Big Gomel and Gomel region Travel Guide: top 10 places to visit

Gomel is the second city in Belarus by population (503,984 people as of January 1, 2022). Gomel was first mentioned in the chronicles of 1142. Some researchers believe that its name came from the Old Slavic version of the words "hill, hillock". This may be true. But plain terrain prevails in Gomel, so it will not be difficult to walk through the streets of the city. The Sozh River flows in Gomel. There is an embankment for walking and the largest pedestrian bridge in Belarus.

The main attraction of the Gomel region is its nature. There are 4 large rivers flowing here: Dnipro, Sozh, Pripyat, Berezina. This is the most plain and warm region of Belarus, also known for its marshes in the Belarusian Polesie, which also includes the Brest region.

As of January 1, 2022, 1,357,897 people lived in the Gomel region. It is one of the most highly developed industrial regions of the country. All Belarusian oil and gas production is carried out here. Solar II power plant has also been built here, in the village of Sobol in the Braginsky district.

Gomel

In Gomel, you can visit Ice Sports Palace, Museum of Printing and Photography, Vashchenko Art Gallery,St. Nicholas Monastery, pedestrian Bauman Bridge, embankment of the Sozh River. We will tell you about three historical places of the city.

The Rumyantsev-Paskevich Residence in Gomel

Address: Gomel, Lenina Square 4

Opening hours:

Tue-Fri from 11am to 7pm
Sat-Sun from 10am to 6pm

Tickets: from BYN7.

The construction of the palace began in 1785. It was 10 years after Russian Empress Catherine the Great presented these lands to her favorite Count Peter Rumyantsev and allocated funds for the construction of the palace, which lasted 9 years. The improvement of the palace was greatly influenced by its second owner Nikolai Rumyantsev, who was a well-known collector. In Gomel, he kept part of a huge collection of books, which formed the basis for the creation of the Russian State Library in Moscow. In 1834, one of the descendants of Count Pyotr Rumyantsev sold the palace to the treasury, and later the commander Ivan Paskevich bought these possessions. He rebuilt the palace, which is now named after its two famous owners.

Today, the Rumyantsev-Paskevich Palace houses a museum with restored interiors from the time of the construction. The palace itself is located on the territory of the park, which we will tell you about below.

Palace and Park Ensemble in Gomel

Address: Gomel, Lenina Square 4

Opening hours: Mon-Sun from 6am to 11pm

This is a large park with a lake. It is located on the territory that used to belong to the Rumyantsev estate. The main attractions of the park are the ancient settlement of the X—XVIII centuries, the palace, the Peter and Paul Cathedral, the chapel-tomb of the Paskevich family and the Winter Garden.

Peter and Paul Cathedral was built in 1819 and belongs to the possessions of Count Rumyantsev. Now it is an functioning temple. The chapel-tomb of the Paskevich family was built next to the cathedral in 1889. The remains of eight members of the Paskevich family were brought here. The tomb is build in pseudo-Russian style and resembles a small fairy-tale tower or castle.

A Winter garden is based on a greenhouse owned by Paskevich. In 1877, it began to be transformed into a Winter garden in the tower of the old sugar factory. Now the garden has a collection of 18 species of subtropical flora. The height of the tower is 40 meters, there is an observation deck at the top.

Vietka Folk Art Museum in Gomel

Address: Gomel, Lenina Square 4

Opening hours: from 9:30am to 6pm

Tickets: from BYN3.

The branch of the Vietka Folk Art Museum is located near the Rumyantsev Palace in the park. The exhibits of the museum are folk art of all directions. This includes towels, national clothes, handmade books and icons. The exposition is divided into 4 large sections: "A thing as a text of spiritual culture", "A Masterpiece", "A living craft" and "A Man of Tradition". This is the best place to get acquainted with the folk art of Belarus, as it is represented here as widely as possible.

Gomel region

The largest cities of the Gomel region are Gomel, Mazyr, Zhlobin, Rechytsa, Svietlahorsk. There are important places of the past and modern Belarus in Zhlobin, Mazyr and Rechytsa.

Koziell-Poklewski Estate in Zhlobinsky district

Address: Zhlobinsky district, Krasny Bereg town, Isaeva Street 13

Opening hours: Mon-Sun from 8am to 5pm

Tickets: from 5BYN, excursions are available.

How to get there: the Gomel—Zhlobin train goes from Gomel to Zhlobin. You can get to Krasny Bereg from Zhlobin by trains Zhlobin—Osipovichi-1, Zhlobin—Bobruysk, Zhlobin—Rabkor. From Krasny Bereg station, the estate can be reached on foot in 30 minutes.

The Krasny Bereg Estate is the only Belarusian estate in the design of which the Moorish style was used. Wikientij Koziell-Poklewski built the estate in 1893 for his wife.

The house itself, outbuildings, a distillery and an English-style park have survived to our time. The exterior of the manor house is decorated with tower tents, mansard roofs, gargoyle figures built into the main entrance. The estate has 36 rooms decorated in 12 different styles.

Today a museum is open in the estate. You can walk around the territory and the English park on your own, or take a guided tour to learn the history of the estate.

