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Minsk
About Minsk
Minsk is the capital of the Belarus and is situated in the center of Europe. Minsk is not the most interesting destination for the modern tourist. Few historic sights have survived World War II and most of today’s architecture is dominated by Soviet-era architecture.
Local highlights
Explore the city
- Victory Square-the centre of Minsk
- Gorky Park-the city's oldest with the enormous Ferris Wheel
- Island of Tears a memorial of the war in Afghanistan with a footbridge leading to the Old Town
- On the Svisloch, near Storozhevskaya
- Troitskoe Predmestiye or the Old Town with cobblestoned streets
- Stalinist city centre with the statue of Lenin, Government House (1934) and Belarusian State University building, Main Post Office (1953) and GUM Department Store (1951), the October Square (Oktyabrskaya Ploschad) with the Trade Unions Palace of Culture (1954)
- Svisloch river-take a stroll along its banks
- Victory Square (Ploshad Pobedy)-in the middle of downtown with the Worldwar II monument and underground 'Victory Hall'
- Jewish Memorial-reminding that once more than 50% of Minsk was Jewish (today less than 1%)
Explore its museums and historical sights, such as
- Cathedral of the Holy Spirit with the two-towers in downtown area
- Church of St. Simon and Helena-the 'Red Church', the city's best-known Catholic church
- The Mariinsky Cathedral
- Museum of the Great Patriotic War
- Ancient Belarusian Culture Museum
Highlights in the vicinity
- Museum of Folk Architecture in Ozertso
- Kurgan Slavy Memorial Complex-World War II memorial 30km north of Minsk, at junction of Moscow and Minsk II highways
Good to know
- No. of inhabitants: 1.8 Million
- Timezone: UTC +2
- Weather:Cold winters with mean temperatures of -5°C and moderate summers with mean temperatures of 17 °C
- Police tel.nr. 02
- Travel to Belarus can be hard with Belarusian border officials procedures that might get on your nerves and can take up to a day
- Tourist information office is a state run tourist agency, Belintourist, attached to the Yubileynaya Hotel
Local transport
- Taxis-negotiate on the price in advance
- Metro-2 lines cover central Minsk
- Trams, Trolleybuses and Buses-during peak hours these are crowded
Inbound transport
- Nearest airport: The National Airport Minsk is the international airport 50km from the city, with a taxi service to Minsk. Minsk-1 is located just south of the city centre and has mostly domestic flights.
- Train-the brand new station is in the centre of town
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