The rout: Minsk – Rakaŭ – Tupalščyna - Ivianiec – Minsk.

Length: 130 km.

Duration: 5 hours.

There is a bit forgotten Belarusian word – places. Earlier it meant an inhabited locality bigger in its size than a village but smaller than a town. The places had their own unrepeatable pace of life, traditions and culture. They were the places where gentry met with peasants’ culture and where the “middle class” lived and felt well. We offer you to visit two places of Belarus: Rakau and Ivenec. They are situated deep in Naliboki forest and that’s why they preserved the unique pace of life, architecture and interesting people.

The name of the place Rakaŭ sounds a bit strange for people who speak Russian. “Rak” in Russian means crayfish. So the name of the place has no connection with crayfish that live in the rivers. By the way there are no crayfish in the Isloch (the river flows through Rakau). Local ethnographers have a range of reasons for such a name and one is more interesting than another. There is really a lot to do with rich imagination in Rakau. Ancient settlement, very old Christian, Catholic and Jew cemeteries, church and cathedral has remained here. Rakau was always famous as the center of pottery, big pig fairs were held here. Lev Tolstoy and Eliza Azheshka wrot letters to Rakaŭ in XIX century. Whom did they wrote to? You will know it on our excursion.

There is also a place where the holly spring spouts in the outskirts of Rakau. According to the legend the icon of God’s Mother appeared here long time ago and from this time the spring gained its healing features, mostly against the eye illnesses.

A very nice road along the Isloch leads from Rakaú to Ivianiec. We will stop for a while in tract Tupalščina. Vincent Dunin-Marcynkevič, the famous writer and one of the founders of Belarusian literature was buried on the local cemetery.

Ivianiec is one more ancient place. Beautiful cathedral of St. Aleksej of the beginning of XX century meets us here. One more surprise is waiting for us in the center of the place. One of the most beautiful baroque churches the church of St. Michael has remained here together with the Franciscans monastery. Ivianiec like Rakaŭ is a famous pottery center. There is the museum dedicated to the traditional pottery of this region in the place.