Minsk Off The Beaten Path

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Diamond-figure of the National Library of Belarus' is situated in the Eastern part of the city. The project was approved in USSR times, in 1989. Building works were begun in 2002 only though and were finished in 2006.

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The one of the saddest monuments after WWII I saw in Minsk. It is devoted to victims of Holocaust (5000 people of Minsk ghetto were shot in the pit on March 2, 1942). The obelisk was placed in 1947. The sculpture monument was open in 2000.
The monument is situated near the crossing of Mel'nikaite and Zaslavskaya Streets.

Nesvizh is popular tourism place of Belarus. Nesvizh city is famous because of its castle - the residence of Radziwill family. The castle was built at 16th century and all that time was the place for culture of that region, the mix of Western and Southern European cultures and architectural styles. The castle had very big library, lots of treasury inside. It is said, that there were 12 statues of Saints (about 1 meter height) in the castle. 8 of them were from silver, other 4 - from gold. Radziwills were keeping bears in the castle cellar - in winter they used bears for riding around castle park.

The forest is located in the outskirts of Minsk, on the way to Mir. All territory of forest is signed by lots of wooden crosses. It commemorates the bloody period in Belarusian history, when many people were killed by KGB at this forest. People were buried even in three layers on each other.

There was "more" official state that killed people were Jewish, taken here by Nazis from other parts. Some local people still principally don't use autobahn located near this forest, as part of road was constructed on burial place.

Mir castle is another UNESCO World Heritage site in Belarus. Mir castle famous because of mix of different architecture styles - gothic, renaissance, baroque. Mir small city has more significant places, as 17th September square, Catholic and Orthodox churches, former Yeshiva (Jewish school). City played big role in county life.

Well it's really not so off the beaten path since it's just 1 min from the October Square, but this wooden house could be not easy to be noticed behind the huge Republic Palace.
This pretty wooden house is nowadays the the house-museum of the artist Valentij Vankovich, called the Museum of Classicism. And this house is supposed to be built in the perfect classicist style of architecture popular in this part of Europe at the end of the 18th century / beginning of the 19th century. The house has been rebuilt after the WWII.
The house is rebuild also inside as a typical house of the beginning of the 19th century. The artist didn't live here for long since he studied in Polatsk, Vilnius and St.Peterburg and died when he was just 42 in Paris. None of his many paintings are these days in his homeland and so this house is just a memorial to the artist and life in that period. Not a must visit place, but surely a nice one. There are projects to rebuild also other parts of the house complex which was destroyed during the war.

In US a visit to the eye doctor costs ~$100, in Minsk you can do it + purchase 2 pairs of contact lenses with lenses` solution for ~$40 total. That`s what we did anyway.
We went to Sothys beauty saloon (next to Frunzenskaya metro station). It is in a very long red apartments building.
This ground floor store has a beauty saloon at the front and eye doctor office at the back. BTW, the eye doctor lady was speaking some English.
Address: Tanka Str., 16.
Phone: +375-17-223-80-38.
Hours: 9am-9pm, St (10am-4pm).

Street Internatsianalnaya is one of the oldest in the city. More than 120 years ago it had name Volatskaya. That was a very respectable quarter where rich Minsk inhabitants built their houses. Those years the highest building was Europe Hotel, and it had 6 flours - something immense comparing to others around it. The Europe Hotel used to accomodate VIP visitors who had been traveling via Minsk both to Eastern and Western directions. There were phones in each room, and an electric lift (the one in the town!). Unfortunately, the building was destroyed by an airbomb in 1941.