Pl Svabody

Minsk


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 edge of the square is the baroque, twin-towered Orthodox Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, built in 1642. It was once part of a Polish Bernardine convent, along with the former Bernardine Church next door, which now houses city archives.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Minsk attractions

1. Ratusha

0.03 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…

2. Cathedral of the Holy Spirit

0.11 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

0.17 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. Kastrychnitskaya Pl

0.25 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…

5. Trinity Hill

0.3 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…

6. KGB Headquarters

0.34 MILES

An entire block of central pr Nezalezhnastsi is occupied by this yellow neoclassical building with an ominous, temple-like Corinthian portal – the KGB…

7. Tsentralny Skver

0.35 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…

8. Bust of Felix Dzerzhinsky

0.35 MILES

Between pr Nezalezhnastsi and vul Karla Marksa is a long narrow park with a bust of Felix Dzerzhinsky, the founder of the KGB's predecessor (the Cheka)…

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