Trinity suburb description. Trinity suburb. Interesting objects and stories. Museums in Trinity Suburb
Trinity Suburb Minsk is undoubtedly the most beautiful urban area not only of the capital, but of the whole of Belarus. It is located on the left bank of the Svisloch River. The name Trinity Suburb comes from the Trinity Church once founded by King Jagiello.
The construction of the Trinity Suburb (Trinity Mountain) began in the 12th century. Medieval Minsk grew with suburbs. A wealthier crowd settled in the Trinity Suburb. In the XIV-XV centuries, the administrative center of the city was even located here. After receiving the Magdeburg Law and building the town hall, the Trinity Suburb lost its status as the main district of Minsk.
In the 16th-17th centuries, earthen ramparts were built around the Trinity Suburb and ditches filled with water were dug. The area acquired the status of an important defensive fortified place.
Until the 19th century, Trinity Suburb was considered a suburb of Minsk, and the houses in it were wooden. In the 19th century, the suburb became part of the city. Its center was considered the Trinity Market, on the site of which it is now built Opera theatre and a square.
The Trinity Suburb acquired its current appearance thanks to a severe fire in 1809, when all the wooden buildings burned down. The mayors decided to demolish the remains of the foundations and build new city blocks in accordance with the canons of classical development, when the streets had to intersect at right angles, forming rectangular blocks. The houses were adjacent to each other, forming a single facade. The high tiled roofs of houses with attics and attics gave the Trinity Suburb a unique flavor.
Now the Trinity Suburb has been reconstructed, repaired and landscaped. It looks attractive at any time of the year, at any time of day and in any weather thanks to the famous tiled roofs, multi-colored facades and modern dynamic lighting (changing colors like dancing fountains).
Pictured is Trinity Suburb in Minsk.
It’s probably difficult to find a place in Minsk that would be better known to tourists than Trinity Suburb. This business card city, the image of which can be found on postcards, stamps, souvenirs, and on some banknotes.
Trinity Suburb - historic district the city of Minsk, located in the northeastern part historical center on the left bank of the Svisloch River. Its cozy streets and houses painted in soft colors with tiled roofs have become a kind of symbol of Minsk, imprinted on souvenirs and sweets. It was once the trade and administrative center of the capital of Belarus.
Name Trinity Suburb arose in the 15th century from the Church of the Holy Trinity, which was once located here, founded by the great. Around the 14th century, on Trinity Hill, the Holy Ascension Monastery, which has not survived to this day, was built with a wooden church of the same name, on the site of which Anton Maslyanka built a stone church in 1620. The suburb itself in the 16th century. It was built up with wooden houses and connected to the city by a bridge.
This suburb was considered a suburb of Minsk for a long time, and became part of the city only in the 19th century. The suburb was inhabited mainly by people of the middle class: military men, artisans, merchants, and peasants.
- Location: Bogdanovicha street
- Year of construction: XVII-XIX centuries; XX century
- Style: classicism, eclecticism
Map of Trinity Suburb
Photos of Trinity Suburb
Trinity Suburb is a picturesque medieval quarter on the banks of the Svisloch River in the very center of Minsk. Cozy streets and stylized houses with tiled roofs in the Trinity Suburb have become one of the main symbols of the capital, today representing part of the historical reconstruction of Minsk.
A little history
The name of the suburb most likely comes from Trinity Church, founded by Grand Duke Jagiello. By the way, this was the first Catholic church in Minsk. Another version indicates the existence toponym "Trinity Mountain", from which the suburb received its name. The settlement of Trinity Mountain arose in the 12th-13th centuries. on a hill near the Svisloch River. In ancient times the suburb was shopping center, where roads from Vilno, Polotsk, Smolensk, Mogilev intersected, and from the end of the 16th century, the city’s largest trading platform, the Trinity Market, was located here.
The suburb was built up with wooden houses in which artisans, traders, peasants and military men lived. The ancient layout of the suburb disappeared at the beginning of the 19th century. after a big fire and was restored in stone. In the 30-60s of the twentieth century, individual buildings of the suburb and entire streets were destroyed. In the 1980s and early 2000s, restoration work was carried out to recreate the architectural appearance of Minsk.
