Belarus (Brest Oblast)

Nature:

Belarusian Polesie is a land of vast marshes and majestic rivers – the Prypiat and the Pina. The Belarusian Pribuzhskoye Polesie Biosphere Reserve (south-west part of the Brest Oblast, by the border with Poland and Ukraine), the Polesie National Park (Poland) and the Shatsk National Park (Ukraine) are the core of the West Polesie Transboundary Biosphere Reserve.

There are five nature reserves in the Belarusian part of Cross-border Polesie:

Zvaniec and Radostov in the Drahichyn District, Sporava on the border of the Drahichyn, Ivanovsky, Berezivka and Ivatsevichy Districts, Lukovo in the Malaryta District and Sielachi in the Brest District.

Tourist routes:

Brest is the starting point of many tourist routes linking interesting cultural and natural attractions, e.g. ‘On the way to the Bialowieża Forest’, ‘Memory of the Belarusian Land’, ‘Never-to-be forgotten historic sites in West Belarus’, and the literature trail.

The 60-kilometre tourist route leading through the Pribuzhskoye Polesie Biosphere Reserve offers a great chance to admire the natural beauty of the area. Another interesting trail in this reserve is the Bicycle Route of Blue Polesie Lakes.

Historic sights:

Two UNESCO Cultural and Natural Heritage Sites are situated in the Brest Oblast: Białowieża Forest (outside Cross-border Polesie) and three sites on the Struve Geodetic Arc – Ossovnitsa, Lekovichi and Chekutsk located in the Ivanovo District, neighbouring the Drahichyn District (connected with 19th-century studies of Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve about the exact size and shape of the earth).

Historic sites applying for UNESCO World Heritage Site status include: the Brest Fortress, wooden Orthodox churches in Polesie, the Tower in Kamenets Podolskiy (outside the area of the oblast but easily accessible from Brest) and a 16th-century wooden St Nikita’s Church in Zdzitov in the Zhabinka District.

Just like Polish and Ukrainian Polesie, the Belarusian part of this land has also historic sites reminding of the multicultural past of Polesie. There are Catholic churches, Jewish synagogues, Orthodox churches and former Uniate wooden churches typically painted blue.

The best tourist attractions among secular buildings include the Brest Fortress (19th c.) with fortifications on the Polish side of the border situated in Lebiedziew, Lubaczów, Żuki, Kobylany and Koroszczyn, the 18th-century manor house of the Niemcewicz Family in Skoki and the ruins of the Tomb of the Orzeszko Family in Zakoziel.

Among 21 museums in the Brest Oblast the most interesting ones include: Museum of the Defence of the Brest Fortress, Brest Art Museum, Berestye Archaeological Museum (located within the Brest Fortress), Brest Regional Local History Museum, Railway Museum, and Saved Artefacts Museum.

Another place worth visiting is the Suvorov War History Museum in Kobryn.

Tourists from Western Europe have an opportunity to see relics of socialism such as the Statue of Lenin in Brest, monuments to Red Army soldiers in Polesie villages, gravestones of World War II soldiers decorated with red stars.

Culture:

There are many interesting cultural events organised in the Brest Oblast, e.g. Bike Festival (for lovers of motorcycles), Days of Victory in Brest, ‘White Tower’ Theatre Festival, Sporava Haymaking held in the Sporava nature reserve, Maslenica, and Kupala Night. The tradition of winter carol singing is listed as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage.