Square, Plaza sights in Minsk
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A
Traetskae Prodmestse
A minuscule area on the eastern bank of the Svislach River, bordered by vul Maxima Bahdanovicha, has been rebuilt in 17th- and 18th-century style to recreate the look and feel of what much of Minsk once looked like. This Old Town is known as Traetskae Prodmestse (Trinity Suburb). It's the city's most photographed area, and there are a few cafés, bars, restaurants and craft-gift shops to tempt you for a lazy hour.
By the river banks is the Ostrov Slyoz (Island of Tears), in memory of Belarusians who lost their lives to war. There sits a fantastic monument in the shape of a chapel, ornamented with mourning female figures; nearby a guarding angel weeps for having failed to …
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Ploshcha Svabody
Ploshcha Svabody, to the southeast of the overpass, bordered by vul Lenina, became the new city centre in the 16th century. The surrounding area is known as Upper Town (Verkhny Garad). The baroque, twin-towered Orthodox Holy Spirit Cathedral, off the northern end of the small square, stands on a small hill and was once part of a Polish Bernardine convent (founded in 1628) along with the former Bernardine Church next door.
There are several side streets in the triangle formed by vuls Lenina, Torhovaja and Internatsjanalnaja, on which some houses remain from the pre-WWII period. They are in poor condition, but their old-world charm offers a welcome respite in a city whose p…
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Palats Respubliki
Between vulitsa Enhelsa and vulitsa Janki Kupaly is a square that is still referred to by its Russian name, Oktyabrskaya ploshchad (in Belarusian, it's ploshcha Kastrychnitskaja). This is where opposition groups gather to protest against Lukashenko from time to time, and it's where they attempted the Denim Revolution in March 2006. Here you'll find the impressive, severe Palats Respubliki, which is a concert hall.
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