7 derelict buildings of Belarus

28.07.2023 - 19:19 / 34travel.me

Routes

34804

In case you've already explored Mir, Niasviž and Ružany in all kind of ways, and still want to explore more – there's no need to rush to an embassy for a foreign country visas. We've picked up some unknown places in Belarus, where the scenery is breathtaking indeed: from former palaces and manors to chapels with tombs. Prepare yourself to become a path-breaker of new geolocations, or at least post something new on the Instagram.

VIALIKAJA BIERASTAVICA

This is a small town on the border with Poland. Once there settled noble born family of Chadkievič, and that was the reason for regular visits of the principal warlord of GDL to this place. In the 18th century, Bierastavica received Magdeburg rights and the coat of arms with the squirrel in the middle. Locals actively participated in the revolt of Kastuś Kalinoŭski. It is said that namely there the «Mužyckaja praŭda» [TN: eng. «Peasant's truth», one of the first periodicals in Belarusian (written in lacinka)] was printed. In short, this place has a rich history. «This place can't dispense with a nicely constructed roman catholic church», – probably thought Hieronim Chadkievič before building the Church of the Visitation there. Even in an abandoned state, it looks incredible, and not least because of its size.

Besides, have a look at the Catholic Church of the Transfiguration. It's smaller and built later (in 1912), but this neo-Gothic building was renovated recently.

How to get there: A bus from Hrodna will take you there in an hour approximately. Check the bus schedule on the website. A car trip from Minsk is just over 3 hours, and you'll need to go by M1 and P99 roads.

Yes, you've probably thought of the same name metro station in Minsk. But we're speaking about another Hrušaŭka – the one that is situated in Brest region and was a noble manor of Rejtans once. The famous German family settled in the township as early as the 16th century. And the manor in the style of classicism was laid in the 18th century (by the way, it was made of stone originally). This happened when the most famous representative of the family, Tadeuš, was born. He almost ripped off the first partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth making the first political performance: he laid down in front of the building, where the partition meeting took place and yelled out loud: «Kill me, but don't kill the motherland!». The nowadays wooden building is absolutely different from its original, but the fact of its conservation is amazing. Happily, this year Poles together with Belarusians had decided to renovate it.

Still, the most interesting place to visit is not the manor itself, but the sleek chapel of Rejtans in Neo-gothic style, that stands nearby. It was built