Big Brest and Brest region Guide: top 10 places to visit

Brest is one of the oldest cities in Belarus. It was founded by the Slavs. Brest was first mentioned as the city of Berestye in the Novgorod First Chronicle around 1017. According to the 2021 census, 340,318 people live in Brest. There are 1.338 million people living in the Brest region.

According to the total number of inhabitants, the Brest region is the 3rd place after Minsk and Gomel region. Also, 19.6% of the rural population of the whole of Belarus live here. The largest cities of the Brest region after Brest are Baranovichi, Pinsk and Kobrin.

Among the famous sights of Brest are The St. Nicholas Garrison Cathedral, Winter Garden, Belarus cinema, Rowing canal, Nemtsevich Manor.

In this article we will tell you about the most important historical places of Brest and the Brest region, as there are a large number of monuments of different eras of Belarus.

Brest

Alley of Lanterns

Address: Brest, Gogol Street

Gogol Street is a pedestrian street with 41 forged lanterns. The Alley of Lanterns was opened in 2013. The lanterns belong to companies that have agreed to decorate the city at their own expense. At the foot of each lantern, you can see a symbolic star with the name of the company that gave it to the city.

All lanterns have different themes and designs. Near the monument to the writer Gogol, after whom the street is named, there are several lanterns on the subject of his works. Gogol Street occupies almost 3 km, so here you can take a good walk and slowly examine each lantern.

Sovetskaya Street

Address: Brest, Sovetskaya Street

Sovetskaya Street is the main central street of the city. It begins near the St. Nicholas Fraternal Church. There are many cafes, branded shops, a cinema, pharmacies, hairdressers. The most valuable asset of Sovetskaya Street is the picturesque facades and roofs of houses.

At the intersection of Sovetskaya and Ostrovsky streets there stands an Old Lantern monument. An order on the establishment of the position of a lamplighter, who is obliged to light lanterns every day, 'as the sun sets', is written on a boulder stone in Old Russian. The clock next to it indicates the time at which the rite should be performed.

Every evening at the specified time, a lamplighter in an old uniform appears on Sovetskaya Street. He puts a ladder to the lantern, shrugs and lights the first fire. When the last lantern is lit, colored garlands light up on the street. Therefore, the street looks more mysterious at night than during the day.

Brest: history and museums

Brest Fortress

Address: Brest, Hierojaŭ Abarony Street 60

The Brest Fortress was built in 1883. This fortress is a symbol of the feat of the Soviet people and has the title of Hero Fortress. In 1941, after an unexpected attack by the German invaders, which marked the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the fortress was defended for more than a month.

Now there are several expositions and several museums operating on the territory of the fortress, as well as guided tours. On the Justarrived.by website we already published a detailed article about the Brest fortress. Be sure to read it before visiting.

Berestye Archaeological Museum

Address: Brest, Krepostnoy Proyezd 15

Opening hours: Tue-Sun from 10am to 6pm

Tickets: from BYN5.

The Berestye Museum is located near the Brest Fortress, but these objects are not connected. This is the only museum of the medieval East Slavic city in the world. It is located on the site of the ancient city of Berestye (modern Brest).

Excavations at this site were finished in 1981. More than 220 buildings of the XI-XIII centuries were found here. Now there are 28 wooden buildings of those times in the center of the museum pavilion. Moreover, in the exhibition halls there are about 1200 objects telling the history of Ancient Brest.

Nature and recreation in the Brest region

Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Park

Address: Kamenyuki village, Pushchanskaya Street

How to get there: by train from Minsk to Brest. Buses to Belovezhskaya Pushcha run daily from the Brest central railway station.

Belovezhskaya Pushcha is the most famous national park of Belarus. This is the largest relict of the primitive lowland forest, which in prehistoric times grew on the territory of Europe. There is a biosphere reserve created within the framework of the UNESCO program. Here in the natural habitat you can meet a European bison. This animal is a symbol of Belarus.

The park has everything for recreation: several hotels that can be booked on the website, car routes, cycling and hiking ecological trails, a nature museum. The Estate of the Belarusian Santa Claus is also located here. If you have a visa, you can visit the Polish part of Belovezhskaya Pushcha.

On the Justarrived.by website you can also find a detailed article about interesting facts and the structure of Belovezhskaya Pushcha.

Brest region: historical places

Tower of Kamyenyets

Address: Kamyenyets, Lenina Street 3a

Opening hours: Wed-Sun from 9:15am to 5:15pm

Tickets: from 5BYN (free admission every second Wednesday of the month).