Trinity Suburb today
In 2004 it was started historical reconstruction Trinity Suburb, which over time was included in the Old Town complex. After restoration it turned into a natural museum under open air, where you can see stone buildings from the 19th century. In 2009, the square where the market was located several centuries ago received the historical name Trinity Mountain. The National Academic Opera and Ballet Theater of Belarus, built in the 1930s, is also located here.
What to visit and where to go? Top 10 Must-See
Trinity Suburb is a tourist mecca of the Belarusian capital, where you can see what Minsk looked like several centuries ago, as well as get acquainted with cultural heritage Minsk. So, we present to you Top 10 Must-See.
Living room of Vladislav Golubok
Trinity Suburb is a small museum island. And the first such object is a branch of the Museum of the History of Theater and Musical Culture of Belarus called "". Do you want to know about the theatrical life of the 20th century, as well as the fate and Interesting Facts from the life of the first People's Artist of the BSSR V. Golubok, then you should go to the “Living Room of Vladislav Golubok”.
At the Museum of the History of Belarusian Literature, you will be immersed in the classical literature of Belarus. You will learn how young poets and writers started; among them I would like to highlight the names of such glorious Belarusian sons as Vasil Bykov and Maxim Tank, Vladimir Korotkevich and Rygor Borodulin. Among them are unique collections of manuscripts, memorial items of Belarusian writers, photographs, rare books, documents, ethnographic materials and works of art by Belarusian sculptors and artists.
House-Museum named after Maxim Bogdanovich
The literary house-museum named after Maxim Bogdanovich will tell about the short but very fruitful life of the poet. It is no coincidence that the museum is located in the suburbs. The fact is that it was in the Muschei’s house that the future talented poet was born. Maxim Bogdanovich returned to Minsk only a year before his death. Bogdanovich's fate is tragic - from the age of 18 he suffered from tuberculosis and died at the age of 25. Last days The poet spent his life by the sea, in Yalta, where he went at the insistence of his friends, but this could no longer save him. Upon entering the museum, you will have the opportunity to attend an open lecture or a museum-pedagogical lesson that will be interesting not only for children, but also for adults.
Bookstore "Vyanok"
It is no coincidence that the bookstore "Vyanok", stylized as a bookstore of the 19th century, is named after the Belaur word "Vyanok". This was the name of the only collection of poems by Maxim Bogdanovich published during his lifetime. Maxim Bogdanovich is a poet of the highest culture. He read in the original and translated into Belarusian Horace and Ovid, Heine and Schiller, Verlaine and Pushkin. He proved that the Belarusian language is not only a “peasant” language, that it can express the highest ideas, the most subtle feelings.
There is no way to get around the monument to Maxim Bogdanovich, which is located in the park of Paris Commune Square, next to the National Academic Opera and Ballet Theater. Maxim stands at full height and with his gaze follows everyone who deigns to pay attention to him.
House of Nature
I would immediately like to note the building in which the House of Nature is located. It is unique in that here at the end of the 19th century. there was a synagogue. Women and men prayed separately from each other, thereby dividing the synagogue building into two parts: male and female. Today, in the building of the former synagogue, there is a House of Nature, which in an accessible form will help to open interesting secrets in the world of flora and fauna of planet Earth.
Sculpture "Girl with an Owl"
Today the sculpture “Girl with an Owl” is an unspoken symbol of the Trinity Suburb. The sculpture represents a girl holding an owl in her hand and standing barefoot on a fern. One wing of the owl is curved (the owl seems to be protecting the girl with it), the second is wide open (the owl shows them the way). Three blossomed buds lie on a fern leaf, and a lizard sits near them. The sculptural composition is located on a large boulder, next to which there are two more. Even with this sculpture urban legend connected. They say that near this sculpture, every poet must choose what is more important for him: a girl personifying the muse, a flower paparazzi - a symbol of glory, an owl - a symbol of wisdom, or a lizard personifying wealth.
