Holiday in Minsk

About Minsk

Minsk is the capital of Belarus and one of the best-preserved Soviet cities in the world — a place where the monumental architecture of the Stalin era is preserved in a cohesion that is unmatched even in Russia. The city was 80% destroyed in World War II and rebuilt as a Soviet ideal city: The Prospekt Nezavisimosti (Independence Avenue), a 15-kilometer-long boulevard, is lined with Stalinist grand buildings, whose facades bear hammers, sickles, and socialist reliefs — an open-air museum of the USSR. The Old Town (Troitskoye Predmestye) on the banks of the Svislach River is the exception: a small, restored district with pastel-colored Baroque buildings, cobblestones, and cafés, which gives a glimpse of pre-war Minsk. The Cathedral of the Holy Spirit with its white Baroque towers is the most photogenic view of the city. The Belarusian State Museum of the Great Patriotic War (opened in 2014 in a spectacular new building) is one of the most impressive war museums in the world: The losses of Belarus in World War II — one in four inhabitants died — are documented in a way that leaves one speechless. The people of Minsk are warm, the city is extremely clean and safe, and the price level is far below Western European standards. Minsk is not a classic tourist destination — and that is exactly its charm. **Note:** Due to the political situation in Belarus, there are entry restrictions and security concerns. Please check current travel advisories from the Foreign Office.