are many oak trees over 500-years old. That must be something to see.
By 1919 the European Bison was extinct in the wild in Europe – with only a few species in zoos remaining. As a result of captive breeding, reintroductions, benign introductions, and intensive conservation management, the total population of free-ranging bison in Europe now stands at around 1,800 (see: www.iucnredlist.org/details/2814/0). So I got to see some Bison – albeit in enclosures at both Berezinsky and here.
The only negative about Belovezhskaya Pushcha is that the bear enclosure is tiny. They have two fully-grown bears in meagre, concrete pens – while all the other animals in the zoo area have quite large, natural enclosures with grass and trees. The animals they have in this area of the park are there because they’ve been injured or abandoned when young – so I understand that – but there’s no reason why the bears can’t have some reasonable space. Really upsetting. On asking the guide about this she simply shrugged and said it was “a decision of the administration” – she had clearly been asked about this many times and was embarrassed about it. I did feel sorry for the guide; as it is clearly nothing to do with her.
To cheer me up, Yuliya said we could have a coffee. Cheap? Me?
We then went back to Brest where I wandered around some more and ate again at Korova.
Belovezhskaya Pushcha
Pinsk
Next morning we set off on the 180km journey to Pinsk. If a country goes to the trouble of calling a city “Pinsk” then the least a tourist can do is visit…
Pinsk is another old town, with records dating back to 1097 and gets its name from the Pina River. The city is built around the confluence of the Pina and the Pripyat rivers. Although Pinsk is in the Brest oblast, it is recognised as the capital of Polesie (Polesia). This region is famous for its swamps and marshes – one of the largest area of forests and marshes in Europe at over 65,000km².
see: http://www.ramsar.org/news/transboundary-wetlands-in-the-polesie-region-belarus-poland-ukraine
We started our tour of Pinsk with a visit to the museum, housed in the old Jesuit college and church – although you can’t see the church anymore as the Soviets blew it up in 1953….
The museum – on several floors – is quite interesting covering local life, history, culture, environment and – joy of joys – art. We had a nice guide, though, who took us around at a reasonable pace without feeling the need to explain everything in minute detail.
After that, we wandered along the river bank and looked over at the marshes and forest – very pretty. Heading back into town we stopped at the St Francis Monastery and the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Basilica – which is very beautiful inside and, unusually, I was able to take pictures.
We actually stopped for coffee – Yuliya even had a hot dog. Blimey! I was rendered almost speechless…
After walking around the town a bit more, seeing the old theatre (built in 1911) and passing a monument to Vera Zakharovna, a partisan heroine, we spied Victor sitting outside a café having a crafty coffee and lunch. The café is in what used to be the Hotel English, where Louise Arner Boyd the famous American explorer stayed when she visited Pinsk. She is credited with bringing the Polesie region to the world’s attention (www.distinguishedwomen.com).
So, taking advantage of this, I had another coffee…
Nesvizh
We left Pinsk and drove to Nesvizh – about 160km. At Nesvizh we were due to stay the night in the castle – part of which is a hotel. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The town was bought by the Radziwiłł family in the mid-16th century – back in the days when you could just buy a town – and the castle construction commenced in 1584. The Radziwiłł family stayed at Nesvizh until 1939 when they were expelled by the Red Army – their lives saved at the behest of the Americans.
We checked-in and I was taken to my room, which was off the main courtyard in the VIP wing (really? VIP?). My room was huge: a big entrance corridor leading to a big bathroom and a big living room with bedroom attached. The room had a kettle, two cups and some tea bags – no coffee – the only hotel to have such things during my entire stay in Belarus. I couldn’t get Wi-Fi despite the router in the room. I could only get Wi-Fi at reception – along with the peasants….
After I found the way out of my room and followed the trail of breadcrumbs back to reception, I met up with Yuliya and went for a tour of the town. There is a sweet entrance gate to the town – the last remaining. The puzzle was how to get to it as it sat in the middle of a roundabout with no crossings leading to it.
Now, this is Belarus and, like Germany, you don’t just cross the road wherever you fancy. You cross at zebra crossings or wait until the green figure is illuminated at controlled crossings. They have a system of fines here based on base-units. Yuliya wasn’t sure how much a base-unit is, currently – but the idea is that the fine for each infringement is based on a set number of these base units. So the fine for crossing the road illegally could be 2 base units or 20byr – I don’t know the exact figures but you get the idea. Anyway, we broke the law and crossed over to the roundabout. We did that twice, obviously – once to get on and again to get off.
That immigration officer was right to be suspicious about me…
There are lovely views over the lake and the park to the castle as we wandered (legally) back into the town and to the Corpus Christi Church – built between 1587-1593 and commissioned by Nicholas “the orphan” Radziwiłł. It is undergoing repairs at the moment but remains open and is beautiful inside. Again, the church survived thanks to American intervention. One of the Radziwiłł family was married to Lee Bouvier, Jackie Kennedy’s sister, and the priest got word to them of what the Soviets were planning. See: www.radziwill.com
That evening, on Yuliya’s recommendation, I ate at a very nice local restaurant (Skarbnitsa / Skarbnica) in the town square.