Gallery of crafts "Slavutas" and "Slavuta masters"
In the gallery you can purchase original and high-quality souvenirs. In addition, in the Slavutyya Maistrya crafts gallery you can buy Belarusian belts, wooden and leather products, as well as paintings. Secondly, the seller’s story captivates you so much, his eyes sparkle so much that it is impossible to tear yourself away from the souvenirs and interrupt his story. And at the same time, sincerity is visible.
Pharmacy "Troitskaya"
The pharmacy in the Trinity Suburb in Minsk is not officially a museum, but still invariably attracts tourists. Why? There is no pharmacy museum in Minsk and the pharmacy in Troitsky Suburb is the only place in the city, where they can tell about the history of the development of pharmacy business in the capital and give general idea about pharmacies of the past. On the shelves of the pharmacy you can see samples of dispensary utensils, scales, old medical and pharmaceutical books. The equipment of pharmacies in Belarus was not inferior to that in other European cities that time. The modern pharmacy in the Troitsky suburb of Minsk has a good selection of medicinal herbs. Tourists can come in, get acquainted with the interior of the building, purchase something from what is available and take a photo with the pharmacy building in the background.
The monument to the “Eternal Wanderer,” as Yazep Drozdovich was called by his friends and acquaintances, was erected on August 6, 1993. The sculptural composition represents the figure of Yazep Drozdovich walking along the road in peasant clothes and with a staff in his hand, with an easel slung over his shoulder.
Yazep Drozdovich (1888 - 1954) - an outstanding Belarusian artist, graphic artist, sculptor, folklorist, local historian, ethnographer, archaeologist and writer. The personality of Yazep Drozdovich is a symbol of the Belarusian spiritual Renaissance. He was even called the “Belarusian Leonardo da Vinci.” He embodied the image of Belarusian nature in a series of graphic works “Disnevschina” and tone drawings “Nature of Belarus”. He created a series of works depicting ancient castles and other architectural structures of historical and cultural value.
Yazep Drozdovich is the first Belarusian artist who touched upon the theme of space in his work. On his canvases, the artist depicted life on other planets (“Life on the Moon”, “Life on Mars”, “Life on Saturn”, etc.).
Yazep Drozdovich resumed the long-forgotten tradition of painting wall hangings. These paintings are unique and it was they that brought Drozdovich world fame. Today his collection is located in Zaslavl. It was in those places that he worked as an archaeologist, and at the same time he collected and processed common words and expressions for dictionaries, recorded folk songs and rituals. Drozdovich was also a talented sculptor.
Attractions near Trinity Suburb
Next to the Trinity Suburb it neighbors memorial Complex "Island of tears". On the opposite side of the Svisloch the Nemiga region begins, and Upper town. Not far from the Trinity Suburb there are Palace of Sports, and National Exhibition Center "BelExpo".
No. 1 If you walk around the Trinity Suburb, be sure to stop by a cozy restaurant with antique interiors or a coffee shop stylized in the 19th century, where you can relax after a busy walk around the city and have a delicious meal :) Among them, you can name, for example, restaurant "Trinity Suburb", "Karchma Traetskaya", Souvenir Shop...
No. 2 B summer time the only one in Minsk operates on the banks of the Svisloch restaurant on the water, on board which you can enjoy picturesque views city, and also try dishes of Belarusian cuisine.
No. 3 Do you want to feel the charm of romantic Minsk? Then you should take a catamaran ride along the Svisloch. Get a lot of impressions. We guarantee :)
Often otherwise called Trinity Mountain, it is a historical district of the Belarusian capital in the northeastern part of the historical center of Minsk, on the left side of the Svisloch River.
Once upon a time, Trinity Mountain was the commercial and administrative center of the city. Today this place belongs to those few areas of Minsk in which buildings dating back from six to a couple of centuries have been preserved to one degree or another.
History of Trinity Suburb
The name “Trinity Estate” comes from the Trinity Church (built in the 16th century) or from the Church of the Holy Trinity, built here at the beginning of the 16th century. It is believed that the first stone church was built here, which was built by order of King Jagiello in 1390.
