Minsk - City Information

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Minsk info

Minsk is the capital and largest city in Belarus, situated on the Svislach and Nemiga rivers. Minsk is also a headquarters of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). It has a population of 1,836,808 inhabitants (2009).

Minsk is located in the area of mixed forests typical for most of Belarus. Pinewood and mixed forests are still present at the edge of the city, especially in the north and east. Thw city has a warm summer humid continental climate.

The earliest references to Minsk date to the 11th century (1067), when it was a provincial city within the principality of Polotsk. In 1242, Minsk became a part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and it received its town privileges in 1499. From 1569, it was a capital of the Minsk Voivodship in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was annexed by Russia in 1793, as a consequence of the Second Partition of Poland. From 1919–1991, Minsk was the capital of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. After Germany invaded the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941, as part of Operation Barbarossa, Minsk immediately came under attack. The city was bombed on the first day of the invasion and came under Wehrmacht control four days later. The Germans designated Minsk the administrative centre of Reichskomissariat Ostland (Reich Commissariat of Eastland), special administrative unit of the Nazi Germany occupation. By 1942, Minsk had become a major centre of the Soviet partisan resistance movement against the Nazi invasion. For this role, the city was awarded the title Hero City in 1974. It was recaptured by Soviet troops on 3 July 1944.

After World War II, Minsk was rebuilt. The historical centre was replaced in the 1940s and 1950s by Stalinist architecture, which favoured grand buildings, broad avenues and wide squares. The industrialization started which cause the rapid growth of the city population. In 1984 Minsk Metro was opened.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union Mink became the capital of a newly independent country and quickly acquired the attributes of a major city with government centres, foreign embassies and modern hotels.

Minsk is the major industrial centre of Belarus. The city has over 250 factories and plants. The main industries include: chemicals, light industry, machine building (trucks, machine tools), construction materials (concrete), electronics, furniture. Minsk region has varied and well-established agriculture. Cattle and pig farming are significant industries and there are also large poultry farms in the region. The main crops are potatoes, flax and sugar beet, and there are also a number of horticultural farms around the major cities.

Minsk is the largest transportation hub in Belarus, located at the junction of the Warsaw-Moscow railway, connecting Russia with Poland and Germany and Liepaja-Romny railway, connecting Ukraine with Lithuania and Latvia. Minsk has International airport. Operators include the national carrier Belavia, and also the German airline Lufthansa, AirBaltic of Latvia, LOT Polish Airlines, and the Austrian Airlines Group

Minsk is the major educational centre of Belarus with 36 higher education institutions, including 12 major national universities.

City historical and cultural landmarks in the Minsk region include: churches in Borisov (18th century), Nesvizh Palace, archaeological and architectural sites, Logoisk (19th century), Zaslavl castle (16th and 17th centuries), churches in Vileyka (15th and 19th centuries), Budslav Bernadine monastery (1783), Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, Cathedral of Saint Virgin Mary, The Red Church, Church of Sts. Peter and Paul, Svir church (1909), Volozhin Palace (19th century), Ivenets Franciscan monastery (1606), Y. Radziwill country estate in the village of Krasnaya Zvezda, Kletsk (18th century), Slutsk church (18th century), The Dudutki Museum of 19th-century Life.

More about Minsk at Wikipedia

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