Sources and credits

Where every fact comes from

Every fact on minsk.ad was checked against the sources below, each read on 12 October 2026. Where sources disagreed, we used the more careful figure and say so. Spotted something wrong or out of date? Write to contact@minsk.ad.

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The Upper Town on the high bank of the Svislach, with Freedom Square on the old market place since the 16th century.Read 12 October 2026 · Wikipedia (ru): Freedom Square · Wikipedia (ru): Vysoki Rynak
The Holy Spirit Cathedral, built 1633 to 1642, and its twin towers.Read 12 October 2026 · Wikipedia (ru): Holy Spirit Cathedral · Wikipedia: Holy Spirit Cathedral
The Town Hall: pulled down in 1857, rebuilt from 2002 to 2004 from old pictures.Read 12 October 2026 · Wikipedia (ru): Minsk Town Hall
Trinity Suburb on the left bank: 19th-century streets restored from 1980 to 1985, with small museums, shops and cafés.Read 12 October 2026 · Wikipedia: Trinity Suburb · Wikipedia (ru): Trinity Suburb
The Gates of Minsk: two towers finished in 1953, facing the railway station.Read 12 October 2026 · Wikipedia (ru): Gates of Minsk · Minsk Tourism: Gates of the City
Independence Avenue: about 15 km from the centre to the northeast, with its grand 1950s stretch.Read 12 October 2026 · Wikipedia: Independence Avenue · Wikipedia (ru): Independence Avenue
A paved path of about 25 km along the Svislach, past Gorky Park, Victory Park and Lošycki Park.Read 12 October 2026 · Great Runs: Minsk
The National Library: a 23-storey rhombicuboctahedron with 26 faces, about 74 m tall, opened on 16 June 2006.Read 12 October 2026 · Wikipedia: National Library of Belarus · Wikipedia (ru): National Library of Belarus
Its facade carries 4,646 colour-changing LED fixtures and lights up after sunset.Read 12 October 2026 · Media Architecture Biennale · Wikipedia (ru): National Library of Belarus
The observation deck: a glass lift to decks more than 73 m up, listed as open daily until 23:00.Read 12 October 2026 · National Library: observation deck · National Library: hours
Uschod is the metro station beside the library.Read 12 October 2026 · National Library: contacts
Draniki, machanka and kalduny.Read 12 October 2026 · Wikipedia: Potato pancake · Wikipedia (ru): Machanka · Wikipedia: Kalduny
Kamarouka, the main food market since 1979, and its bronze horse and sparrow by the fountain.Read 12 October 2026 · Wikipedia (ru): Komarovsky Market · Tonkosti: Komarovsky Market
Zybitskaya Street, rebuilt in the 2010s as the city's café and bar street.Read 12 October 2026 · Wikipedia (ru): Zybitskaya Street · Live the World: the Upper Town
The National Art Museum: more than 30,000 works, closed on Tuesdays.Read 12 October 2026 · National Art Museum · Wikipedia: National Art Museum
Gorky Park, laid out in 1805 by the river, with old lime trees, a Ferris wheel and a planetarium.Read 12 October 2026 · My Places: Gorky Park (English Wikipedia gives 1800; we use 1805.)
The metro's first riders felt they were in underground palaces; folk ornament at Plošča Jakuba Kolasa, glass chandeliers at Park Čaliuskincaŭ and a steel sun at Jubiliejnaja plošča.Read 12 October 2026 · Minsk Metro: history · Wikipedia (ru): Plošča Jakuba Kolasa · Wikipedia (ru): Park Čaliuskincaŭ · Wikipedia (ru): Jubiliejnaja plošča
Visa-free entry: the rules are on Belarus's official visa-free page.Read 12 October 2026 · Ministry of Foreign Affairs: visa-free travel

History

Where sources disagree, the history page uses the safer wording: 80,000 to 100,000 for the Minsk Ghetto (Wikipedia and USHMM differ), about 91,000 for the 1897 census, and the metro operator's dates for 1984 and 2020.