In the XVI-XVII centuries. Around the Trinity Suburb, ditches were dug, flooded with water, and earthen ramparts were poured.
At the same time, there was one of the tile production centers here. This is evidenced by fragments of tiles and molds for extruding designs found by archaeologists.
The houses were built of wood, and mostly middle-class people settled and lived in the suburbs - merchants and artisans, peasants and military men.
After a big fire in 1809, the Trinity Suburb acquired its current appearance - square blocks and streets intersecting at right angles.
Then, in the center of the suburb, Trinity Square (now the Parisian Commune Square) was developed, where markets were held every Sunday.
After World War II, Minsk was almost completely destroyed, but it was decided to restore the Trinity Suburb only in 1962.
Many architectural elements such as gates, wrought iron fences and stairs were lost, and individual buildings and interiors were restored from scratch.
Unfortunately, to this day only one block has been completely preserved, showing the typical buildings of the 19th century, but, nevertheless, people continue to live and work here.
What can you visit?
Despite the fact that Trinity Suburb has long been a beloved place not only for the native residents of Minsk, but also for visitors, here, in addition to large tourist groups Newlyweds can also be seen taking pictures against the backdrop of landmarks or small houses.
In this corner of Minsk you can see interesting sculptures dedicated to famous personalities, stroll along small streets, along cobblestone roads, plunging into the 19th century.
Here you can see what old Minsk looked like then - with small architectural monument houses with high tiled roofs and colorful facades, and at the same time get acquainted with the cultural heritage of the capital of Belarus.
Branch of the State Museum of the History of Theater and Musical Culture of Belarus “Vladislav Golubka’s Living Room”
Vladislav Golubka is one of the founders of the professional Belarusian theater. This museum has 10 exhibits and 1 exhibition hall. The museum often hosts a large number of various events - from meetings with interesting people to musical evenings and conferences. There are also small interesting exhibitions here.
The museum is located on Muzykalny Lane, 5, open from 9:00 to 18:00, exposition - 10:00 to 17:00, tickets can be bought at the box office from 10:00 to 17:00. The museum is closed on Sunday.
On the first Saturday of every month, you can visit the museum for free.
- Ticket price for adults is 15,000 Belarusian rubles.,
- for students 10,000 Belarusian rubles,
- for schoolchildren and vocational school students 8,000 Belarusian rubles.
- Battle representation of 10,000 Belarusian rubles.
State Museum of the History of Belarusian Literature
The museum opened in 1991. Here, expositions and exhibitions are updated very often, which reveal to visitors different sides centuries-old history Belarusian literature.
The museum is located on the street. Bogdanovicha, 13, open from 9:30 to 17:30 (the ticket office is open until 17:00), the museum is closed on Sunday.
- Ticket price for adults is 3000 Belarusian rubles,
- for pupils and students 2000 Belarusian rubles.
- On the second Saturday of every month, the museum can be visited for free.
“Island of Tears” or “Island of Courage and Sorrow”
Near the Trinity Suburb, near the very shore, you can see a small artificial artificial island, to which a pedestrian arched bridge is thrown.
At the entrance to the Island of Tears you can see a stone with a bronze icon of the Mother of God, and in the center there is a memorial chapel dedicated to the Belarusian soldiers who died in Afghanistan.
It was opened in 1993 on the centenary of the poet’s birth. The museum contains and preserves a collection of manuscripts, photographs and books related to the life and work of the poet. The museum operates permanent exhibition“The life and creative path of Maxim Bogdanovich.”
The museum is located on M. Bogdanovich Street, building 7a, open from 10:00 to 18:00. Saturday and Sunday are days off.
- The cost of tickets to the exhibition and exhibitions for adults is 2000 Belarusian rubles,
- for schoolchildren and students - 1200 Belarusian rubles.
- The museum can be visited for free on the last Sunday of the month.