Breakfast was a bit curious. The three of us had breakfast in the restaurant in the VIP-bit and the choice was pancakes with cottage cheese or pancakes with chicken – plus tea or coffee. So I ordered the pancakes with chicken, assuming the chicken would be in a creamy mushroom sauce à la Findus. But no: two pancakes with dry pieces of chicken sprinkled with spring onion. We also got a bowl of porridge.
We then wandered off for a tour of the castle – which has been restored with rooms open to the public displaying period furniture and fittings as you would expect to see in a stately home in the UK. We had to put flimsy, plastic-film overshoes on over our normal shoes, though. Daft.
Mir
Mir is around 30km from Nesvizh and home to the impressive Mir Castle – a UNESCO World Heritage site. The castle fell conveniently into the hands of the Radziviłł family during the mid-14th century. The walls and towers appeared during the 1520’s but suffered during various battles in the mid-1600’s before a revival in the 1730’s turned it into a beautiful palace with ornate gardens.
As you go around the castle, visiting the rooms open to the public, you have to negotiate various staircases – some true to their early origins with big and uneven gaps between each step. I like to think I’m reasonably adept at stairs but I couldn’t keep pace with Svetlana, our guide, in her high heels who seemed to gallop up the stairs with the ease of a mountain goat. I would add with the grace of a mountain goat – but she was way ahead of me, so I couldn’t see – but we’ll take her gracefulness as read…
Bizarrely, we had to wear the same kind of plastic film slip-overs on our shoes as at Nesvizh.
It is a fascinating and beautiful castle and well worth visiting. In the grounds there is a pretty chapel, complete with family vault.
We walked from the town square up to the castle and on the way back stopped for coffee. The weather had not been kind that day – it was grey, wet and a bit miserable. But even in the dismal weather the castle is majestic.
Mir is named after the Miranka River, which flows through the town. The Russian word “mir” means “world” – hence the Mir Space Station.
And so back to Minsk, 90km away. A sad journey in a way as it meant that the adventure was nearing the end.
Strochicy
We dropped Yuliya off in the Minsk suburb where she lives and continued to the Hotel Belarus. I bade au revoir to Victor, went in and was given a room on the 19th floor with nice views and overlooking the on-site Emir Casino and Kotton karaoke club…
I went out to visit the War Museum – which is worth seeing. Visually impressive displays conveying the trauma and horror of war – while at the same time extolling the virtues of communism. In some ways quite jingoistic – there’s no acknowledgment of help or support from their allies – but then again, that’s how they see it. The memories and the vitriol of the Great Patriotic War seemingly alive and well.
I was a bit lazy and ate in the hotel restaurant on the 21st floor. It has great views over the city and the restaurant has a posh air but doesn’t deliver. The food is average – the service from the young waitresses a bit random – and it is expensive for what it offers – though no more than you’d expect from a hotel. The restaurant does well with lots of businessmen sealing their deals over copious shots of vodka. I should have been more adventurous.
At around one in the morning I remembered the main drawback to Hotel Belarus: the disco cum karaoke that blares out from the casino & its bars. The racket continues until 05.00.
Fortunately a late start had been scheduled for my last full day in Minsk. Victor and Yuliya arrived at 10.30 for our visit to the Belarusian State Museum of Folk Architecture and Rural Life (to give it its full title) in Strochicy. This outdoor museum, in the style of a Skansen museum (after the outdoor museum in Skansen near Stockholm), is about 6km from the centre of Minsk.
Interestingly, both Yuliya and the lady I met at Hotel Belarus on my first night recommended this place over the Dudutki Folk Museum that was on my itinerary. The Dudutki Folk Museum is recommended in both the Bradt and Lonely Planet guides but both women were fairly scathing of it. Yuliya was happy to switch and so, off to Strochicy we went.
The Museum of Rural Life was started in 1976 and was supposed to contain 250 exhibits – but they must have been overcome by inertia as they only have 40. The rural setting is lovely but the three recreated villages are quite far apart and really it was a huge disappointment.
So I am left wondering if I should have gone to Dudutki instead. Dudutki is 35km south of Minsk and has been created as an open air museum and working farm with functioning workshops. They have a blacksmith, a bakery, a cheese maker and so on where you can buy things – plus they have vintage cars on display, a small zoo and various rides. The reason for the ladies’ disdain is that the buildings are all new and maybe they feel it is too commercial. It would be possible to do both in one day but that’s not what I had booked – so I’m left wondering which one would have been more interesting.
Minsk
Then, while writing this, I discovered the existence of the Zaslavl History and Heritage Museum Reserve, which is about 30km from Minsk.