Mazyr

The cities of Mazyr and Rechytsa are considered the main oil-producing city of Belarus. The Mozyr Oil Refinery produces gasoline, bitumen and paraffin here. The Druzhba oil pipeline is laid not far from the city.

Mazyr Castle

Address: Mazyr, Gora Kommunarov Street 8

Opening hours: Tue-Sun from 10am to 7pm (Monday from 11am)

Tickets: from BYN3, there are excursions.

How to get there: you can get from Gomel to Mazyr by bus.

Mazyr Castle is a defensive fortress, which is the historical center of ancient Mozyr. A city appeared here around 1155. The first mention of the fortress was in 1519, when residential and commercial buildings, a palace, a church, three towers and a well were located here. In 1649, the fortress fell under the onslaught of Janusz Radziwill, who captured the city and burned the fortress to the ground.

The reconstruction of the old buildings began in 2005. Today it is a whole museum complex, where you can visit the castle towers, the pavilion-chapel, viewing platforms with various exhibits of those times.

Rechytsa

How to get there: several trains and buses travel from Gomel in the direction of Rechytsa.

There are several historical places to visit in Rechytsa: Holy Trinity Church, chapel of Euphrosyne of Polotsk, Museum of Local Lore.

Alexander Isachev Art Gallery in Rechytsa

Address: Rechytsa, Naberezhnaja Street 11

Opening hours: Tue-Sun from 10am to 7pm

Tickets: from BYN1,4, excursions are available.

Alexander Isachev is a Soviet classicism artist who was born and lived in Rechytsa. His first solo exhibition was held here, which was visited by 20 thousand people. He created about 500 paintings, most of which were exported to Sweden, Germany, France, Israel and the USA.

There are two exhibition halls in the art gallery. One of them presents a permanent exhibition of the original works of Alexander Isachev. This is the only collection of his works owned by the state.

The second hall hosts contemporary Belarusian and Russian artists paintings exhibitions.

Historical Belarus

Ancient Turov Complex

Address: Turov, Kirova Street 21

Opening hours: Tue-Sun from 9am to 6pm

Tickets: from BYN2, excursions are available.

How to get there: from Gomel by train or bus to the city of Zhytkavichy. Buses run from Zhytkavichy to Turov.

Turov is a small town with a rich history. The ancient East Slavic tribe of the Dregovichi lived on its territory. In the X century they founded the Turov Principality, where in 1005 the first diocese in Ancient Russia appeared — then the city became one of the centers of Christianity. The oldest Belarusian book called "The Turov Gospel" was written here.

The Ancient Turov Complex is an archaeological museum. It was built on the site of a destroyed temple, over which a glass dome was set up. In the museum you can see how the city looked before. And also what its inhabitants did: there is an extensive collection of devices for handicrafts.

Yurovichi: settlement of primitive men

Address: Yurovichi village, Sovetskaya Street

Opening hours: Tue-Su from 8:30am to 5pm (break from 1pm to 1:30pm)

Tickets: from BYN3, there are excursions.

Yurovichi is a small village. According to archaeological data, the first people on the territory of Belarus settled here about 26 thousand years BC. Their settlement, the oldest in Belarus, was discovered here in 1929. During the excavations, oval-shaped dwellings with a length of 4-6 meters were found. Mammoth bones were also found nearby which served as the frame of houses, as well as stone tools.

Today there is an open-air museum here. In addition to the primitive settlement in Yurovichi, you can visit the Jesuit Collegium (GPS 51.946381, 29.525755).

Modern Belarus

Rahachov

How to get there: from the bus station in Gomel to Rahachov, you can take a bus which runs several times a day.

The city of Rahachov is a place where one of the two most famous Belarusian condensed milk is produced. Therefore, the first thing you should do is visit the store of the dairy cannery and buy the freshest condensed milk.

Address: Rahachov, Lenina Street 123

Opening hours: from 8am to 9pm

Near the Rahachov Dairy Plant there is located a symbolic sculpture — a giant can of condensed milk. It was installed in 2013 in honor of the 75th anniversary of the plant.

A little more than 30 thousand people live in the city, so it is small enough to walk around in a day. You can also visit Castle Hill and the House of the merchant Belenkaga.

Natural places of Gomel region

Pripyat National Park

Address: Gomel region, Lyaskovichi

How to get there: it's easier to get to the park by car. You can also get from Gomel to Zhytkavychi city by train or bus, from there take a taxi to Lyaskovichi.

The park is located on the territory of the Pripyat Polesie — the largest forest-swamp complex in Europe. There are several rivers, forests, swamps, plains and hills. Due to the diversity of the landscape, a unique flora grows on that territory.

In the park you can do hunting, fishing and eco-tourism. There are four functional zones on the territory. The most important is the central zone, which includes a large sector of marshes with mineral hills. Birds live here. In the protected area, you can walk through the forest, picking mushrooms and berries. In the northern part of the park there are areas for tourism and recreation. There are also places for staying.

There are several types of excursions in the park, including safari and an open-air nature museum. On the website you can see the prices and conditions.

Take a look at our other guides on Belarus:

Photo: wndrs.me