Minsk

Location: Situated in Minsk region.

Minsk is a political, cultural and economical center of the Belarusian state, the place where the president and the government sit.

The city was first mentioned in the chronicles in connection with the bloody battle at the river Nemiga, that took place March 3rd , 1067. The first mentioning of Minsk in connection with the bloody events as if determined its further life, that was a sequence of furious battles, destruction, inroads and revivals from ruins and ashes.

Minsk is one of the cleanest and greenest cities of Europe, and the only city in the world with a thousand years of history, that was almost completely destroyed as a result of the war and restored thanks to enthusiasm of architects and city-dwellers during several decades.

Cultural history of the city and the country presented in museums and expositions about Minsk is not less interesting. The city is the main cultural center of Belarus:

• 16 museums (the most significant are the Museum of the Great Patriotic war history, the National art museum, the National museum of history and culture),
• 11 theatres (the mist popular are the Academic Opera and Ballet theater, the Belarusian National theater named after Yanka Kupala).