Crafts galleries “Slavutasts” and “Slavutyya Masters”
And what is a trip without buying original souvenirs and exclusive gifts for relatives, friends or colleagues? Be sure to visit the “Slavutas” and “Slavutya Masters” craft galleries.
The galleries are located on the street. Bogdanovich, 21, 2nd floor and on Troitskaya embankment 6, respectively. There you can not only buy souvenirs, but also watch the work of masters and get acquainted with their best creations.
On weekdays, the galleries are open from 10:00 to 19:00, on Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 to 17:00.
Books and antiques store "Venok"
You can also visit the book and antiques store “Venok” so that, thanks to the interior of this store, you will find yourself in a typical bookstore of the 19th century, and at the Troitskaya pharmacy you will be surprised by a unique collection of books on medicine and pharmaceutical supplies of the 19th century.
If after long walks around the city and sightseeing you are tired and hungry, stop and rest.
In Trinity Suburb there are various coffee shops, cafes and restaurants with antique interiors, where your vacation can turn into another discovery.
And in the restaurant on the water, which is the only one in Minsk, you can try delicious national dishes and get aesthetic pleasure from the view of the city.
Trinity Suburb on the map
How to get to Trinity Suburb
The best way is the metro - line 2, Nemiga station.
You can also take a bus (No. 24, 38,57,91,176e) and a trolleybus (No. 12, 29, 37, 40, 46, 53).
Shouldn't we go to Nemiga?
In almost all Belarusian, and even more so Ukrainian, cities founded during the Dark Middle Ages, in the historical centers there is a traditional set of some castle, Market Square with the town hall, numerous temples and monasteries of the Barefoot Brothers of the Bernardines or Jesuits, pleasing the tourist’s eye, and several blocks of civil buildings.
But Minsk was not lucky. Arose during the Tale of Bygone Years, received Magdeburg Law during the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the city, which became the capital of modern Belarus, completely lost its original historical center. And the reason for this is not only the urban planning decisions of the 19th century, dictated by political decisions, or the destruction of the last war, but rather the urban planning concept of the last decades of the 20th century, which, guided by the slogan “We will build our future!”, completely changed the picture of the urban landscape. As a result, we probably got the only capital of one of the fraternal republics within the USSR without any national flavor and associated national history architecture, entirely directed towards the beautiful far away with Stalinist avenues, numerous sports facilities and public lawns of the era of developed stagnation.
However, along this path of triumph of Belarusian urbanism, there were also some funny moments. Somehow, just after the total cleansing of Nemiga and Zamchishche, where not even fragments of the old ramparts remained from the castle, Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev came to Minsk on the eve of the 1980 Olympics. For some unclear reason, Leonid Ilyich repeatedly tried to go see Old city(Where is the Old Place here, as in Warsaw?), which by that time practically did not exist. I don’t know how they got out of it, but they decided to correct the mistake and not show the slums to the elderly general secretary next time. First of all, in the 80s, according to the project, almost everything that could be demolished was demolished, but in the Trinity Suburb they left one block of ordinary buildings of the 19th century, which in some places were based on earlier foundations. So they made an exemplary Old Place from it;-), which is now shown to tourists and loved by Minsk residents.
A little later, and especially in the last decade, the trick was repeated with the Upper Town, where, with the growth of national self-awareness, by building new buildings and pulling out individual objects from later buildings, they tried to artificially collect at least some image of the historical center of the city as modern Belarusians imagine it architects. How well this turned out, let's see with you.
Our journey into the fabric of “historical Minsk” began with the search for parking. I found her near a high-rise building made of glass and concrete that houses the Belarusian telecommunications company Velcom. A good start. Then we rushed on foot along Zybitskaya Street towards the 8th March Square and the nameless bridge over the Svisloch.
I botched the first attraction on Zybitskaya Street, so I use someone else’s photo from Wikimapia.org. Do you understand what is located on the sides and behind this small house at number 3 on Zybitskaya Street?
After walking 300 meters we turn around. In the distance is the Velcom office, and on the right is a historical building Upper town with numerous bars, on the left behind the fence is the construction of a hotel and entertainment center. According to unverified information, most of the “wooden” houses on the right hand are new-built. 
