Tour Grodno and surroundings (5 days)

A sightseeing tour of Minsk is a great choice for getting to know the city. During the tour, which lasts about 3 hours, you will see the main sights of Minsk and learn a lot about its past and present.

During a group or individual tour, you will visit Freedom Square, where the historical center of Minsk was once located. Then you will go to Minsk Castle Site - the oldest place in the city, where the remains of fortress walls and towers have been preserved. Trinity Suburb will open the atmosphere of old Minsk with its cozy streets and houses, the next point on the minibus will be Island of Tears - a memorial complex dedicated to the internationalist soldiers who died in Afghanistan. The tour will also introduce you to the modern appearance of the city: you will see the Minsk Arena sports complex, learn interesting facts about life on Independence Avenue, and the tour will end at the National Library building.

After the tour, you will easily navigate the city, the guide will answer any questions and tell you about the best cafes and shops in Minsk.

Mir - Nesvizh excursion from Minsk is an 11-hour journey during which you will get acquainted with two pearls of Belarusian architecture and history: the legendary Mir and Nesvizh castles, which once belonged to the noble Radziwill family. We will show you not only the majestic castle walls, but also picturesque corners of ancient cities with interesting stories and amazing views.

First you will see Mir Castle, which amazes with its power and beauty. During the excursion to Mir Castle, you will walk through its halls, learn about the fates of its owners and visit the Radziwill family tomb. Then the excursion goes to Nesvizh, where you will see the town hall, the Farny Church, the Benedictine monastery and much more. And the culmination will be an excursion to Nesvizh Castle with its unique architecture and beautiful park. You will be able to see magnificent halls decorated with ancient frescoes, rich tapestries and luxurious furniture. You will also be impressed by the underground passages and legends associated with the residence of one of the most influential families in Europe.

The route of the excursion Slonim - Zhirovichi - Synkovichi starts from Minsk and includes three significant settlements: Slonim, Synkovichi and Zhirovichi. The duration of the excursion is about 11.5 hours, during which time you will be able to fully immerse yourself in the atmosphere of Western Belarus.

The first stop will be Slonim - a city with a centuries-old history. Here you will see the Church of St. Andrew the Apostle, which stands out for its exquisite Baroque style. Next, you will see the Benedictine monastery, founded in the 17th century, and the building of the Slonim Choral Synagogue, preserved since the times of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and attracting with its monumentality.

Continuing the excursion, you will head to Synkovichi, where one of the oldest churches in Belarus of the defensive style is located - the Church of St. Michael.

The route ends with an excursion to Zhirovichi with a visit to the Holy Dormition Monastery. This place is known for its miraculous icon of the Mother of God and attracts pilgrims from all over Belarus.

This route will allow you to get acquainted with the architecture and history of Belarusian churches and learn interesting facts about the western region.

An excursion from Minsk to Grodno and the Augustów Canal is a journey where every turn of the road reveals a new page of Belarusian history. Grodno greets you with royal grandeur: here linger the shadows of princes, echoes of medieval streets resound, and the domes of churches shine. You will see the Old and New Castles, the Grodno Choral Synagogue, the Bernardine Monastery, the Church of St. Francis Xavier, and the unique Kalozha Church. But the tour doesn’t end in the city — a picturesque continuation awaits you along the Augustów Canal, where time seems to stand still near the old locks.

Upon request, a private or corporate tour to Grodno can be arranged according to your interests and preferences.

Having seen it, you hardly learn in the cathedral is mute. Before you the beautiful palace will be. However, having thumbed through pages of the past of Sacred and Mikhaylovsky church, you learn in what a secret of its shape and history. How fate of the temple existing since the time of Public relations of the 17th century up to now was?

Long time in Lida attempts construction of Catholic temples anyway became. However all of them came to the end extremely tragically – pagan aggression, disapproval of the prince, the fires of crusaders. So was to the middle of the 18th century. In 1770 in the city the Roman Catholic Parish Church of Erection of the Sacred Cross appeared. The outstanding architect, the founder of refined architectural style, after called "vilensky baroque" - Johann Christoph Glaubits became the architect of the project.

In 1323 the prince Gedimin gave the order to put the stone lock to cover to knights the road to the center of lands of the principality Lithuanian. In 5 years the kostel was built. Time the lock was besieged by the English, German, French knights. The Lidsky lock is "time machine" and a fascinating travel to the Middle Ages where continually there is a place to romanticism and knightly valor. Here everyone will be able to feel as the ancient soldier, having tried on an armor and to like the mystical atmosphere, having learned what ghost protects a citadel.

In 1686, monks of Dominicans appeared in Rakov, then ⎯ the basilians. At the Basilian monastery, founded here in 1702, there was a library, an archive, a hospital. And in 1793 the construction of the monastery church was completed. After the abolition of the union of power, the monastery was closed, the church became the Orthodox Transfiguration Church. In the church there is an icon that is venerated by the parishioners, which is called "Athos". This is a list from the icon of the Mother of God "Akathist" or "The Forerunner", transferred in 1910 as a gift of the Savior-Transfiguration Church by the monks of Mount Athos. The list was made by the monks of the Holy Mountain on a cypress board, in which a particle of the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord, a pebble from the grave of the Blessed Virgin Mary, was part of the relics of St. Charalampia, St. Gregory Palamas, mch. George the New. By its decoration and splendor, the Rakovsky Church has become one of the best temples of the Minsk diocese.

Rakov – the town which has received glory of "the capital of smugglers" for "crafts" of inhabitants of the beginning of the 20th century and for quantity of gambling and entertaining institutions. Life raged here at all times. However if to stop by in Cancers now – will remind of former times unless a church. The church of God's Mother of Ruzhantsova and Saint Dominica constructed in style of a medieval gothic style it is proud towers over the town and pride him is justified. Religious life of Rakov, as well as all Belarusian lands, has endured a set of difficult tests, violence and oppression. It was hard to come to tolerance which gives a belief option to residents of the country now. About history of a church and the town you will be told by the guide.

Alekseevsky church in Ivyanets is almost the same age as the Rakovsky church. Its construction was completed by 1907. For 14 years (1976 - 1990) it was used as a book depository of the State Library of Belarus. IN AND. Lenin and in 1990 was returned to the faithful. I would like to emphasize that the St. Alexis Church in Ivyanets is distinguished by a high culture of construction works, which is manifested in the special care of the brickwork, and in careful study of all the details of the rich decor, and in the emphasized simplicity and clarity of the composition solution. All this, taken together, allowed the builders of the temple to create a holistic architectural image in which the aesthetic program of Gothic architecture, inspired by the ideas of the early twentieth century, was realized.

Even accidentally passable through Ivenets, your look will surely hook on two magnificent temples. One of them soaring as if the white ship, over a water smooth surface, Saint Mikhail Arkhangel's church. His easy and elegant baroque silhouette decorates about 300 years the town. Earlier it was a part of the monastery of Franciscans and also: and here restoration works of the magnificent architectural work come to the end with church, shop, the pickling shop, high school, the eksperementalno-research shop now. Doors open again for parishioners and guests of the town.