Zaslavl, one of the most ancient towns of Belarus, will turn 1,030 years in 2015. Its history is connected with the tragic fate of the Polotsk Princess whose family was destroyed by the husband, Kiev Prince Vladimir. After the failed attempt to avenge, Rogneda, who became the first Belarusian Christian, returned to the homeland. A new town was built for her and her son Izyaslav who was called prince the bookman for his wisdom. Today, the museum-reserve brings together more than a hundred hectares of the ancient part of Zaslavl, specimens of history and architecture: the ancient settlement Zamechak (10th-11th centuries), burial mounds of the 10th -11th centuries, ancient settlement Val, Holy Transfiguration Church (formerly a Calvinist church), a Roman-Catholic church of the 18th century, a palace and park ensemble…
Anyway, we went back to the hotel where, sadly, I had to say goodbye to Yuliya and then went off to see a bit more of Minsk.
First stop was lunch and I found a very nice restaurant in the Trinity area – good food and friendly service from the waiter and waitress who both spoke some English.
After lunch I just went walkabout – Minsk is a nice city to walk around. It seemed safe and friendly – it’s quite flat and easy to get your bearings.
Next morning, having been serenaded by the drunken karaoke crowd and checked-out of the hotel, Victor picked me up for the drive to the airport. My flight was at 14.05 and Victor collected me at 11.00 – so the timing was comfortable – in fact we got there a bit early as check-in didn’t start until 12.30. Check-in was easy and straightforward. I was due to fly with Belavia to Warsaw with an onward LOT connection to Heathrow. I got both boarding cards and my bag was checked right through.
Security was the same shambles it is at every airport I’ve ever been to – but everyone was body-scanned, which is more efficient than Heathrow – except that everyone was then patted-down afterwards…
Passport control, however, is where Minsk National Airport comes into its own. It was very slow. There was an Iraqi Airways flight to Baghdad and for whatever reason the passport controllers took forever with these passengers. I shuffled from queue to queue and finally settled on one that did seem to be moving. When it finally came to my turn I was faced with another grim lady who went through the same ridiculous pantomime as on entry, including the shenanigans with a magnifying glass.
I had time for a coffee and bought some water before boarding. The flight was on time; it took about an hour and ten minutes and was perfectly fine.
Warsaw, on the other hand was a nightmare. I went through transit security and then passport control and then there was another passport control, which was chaos. No queues – just a scrum. I assumed that the systems were down but they weren’t. After much pushing and shoving and fraying tempers all around I got through with five minutes to spare.
The flight was delayed as we waited for the last passengers to board – so took-off about 30-minutes late. But then LOT confounded me by landing two minutes early and arriving at a gate near immigration.
All forgiven!
I really like Belarus – it is a much friendlier country than I was expecting and much prettier – with so much forest and open countryside.
Yuliya was a lovely guide and Victor a great driver – imagine an unshaven Robert de Niro and he’d be a dead ringer for Victor – we got along well all week and they helped to make the trip enjoyable and memorable.
Everything ran like clockwork – I joke about the lack of coffee and lunch breaks – but we had a lot of ground to cover each day and Yuliya and Victor ran to a timetable that ensured we got where we were supposed to be on time. I enjoyed being driven around Belarus – a great way to see the country and the Mercedes Viano was comfortable. The food was good throughout; all the hotels had free Wi-Fi – albeit a bit erratic in places – and everyone was friendly. The hotels were also fine – the caveat about Hotel Belarus aside: get a room facing away from the casino. Hotels generally are of Soviet-standard – just accept them for what they are and immerse yourself in local life. They helped to create the right atmosphere for the holiday.
Although Warsaw is probably the easiest and most logical routing it is worth considering either Austrian Airlines or Lufthansa until the Poles sort out passport control for non-Schengen departures. Belavia currently only fly to Gatwick three times a week.
I had a lovely time in Belarus – country 110 – and it was another great adventure. I have more to see in Minsk as well as visiting; Zaslavl; Kosava; learning about the “Old Believers” in Vetka, near Gomel and I’m sure there’s even more. It’s a nice feeling coming away from your first visit to a country knowing that there are things to come back and see…. www.belarus.by
As is often the way, I came back home having learned something about the UK that I didn’t know. Yuliya showed me a picture of the Belarus memorial chapel in Woodside Park, north London. It is the first wooden church to have been built in London since the Great Fire of London in 1666. See: www.belaruschurch.org.uk
Yuliya told me that Michael Marks, co-founder of M&S was born in Slonim, Belarus. I had been led to believe that he was Polish. Yuliya also told me that there is a Marc Chagall window in Chichester Cathedral and that All Saints Church in Tudeley, Kent has several Marc Chagall windows.
Yuliya and I are still in touch via the wonders of Facebook and WhatsApp…
Woodside Park, London
