Island of Courage & Sorrow

Minsk


Standing on a small island connected to the Old Town by a walking bridge, this evocative Afghan war memorial is known colloquially as the Island of Tears by locals. Built in the form of a tiny church with four entrances, the monument is surrounded by towering gaunt statues of the sorrowful mothers and sisters of Belarusian soldiers who perished in the war between the Soviet Union and Afghanistan (1979–89).


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Minsk attractions

1. Trinity Hill

0.15 MILES

Trinity Hill is a pleasant – if tiny – recreation of Minsk's pre-war buildings on a pretty bend of the river just a little north of the centre. It has a…

2. Cathedral of the Holy Spirit

0.33 MILES

Off the northern edge of pl Svabody is the baroque, twin-towered Orthodox Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, built in 1642. It was once part of a Polish…

3. SS Peter & Paul Church

0.39 MILES

Off the vul Lenina overpass is the attractively restored 17th-century SS Peter & Paul Church. The city's oldest church, it was built in 1612, looted by…

4. Ratusha

0.43 MILES

Minsk's ratusha has been rebuilt in the place where it was originally constructed in the 1800s and now lords it over pl Svabody, its pointed steeple…

5. Pl Svabody

0.43 MILES

In the heart of the Old Town just off central vul Lenina is charming pl Svabody, lorded over by the white medieval Ratusha (town hall). Off the northern…

6. Zaslavsky Jewish Monument

0.48 MILES

This extremely moving sight, rather hidden away in a sunken gully amid trees off vul Melnikayte, commemorates the savage murder of 5000 Jews from Minsk at…

7. Kastrychnitskaya Pl

0.56 MILES

The city's main square is referred to universally by its Russian name, Oktyabrskaya Ploshchad (October Sq). Here you'll find the impressive, severe Palats…

8. Tsentralny Skver

0.68 MILES

Across the street from Kastrychnitskaya pl, Tsentralny skver (officially known as Alyaksandraŭsky skver) is a leafy park on the site of a 19th-century…

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