Space places in Belarus

Belarusians conquer the vast expanse of the Universe — our country boasts fresh ideas, modern technologies and, of course, cosmonauts

The National Library

The National Library of Belarus      BELTA

The Belarusian ‘diamond of knowledge’ is perhaps the most alien building in Minsk. At sunset, its facets glitter with sixteen thousand colour shades. It is impressive not only in appearance but also in substance — books from the collections are delivered to readers by a robotic system. The National Library is often shown in films about the future. Thus, we can see the characters of The Other Side of the Moon series in the space interiors of Minsk library. 
Anyone who wishes to get inside can do so by taking a guided tour or using a guest entrance ticket. The library is famous not only for its book collections, but also for its exhibition projects — several art galleries work here at the same time. The rooftop observation deck is particularly popular with visitors, offering spectacular views of the Belarusian capital. 

The Minsk Planetarium

The Minsk Planetarium           Aleksandr Kulevsky


In the very centre of the capital — Gorky Park — you can watch the dark spots on the Sun, scrutinise the craters, mountains and seas of the Moon and even cast an eye on the nearest galaxies. The observatory at the Minsk Planetarium is equipped with a refractor telescope, which visitors can use under the guidance of specialists.  
If you do not want to wait for good weather to admire celestial bodies, take a ticket to a full-dome movie session — the charm of our Universe will not leave anyone indifferent. There are also workshops for children, space-themed exhibitions and lecture sessions with the participation of astronomers. 
The idea for an unusual date is to give your soulmate a whole sky of stars!

The Museum of Cosmonautics 

The small village of Tomashovka near Brest has Yuri Gagarin Street, where the first and so far the only country’s space-themed exposition is located. The ceilings are the colour of the sky, with models of the first Earth satellite and a smaller copy of the Mir Space Station attached to them. 
The museum features a mock-up of the first multi-person Voskhod spacecraft. Among the most valuable exhibits are a spacesuit and a shock-absorbing seat from the spacecraft. These are the personal belongings of twice Hero of the USSR cosmonaut Pyotr Klimuk, a native of this land. By the way, he headed the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre from 1991 to 2003. 

Dzerzhinsk District

Why not escape to Jupiter, dropping in on Mars along the way? The villages with space names are located near Minsk, in Dzerzhinsk District. They actually border each other. Although there are only a few houses left in these settlements, tourists often come here. 
Where did such unusual names come from? Initially, villages were designated simply by numbers. Already in Soviet times, according to old-timers, the only literate Red Army soldier that lived there came up with the names for the villages. Whether it is true or not is no longer important. The main thing is that funny Martian and Jupiter selfies are guaranteed!

The National Art Museum 

Belarus had a Leonardo da Vinci of its own — remarkable artist Yazep Drozdovich. Contemporaries perceived him as an eccentric, and only after a while his paintings could be appreciated at their true value. Drozdovich lived and worked in the first half of the 20th century. He was not limited to just contemplating the world around him, he also enjoyed studying history and astronomy. In other words, he actively travelled in the past and future through his creative work. The result is amazing portraits of famous Belarusian princes and a cycle of space canvases that marked the beginning of fantastic space theme in Belarusian art. 
The artist did not just imagine that there might be life on Mars; instead, he boldly depicted nature, cities and even inhabitants of the distant Venus, Moon and Saturn. Big-eyed and barefoot creatures in white Belarusian style shirts greet spring and rejoice in the sun — this is how the master saw aliens in his dreams, and then embodied them in paintings. You can go on a trip to the stars at the exposition in Germanovichi (Vitebsk Region) and the National Art Museum.