The rout: Minsk –Kosava – Ružany – Kamianec - Bielavieža Forest.
Length: 800 km.
Duration: 2 days
Brest region is rich in monuments. There are at least two of them that are known abroad. They are Bielavieža Forest and Brest Fortress. The aim of this excursion is to know more about these places. He who thinks that we have already heard much about Brest Fortress makes a mistake because the fortress has its secrets and stories. And Bielavieža Forest is not just ordinary museum of nature. Each of these places hides its surprises and mysteries.
The first day of our tour begins with the trip around the gentry estates of Brest region. Near little town Kosava one can find tract Meračoŭšyna. Two different buildings are situated there facing one another. One of them is a small wooden house; the other is big stone palace. The house is an estate of not very rich gentry clan Kosciuška. In this house in cold winter of 1746 the future hero of Poland, America, Belarus and Lithuania Andrei Tadeush Bonaventura Kosciuška was born. The pseudo gothic palace that towers above the neighborhood only in a hundred-meter distance from the Kosciuškoes’ estate is the residence of rich gentry clan Pusloŭski. They turned from the common gentry into one of the most powerful landlords in Belarus in a secret way in the beginning of ХІХ century. The stories of both clans are interesting and breathtaking and both buildings are worth the most expensive camera lens.
30 kilometers from Kosava, in Ružany village we will see one more residence. What’s more, it belonged neither to poor gentry nor even to a rich clan. It was the property of the Sapiehas, one of the richest magnate clans of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Although the palace now lies in ruins it gives us a complete picture of mightiness and richness of this ancient clan. The Sapiehas once lacked only a couple of steps to become the owners of nearly whole territory of Belarus. Now these majestic ruins of baroque palace of XVIII century give us a nice chance to know about the history of this clan a bit more than we have learned in school. The museum that is situated in recently restored wing of the palace is waiting for visitors.
We are on our way to Bielavieža Forest. Famous white tower that is situated in Kamenec protects the entry to the ancient forest. This is a keep tpwer that was built in XIII century. Inside of the five-storey tower the museum is now situated. By the way the white tower is not white, it is red. So, why it is called the” white tower”? There are some reasons.
Bielavieža Forest (Belavezhskaya Pushcha) is an ancient forest that drew attention of people long ago. Great princes of Lithuania, kings of Poland, emperors of Russia and secretary-generals of USSR used to hunt here. This forest was a source of wood, pitch and hemp. That’s why people began to protect Bielavieža Forest. However the main treasure of Pushcha is not its natural resources but its natural richness. It is difficult to describe this wonderful forest in words so we offer you to visit Pushcha with its museum and open-air cages and see its beauty yourself.
The second day of our tour will be completely dedicated to one city – the ancient Brest. During its almost thousand-year history the city saw a lot misfortunes and joys. Germans, Swedes, Frenchmen, Kazaks and Russians wanted to conquer it. Printing houses and mints opened here. Documents of the highest importance were signed here. All these took place on the territory where Brest Fortress is situated now. This fortress is known first of all as a place of heroic defense in June 1941. The fortress is situated on the island on the confluence of the rivers Zapadny Bug and Muhovec. There is much historical stratification in the island. They are wooden city Byarestje of XIII century, the remnants of ancient city monasteries, churches and catholic churches, big complex of the largest defensive fortress of Russian Empire and the memorial dedicated to 1941.
Brest fortress is a big museum complex now. It is impossible to see it all and to visit all its museums in one day. We offer you a visit to the most unknown museum of the fortress that is called Fort №5. There is almost not exposition and electricity inside but we are sure you will like it.