The building at the intersection of Zybitskaya and Herzen. Inside there is a bar, on the wall there is a memorial plaque telling us that we are on the territory of the Upper Town - the historical center of Minsk in the 16th-19th centuries, a complex monument of archeology, urban planning, architecture, history, revolutionary and military glory of the people. is under state protection.
Pay attention to how the façade of the building is designed, or rather the doors and porch. The entrance doors are there, the steps are marked, but the porch itself on the right is missing. And then this element of facade design is repeated twice more. What did the architect want to say by this? Restore the historical design of the facade? But why then are the only working entrance doors made of glass, and not decorated in the same style? Why is the rhythm of the steps different and why this forged visor? 
View up Herzen Street. On the right is the Monastyrsky complex in order of removal: archaeological museum, bar, restaurant, hotel. 
In the distance on the right you can see the building of the Bernardine monastery, and in the future Herzen Street abuts the complex of the Basilian monastery. It seems to me that the buildings of the entire block on the right belonged to the Bernardine brothers, but I am very confused by the heterogeneous and untidy, and in some places simply modern, masonry on the nearby buildings. Pay attention to how the pavement is made. Where would you be without your favorite tiles, even on a historical street? But something similar to a cobblestone street runs like a narrow runner along the walls. 
Block diagram on the wall archaeological museum. I am pleased with the combination of the Museum of Archeology, the Museum of Karate and the Museum of the Minsk Horse Horse 
Let's walk further along Zybitskaya Street to the next intersection with Cyril and Methodius Street. On the left is a beauty salon, on the right it’s unclear what, but a little further on you can see the building of the Bernardine convent for women, and opposite it for the men’s monastery. In the future - Gostiny Dvor. We will return there a little later. 
Now let’s go out to the Svisloch River and climb the nameless bridge (1967). It is interesting that two streets Nemiga and Maxim Bogdanovich meet on the bridge, but the bridge itself now has no name. View from the bridge of the building being built in the area of the former market square(Ninyi market) historical property. 
Once upon a time, on the site of the modern bridge, the most famous bridge of medieval Minsk, Khlusov, was located, connecting the Lower Market with the Trinity Suburb located on the right bank of the Svisloch. In the future, the building of the National exhibition center"BelExpo". In 2017, the demolition of this quarter along the main bank of the Svisloch began by an investor from the UAE. Promised to keep four historical buildings miraculously preserved from the Trinity Basilian Monastery. 
On the other side of the bridge is Trinity Suburb, or rather what’s left of it 
Let's go down under the bridge and look at the left bank of the Svisloch and the High City, where we just came from. In the foreground there are buildings from the 18th century (?), with an Orthodox church peeking out behind them. Cathedral Holy Spirit, former Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary of the Bernardine Monastery. 
The Trinity suburb from under the bridge opens in all its glory. Ordinary burgher buildings late XIX century is stylized as medieval architecture as it is represented by modern architects. Yes, this is not Lviv or even Warsaw... For a city with rich history Of course it looks wild and pathetic. But, for any Russian province, where there is no architecture other than Khrushchev buildings, this is a good example of how you can make a candy out of slums, especially if there is the will of the Secretary General. It is clear that architects and designers of the last decade have also worked here, adding about 2/3 of outright remakes and pop, but the foundation for the preservation and reconstruction of the quarter was laid back in the 1980s. 
A look back at the nameless bridge over the Svisloch and the Vehniy Gorod 
Heading to the "medieval city" 
Please note there is pavement here for the most part paved with paving stones 
Inside the block. All this middle-class development is now not residential, but is a refuge for various catering establishments, hostels, art salons, museums, shops, galleries and other things. 
House of Nature. The building was built in 1874 as the "Kitaevskaya" synagogue for the burghers of Minsk. 
Thanks to the balustrade, the former synagogue is a favorite place for selfies among Belarusian girls 
After wandering around the quarter, which was just waking up from winter hibernation, we got tired of its monotony and artificiality and went to the Island of Tears. There will be a separate report about him. And along the way we came across a sculpture of a girl with an owl. A strange combination. It seems not Pallas Athena, but with an owl. 
