Holocaust Memorial

This memorial is known as "The Death Pit". In 1942 Nazi killed 5000 Jews at this same place. The number of Minsk ghetto prisoners killed during WWII is about 100,000. The marble obelisk was built in 1947. It was USSR's first monument to Holocaust victims. The sculpture was added in 2000.

Church of Holy Trinity

A.k.a the Church of Saint Roh.

The present brick cathedral was built in the 60s of 19th century. During the post-WWII period it was used as a book depository, and the cemetery on Zolotaya Gorka (where the church is located) — the biggest and most famous catholic necropolis in the city — was destroyed. In 1976 the bulding was restored and partly repaired, then the chamber music hall of the philharmonic society was accommodated there. In 1991 the catholic church was renewed, and under the agreement with the philharmonic society the masses took place in it again. In 2006 the church was fully returned to believers.

Inside The Library

Some time ago I posted a photo of the National Library of Belarus and I was asked for a view inside the building.

A high-rise part of the structure (the "diamond") is the main stock-depository, so only the staff can get inside of it. A low part is the three- and four-storey capacity (the stylobata). Vestibules, reference-information area with general and reading catalogues of different types both for students and doctors of science as well as administrative and technical are accommodated here. Here is the view of the main vestibule.

P.S. The columns and the man to the right are actually standing upright. I had to shoot with wide angle from where I was standing.

Shine Your Light

"Shine your light" is a line from a song by Roxette that came to my mind when looking at this view.

The building in the middle is the recently restored (in 2003) 18th-century city hall. To the right is the Cathedral of Saint Virgin Mary built by the Jesuits in the beginning of 18th century. To the left is a part of the Freedom Square.

The Gates Of Minsk

View from the Central Railway Station towards the two buildings known as the Gates Of Minsk.

I took this photo without a tripod, but the result turned out to be ok even though exposure time was 1/8 s.

Snow Cleaning

Snow cleaning in front of the Trade Unions Palace. Although there's very little snow on the ground, apparently it's enough to start cleaning it in public places like this one.

The National Library of Belarus

Though it is such a cliche to put one of the most recognizeable sights of Minsk as the very first post to this blog, I couldn't miss this shot. The weather is exceptionally changeable today - one minute it's cloudy and windy and it even snows(!), the other minute you can see the sun and almost clear blue sky. But in my opinion such clouds form a very interesting background for photos.

A photo of the inside is here.