Minsk

The Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, in Minsk

Victory Square, the central place of Minsk

Minsk or Miensk (Мінск (official spelling in Belarus), Менск; Минск ; Mińsk) is the capital and a major city of Belarus. About 2 million people lived in the city as of 2021. Minsk is also a headquarters of the Commonwealth of Independent States. As a capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is also the capital of Minsk voblast (province) and Minsk raion. Minsk is built next to the Svislach and Niamiha rivers. The timezone in Minsk is GMT +2.

The oldest mentions of Minsk date back to the 11th century (1067). In 1326 Minsk became a part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and 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 result of the Second Partition of Poland. During 1919–1991 Minsk was the capital of the Byelorussian SSR. In 2019, Minsk hosted the European Games.

Minsk Media

Trajeckaje pradmiescie
Independence Square in the centre of Minsk
The Saviour Church, built under the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1577, is part of an archaeological preservation in Zaslavl, 23 km (14 mi) northwest of Minsk.
Менск (Miensk). Гравюра
The Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, built in the early 17th century, is the oldest existing building in the city.
Orthodox church of St. Mary Magdalene (built in 1847)
The Jesuit Collegium in 1912
Belarusian national flag over the building of the People's Secretariat of the Belarusian People's Republic
Meeting in the Kurapaty woods, 1989, where between 1937 and 1941 from 30,000 to 250,000 Belarusian intelligentsia members were murdered by the NKVD during the Great Purge
Stations of the new Zielienalužskaja line on video