Away from Minsk to the North

– One has to go to Baravaya to visit its aircraft museum. Its guides are military pilots who even let you sit in the cockpit of the aircraft. The museum is open every day except Monday from 10:00 to 18:00. Click here to find out how to reach the place.

If there’re many of you playing paintball or flying in a helicopter are good options. If there’s a lack of adrenaline in your life try tandem skydiving with the instructor. Remember that it’s prohibited to drink alcohol before and during the day when you’re going to jump.

To find out the dates of the next jumps and flights call +375175052960 from 10:00 to 17:00.

– There’s nothing to do in the sport center in summer. But besides its sport facilities, there’s another valuable object in Raubichy: its Neo-Gothic St. Matthew’s Cathedral built in 1862 before the Uprising led by Kalinouski. When the region was a part of the Russian Empire the Cathedral became an Orthodox church. The Cathedral is situated on the mountain that stands where two ridges cross so that the temple has got the name Kryzhagorskaya (bel. ‘cross + mountain’)

After the Revolution of 1917 the building was closed and nobody used it. During the construction of a sky jumping springboard it was intended to demolish the temple but the plan wasn’t carried out. Now the building houses the Museum of Belarusian Folk Art where many valuable items of 16th -20th centuries are kept: clothing, pottery and objects from old plants. To explore the museum you’ll need 40-60 minutes. In addition, in the surrounding area there’re places to relax or to organize a picnic.

You can reach the place driving the bike on the road that runs along the motorway M3 that starts in one of Minsk districts, Zyalyony Luh.

– Another diamond of national sport and tourism industry! The place was the residence of one of the powerful families in Belarus, the Tyshkevichs.

Lahoisk is almost as old as Minsk: the first mention about the town dates back to 1078, and the territory became a part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 14th century. In the beginning it belonged to Jogaila, King of Poland, and later to Vytautas, the ruler of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

Walk around the park of the mansion (earlier an English one) and look at the ruins of the palace built at the beginning of the 19th century. The Tyshkevichs palace in Lahoisk was destroyed during the Second World War: according to some sources it happened when the Nazi were fleeing the country, and others believe that it was the result of the bombardment by Soviet troops.

In the 19th century thanks to brothers Konstanty and Eustachy Tyshkevich Lahousk was a renowned historical and archeological center. According to the legend, Count Konstanty Tyshkevich (a local historian and one of the founders of the Belarusian archeology) explored medieval mounds in Lahoisk region and his landless peasants helped him. If during the excavations of the mound they found the bones of a buried man they would immediately drop shovels out of fear and start praying for this deceased.

And, obviously, they refused to work further. The Count had nothing to do but continue exploring the mound on his own so that the peasants were sure the Count would be the one who was going to be punished for this sin.

The Museum of Antiquities found by the brothers in the middle of the 19th century in their family mansion was one of the first local history museums of Belarus. Having this museum’s collection as a base they would later found the famous Museum of Antiquities in Vilnius. You may well go to a new museum situated in the building of the House of Culture. But we suggest taking a picture in the main square decorated by the monuments to Lenin and Marx. These two are not to be seen very often together.

We advise you to pay a visit to St. Nicolas Church built in 19th century where you’ll see a local relic, the miracle-working icon of Our Lady of Lahoisk. It had long been considered lost and was eventually found in a private collection at the beginning of the 20th century. Near the church you will find a spring and a swimming bath whose water is believed to be curative.

You’ll need about three hours to walk the city at a slow pace. Here is the bus schedule.

– This village in Lahoisk region has been on historic maps since the 14th century thanks to above mentioned Jogaila and Vytautas. Visit the local celebrity, a beekeeper Syarhei Selyakha who made a small museum out of his apiary.

Here you can enjoy herbal tea or even mead.
Telephone number: +375177458201, +375296458201.