Maybe this is some kind of Belarusian national story unknown to me? 
We return across the bridge to the Upper Town and its dominant feature - the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, once the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary of the Bernardine Monastery. Founded in 1642, the church became Orthodox church preserved the strict solemnity of the Catholic church. To the left, the lurid new buildings of the Orthodox Theological Academy crawled into the frame for contrast. Stylish, to say the least. 
To understand how the landscape of this part of Minsk has changed, here are a few photos.
1940s. Please note that the hill of the Upper Town, prominent in the relief, took place, but now it is greatly smoothed out. 
View from the northwest of the ensemble of the Bernardine monastery with the church after restoration in the 1980s 
General view of the ensemble of Bernardine monasteries from a bird's eye view shortly before it acquired its current appearance 
View from the 8th March Square towards the Castle - downstream of the Svisloch River. In the foreground is a squat, arena-like building - the Republican Center for Physical Education and Sports. On one of its walls there is a memorial plaque stating that it was in this place that the city of Minsk arose in the 11th century and the Minsk Castle, an archeological monument of the 11th-16th centuries, was located. Protected by the state. as I already said, this archaeological monument was mostly demolished during the construction of what we see in the photo, as well as during the construction of the Nemiga metro station, located just under these paths, which is in the frame. 
Let's cross to the other side of Nemiga Street, reach the intersection with Lenin Street and walk a little along it along Freedom Square and look at the city hall from the west. Minsk City Hall (1) was built at the end of the 18th century on Upper Market Square and was destroyed in 1851 by personal order of Emperor Nicholas I. In 2003 it was restored to its original location. historical place and is used as an exhibition hall. 
View of the town hall from the north, on the other side. On the right, the frame includes the buildings of the Gostiny Dvor complex of the 18th-19th centuries (7) with shops, restaurants, and offices located inside. 
The monument to Minsk receiving Magdeburg Law in 1499 was installed in front of the entrance to the town hall in 2014. 
Location map of attractions in the Upper Town. I will give the numbering according to this scheme in parentheses during the description. 
Let's look on the other side of Lenin Street at the Jesuit Church of the Virgin Mary (1700-1710), sandwiched by Soviet new buildings, built in the Vilna Baroque style (15). In 1951, the cathedral was closed, and the main façade was heavily rebuilt, with the Sportsman's House located inside. In 1993, the building was returned to the Catholic Church and its original appearance was restored. Nowadays it is the main Catholic church in Belarus. Of particular value in the interior are the frescoes, which were plastered in Soviet time, now they are being uncovered and restored. 
And now let’s go deeper into the quarters of the Upper City again, walking along the edge of the former Upper Market Square. Here, the male and female Uniate Basilian monasteries once formed a kind of defense center. The core of the monastery was the Church of the Holy Spirit, built on the site of an Orthodox wooden church around the 1650s.
In the photo on the left is the Church of the Holy Spirit, on the right is Gostiny Dvor, in the perspective you can see the building of the Belarusian State Academy of Music. 
Plan of the Basilian monastery complex. Reconstruction by L. Ivanova based on materials by V.M. Denisova. At the top convent, at the bottom - the man's with the Church of the Holy Spirit.
The monasteries represented a kind of fortress. The men's building with the church formed its southwestern side. Women's building - northeast. They were connected to each other by a covered gallery with small loophole windows, which at the same time served as an entrance gate in its lower tier. There is nothing on the plan on the fourth side, but it is very likely that initially the monastery courtyard was still closed by a stone wall: it is mentioned in documents of the 17th century (“...a stone fence and upper and lower battlements”). The pearl of the complex was the church - a single-nave temple without towers with a pentagonal apse covered with cross vaults resting on massive internal buttresses. High lancet windows, the faceted shape of the apse, vaults, and buttresses refer to Gothic. The Renaissance is the main façade, entirely built on a combination of pilasters of the Corinthian order, and the Baroque influence is already felt in the figured shield.