How to get there: by bus Brest—Belovezhskaya Pushcha, Brest—Pruzhany, Brest—Kamenyuki, Brest—Belaya Vezha, sanatorium. The stop name is Kamenetskaya Tower.

The Tower of Kamyenyets, 35 meters high — is a defense guard structure. The tower was built in 1288. In Belarus, such towers were used as viewing platforms. The internal area of the tower is 312 square meters, so it could accommodate about 300 people. There are loopholes on each floor of the tower. The last tier of the tower is the highest, more than 7 meters. From here, a staircase in the wall leads to the observation deck on the roof.

Now the tower houses a museum with household items of local town and things telling about the history of the tower. There is also an exhibition hall with weapons. Several thematic excursions are held in the Tower of Kamyenyets, and you can see a virtual panorama of the ancient town.

Ruzhany Palace

Address: Ruzhany village, Urbanovicha Street 15a

Tickets: from BYN4.

How to get there: the Brest—Lida bus goes from the Brest centeral bus station to the Ruzhany bus stop.

Ruzhany Palace is the former residence of the most influential Belarusian Sapieha dynasty. The building of the palace began in 1602 during the life of Lew Sapieha, who was the chancellor of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The palace was so richly furnished that there were underground passages leading to another palace of the Puslovskys family (Kosava Castle).

In the 1920s, the Ruzhany Palace was destroyed due to a fire. Now only one part of the palace is restored where the museum is open. In the museum you can see fragments of interiors of those times and historical objects.

In Ruzhany there are also original temples of different years of construction: The Peter and Paul Orthodox Church, the Catholic Church of the Holy Trinity and the Church of St. Cazimir.

Kosava Castle

Address: Puslovsky Palace, Kosava

Opening hours: Wed-Sun from 10am to 18pm

Tickets: from BYN5.

How to get there: by intercity buses and commuter trains to Ivatsevichi station. A taxi runs from Ivatsevichi to Kosava, which can be ordered by phone 8029 7287001.

Kosava Castle was built in 1830 on lands acquired by Kazimir Puslovsky. During the Second World War, the palace was set on fire by partisans to drive away the German army that occupied it. In the fire, the rich decoration of the castle and many rooms burned down entirely. In 2007, with the support of UNESCO, the restoration of the castle began, which is scheduled to be completed in 2023.

Now, in addition to the museum, a hotel, a restaurant and a marriage registry office are open in the palace, as this place is popular for weddings.

Tadeusz Kosciuszko Museum

Address: Tadeusz Kosciuszko Museum, Kosava

Opening hours: Wed-Sun from 10am to 18pm

Tickets: from BYN3.

In Kosava you can visit one more museum. Opposite the Kosava Palace, on the shore of the lake is located the house-museum of the famous Polish military and political figure Tadeusz Kosciuszko. He was born on the territory of Belarus and is awarded titles of the national hero of Poland, the United States hero and an honorary citizen of France.

The manor was built in 1720. In each room of the house there are expositions with personal belongings and interesting exhibits. There is also a basement in which the stone floor, niches in the walls have been preserved since those times and were cleared during archaeological excavations. There are guided tours in the museum.

Cities of the Brest region

Pinsk

Address: Brest region, Pinsk city

Pinsk is considered the unofficial capital of the Belarusian Polesie. This region lays in the Polesie lowland, which occupies about 30% of the country's territory. Since Pinsk has been the economic center of Belarus for many centuries, there are many preserved churches, temples, palaces and beautiful residential buildings. There is a wooden building of the river station on the Pina River, which was part of the long river route between the Baltic and Black Seas.

Pinsk has the oldest Jesuit Collegium in Belarus, where now the museum is located. You can also visit The St. Barbara's Church,The Church of Charles Borromey,The Pinsk Synagogue,The Butrimovich 's Palace and The house of the composer Nikolai Orda.

The main attraction of Pinsk is The Franciscan monastery, founded in 1396. On the territory of the monastery is the Cathedral of the Ascension of the Blessed Virgin Mary, where the Pinsk Madonna painting by Alfred Roemer is kept. The oldest functioning organ of Belarus from 1836 also stands here. This cathedral is one of three in Belarus with the honorary title of basilica minor, which is awarded by the Pope in recognition of the importance and great significance of the temple.

We wish you the best time travelling around Belarus!

Photo: ria.ru