1067 · A name in a chronicleRead 12 October 2026 · Wikipedia: Minsk · Wikipedia: Battle on the Nemiga River
1101 · A principality of its ownRead 12 October 2026 · Wikipedia: History of Minsk · Wikipedia: Minsk Castle
1499 · Town rightsRead 12 October 2026 · Wikipedia: Minsk · Wikipedia: History of Minsk
1569 · A new town on the hillRead 12 October 2026 · Wikipedia: Minsk · Wikipedia (ru): Vysoki Rynak · Wikipedia: Trinity Suburb
1600–1642 · Stone on the squareRead 12 October 2026 · Wikipedia (ru): Minsk Town Hall · Wikipedia (ru): Holy Spirit Cathedral
1793 · Part of the Russian EmpireRead 12 October 2026 · Wikipedia: History of Minsk
1801 · A straight new streetRead 12 October 2026 · Wikipedia (ru): Independence Avenue
1871–1873 · A railway crossroadsRead 12 October 2026 · Wikipedia: Minsk · Wikipedia: History of Minsk
1919 · A capitalRead 12 October 2026 · Wikipedia: Minsk
1921 · A universityRead 12 October 2026 · Wikipedia: Belarusian State University
1941–1944 · OccupationRead 12 October 2026 · Wikipedia: Minsk Ghetto · USHMM Holocaust Encyclopedia: Minsk
1944 · A city in ruinsRead 12 October 2026 · Wikipedia: Minsk · Archives of Belarus
1947–1953 · Built again, on a grand scaleRead 12 October 2026 · Wikipedia (ru): Independence Avenue · Wikipedia (ru): Gates of Minsk
1956–1972 · A city of a millionRead 12 October 2026 · Wikipedia: MKAD (Minsk) · Wikipedia: History of Minsk
1980–1985 · Trinity Suburb restoredRead 12 October 2026 · Wikipedia: Trinity Suburb · Wikipedia (ru): Trinity Suburb
1984 · The metro opensRead 12 October 2026 · Minsk Metro: history
1991 · Capital of independent BelarusRead 12 October 2026 · Wikipedia: History of Minsk
2006 · The diamond libraryRead 12 October 2026 · Wikipedia: National Library of Belarus · Media Architecture Biennale
2020–2024 · A third lineRead 12 October 2026 · Minsk Metro: history · Minsk Metro: today
2026 · About two millionRead 12 October 2026 · Belstat: population on 1 January · Wikipedia: Minsk
The map: the Svislach flowing north-west to south-east, the castle where the Niamiha joins it, the Upper Town on the right bank and Trinity Suburb on the left. It is a sketch, not to scale.Read 12 October 2026 · Wikipedia: Minsk Castle · Wikipedia (ru): Niamiha · Wikipedia: Minsk Metro

Metro Minsk

Station names follow Belarus's 2007 standard for writing Belarusian place names in Latin letters. The station drawings in the game are playful sketches, not plans.

Line 1: 15 stations and 19.1 km, from Malinaŭka to Uručča.Read 12 October 2026 · Minsk Metro: today · Wikipedia: Maskoŭskaja line
The Latin spellings of the station names.Read 12 October 2026 · Wikipedia: Instruction on transliteration of Belarusian geographical names
Postcard · MalinaŭkaRead 12 October 2026 · Wikipedia (ru): Malinaŭka
Postcard · PiatroŭščynaRead 12 October 2026 · Wikipedia (ru): Piatroŭščyna
Postcard · MichalovaRead 12 October 2026 · Wikipedia (ru): Michalova
Postcard · HrušaŭkaRead 12 October 2026 · Wikipedia (ru): Hrušaŭka
Postcard · Instytut KulturyRead 12 October 2026 · Wikipedia (ru): Instytut Kultury · Wikipedia: Instytut Kultury
Postcard · Plošča LieninaRead 12 October 2026 · Wikipedia (ru): Plošča Lienina · Minsk Tourism: Gates of the City
Postcard · KastryčnickajaRead 12 October 2026 · Wikipedia (ru): Kastryčnickaja · Sputnik8: Alexander Square
Postcard · Plošča PieramohiRead 12 October 2026 · My Places: Gorky Park
Postcard · Plošča Jakuba KolasaRead 12 October 2026 · Wikipedia (ru): Komarovsky Market · Tonkosti: Komarovsky Market
Postcard · Akademija NavukRead 12 October 2026 · Wikipedia: Akademija Navuk
Postcard · Park ČaliuskincaŭRead 12 October 2026 · Wikipedia: Chelyuskinites Park · Minsk Tourism: Central Botanical Garden
Postcard · MaskoŭskajaRead 12 October 2026 · Wikipedia: Children's Railroad (Minsk)
Postcard · UschodRead 12 October 2026 · National Library: contacts · Wikipedia (ru): Uschod
Postcard · Barysaŭski TraktRead 12 October 2026 · Wikipedia: Barysaŭski Trakt
Postcard · UruččaRead 12 October 2026 · Wikipedia (ru): Uručča

Photos

Each photo is stored on this site, resized, and listed here with its author and licence. Photos under the Unsplash License need no credit; we credit them anyway.