Pinsk landmarks
Pinsk is a town full of various attractions. The embankment, churches, palaces, theaters – and this is not a complete list of what tourists can visit in the town. Pinsk was a part of many states during the history such as the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Commonwealth of Poland, the Russian Empire, the Ukrainian and Polish Republics. Therefore, tourists can see a great variety of cultural monuments in Pinsk.
We will tell you what to visit in Pinsk to understand and feel the atmosphere of the town.
Lenin Street
It is considered as the main street of the town. And it is not surprising as it is also the oldest in the town, so it is rich in various monuments. These include the Butrimowicz’s Palace. It is also called the “Pinsk Moor”. The artist Napoleon Orda worked there, so the palace used to be a repository of his artistic heritage. The Butrimowiczes and the Skirmunts used to own the castle and the novelist Jozef Kraszewski often visited it. In short, this palace has seen a lot. Now it has been restored and there is a marriage registry and a small museum of the palace’s history.
A tourist will be able to see the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary on Lenin Street. Its distinctive feature is unique religious relics: the oldest organ in Belarus, created in the 1830s and the “Pinsk Madonna” icon, sketched from an ordinary Pinsk woman.
It is also worth mentioning that Lenin Street is pedestrian. Therefore, it will be interesting for tourists to walk here and look at other historical buildings, because on this street almost each of them has historical and cultural value.
Jesuit College and Museum of the Belarusian Polesie
They say that this sight has miraculously survived to this day because the Soviet authorities preserved it, though some other religious buildings were destroyed. The singularity of the temple is that two branches of Christianity were interwoven in it, as the college was later transferred to the orthodox monastery.
The college building has been partially preserved. The original facade and two monastery wings have been saved. Nowadays there is the Museum of the Belarusian Polesie in this building. The museum’s pride is the painting “Sea” by Aivazovsky. Though previously it needed reconstruction and was not exhibited for viewing today everyone who wishes can come to see it. Tourists can also view the traditional tools and household items of the Poleshuks* in the museum.
Church of Charles Borromeo
The church was originally built of wood, but a century later it was rebuilt in stone at the expense of Mikhal Oginsky. The church is an example of Baroque church architecture. In the sixties the church was closed and nowadays it doesn’t fulfil any religious functions. A concert hall of chamber music was opened there after the restoration.
It is worth mentioning that the interior decoration of the church has been preserved from the end of the XVIII century — definitely a good reason to peek into the building.
Pina River Embankment
During a walk around the town it is impossible to ignore the embankment of the Pina River. it is the favorite place for promenades of citizens, as well as just an atmospheric and beautiful place which will be pleasant to walk along.
The embankment is roughly divided into two parts: the new part, which was opened in 2008 (the length of about 300 meters), and the old one, which was built in the postwar period. A walk along the embankment will take the visitor from the central part of the town to the park and to its eastern edge, while taking a closer look at the landscaped area around the Pina River.
Small towns of Belarus often hold a lot of stories that will be interesting for every traveler to hear. So, keep on travelling around our country, because Pinsk is an appealing, but definitely not the only place worth visiting.
*Poleshuks is an ethnic group, indigenous to Polesie. The inhabitants of Polesie have preserved many archaic features in their material and spiritual culture, language and self-consciousness.