Measurement drawing of the main facade, 1843.
The main artistic feature of the Holy Spirit Church was the painting of flat niches on the facade with frescoes depicting saints. The structure of the placement of niches and the order of filling them with frescoes corresponded to the Orthodox iconostasis. Art critics are happily rubbing their hands - this is almost never seen in the cult architecture of Europe: for the iconostasis and right away on the facade.
The main facade of the Minsk Church of the Holy Spirit. Reconstruction by Sergei Baglasov. It is very interesting to compare its difference from the same measurement drawing of 1843 (see above).
In the 19th century The church was taken from the community, “donated” to the Orthodox and rebuilt in the pseudo-Russian style. Demolished in 1950. In 2011, the Church of the Holy Spirit was rebuilt from scratch. The basis for the reconstruction was officially the measurement drawing of 1843. Currently the building is used as a children's philharmonic hall.
View of the new building of the Church of the Holy Spirit from the northwest. In the foreground is the sculptural composition "City Scales". 
View of the main facade of the Church of the Holy Spirit from the west. Compare with the drawings of the facade of 1843 and you will understand the difference, for example, the design of the lower tier. 
Another angle. In the background is the Church of St. Joseph of the Bernardine Monastery. 
View from the Church of the Holy Spirit to the Upper Market Square with the Church of St. Joseph of the Bernardine Monastery and the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary of the Bernardine Monastery. 
Opposite the heavily rebuilt buildings of the Basilian monastery is the sculpture "Crew", the prototype of which was the governor's carriage. The funny thing is that, as Dmitry Shelekhov writes to me in a personal message, this “carriage” is a copy of the Tobolsk and Kursk ones. There, what also served as a prototype for the governors' carriage?
In the background is the building of the Belarusian State Academy of Music 
Carriage in Tobolsk. Photo by Dmitry Shelekhov. The Minsk sculpture was undoubtedly cast in the same mold. Only the surface is slightly rougher. 
And this is a Kursk carriage. They also say there is a similar one in Dolgoprudny. Photos from the Tyrnet. 
Unfortunately, I didn’t get to the building of the Basilian monastery and I have to use someone else’s photo.
This building was very well, not in our opinion, restored. Wooden windows, natural tiles, baroque figured shield were restored as in his better times, no onions for you - why not always do this? I wasn't inside, though.
But let's return to Upper Market Square. Modern view of the Bernardine monastery and the Church of St. Joseph. The church was built in 1652 and was rebuilt several times. In 1752 it received decor in the late Baroque style. In 1860, the monastery was abolished and the buildings were confiscated. The last time the church building was restored was in 1983; currently, archives are housed in it and the adjacent buildings of the monastery.
It's time to return to the car. Now we will take a slightly different route along Musical Lane. Building number 1 is often seen in tourist photos. Going to the left is Herzen Street, which we saw at the very beginning of the report. 
We go down Muzykalnmu Lane and look back at the new office building and the block with the former Czech Embassy 
That's all for now.
Summary: As we see, Minsk is one of those cities of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which has almost completely lost its historical appearance. However, due to a strange quirk of the USSR leadership, local restorers tried to recreate it to the extent of its depravity. And everything would be fine, moreover, this reconstruction could serve as an example for a number of Russian cities, which, for a number of reasons, have completely lost their heritage, but in the example of Minsk, a strange substitution of concepts occurred in the Belarusian restoration. This highly controversial and somewhat curious experience “out of despair” in an effort to imitate civilized Europe was taken as the cornerstone of the current restoration. Now every Belarusian collective farm builder fancies himself an architect, and then a restorer, reproducing this unique Minsk experience as a carbon copy in series, trying to build our future with dubious antique remakes, while demolishing with the other hand right and left the remnants of a genuine national heritage.
What's wrong with that? The original heritage does not look presentable and it is not clear whether it is the freshly plastered multi-colored houses under the ondulin with chimneys.
For this case, Lotman’s quote is more appropriate than ever - restoration is a legalized form of destruction of heritage.
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