TOPIC This Is Urban Life
Municipal buildings remain
The oldest engineering construction in Minsk is located on Aerodromnaya Street: the former water tower, built in 1910 of solid red brick. It no longer functions and is enclosed by a fence, but can be easily seen from the pavement. On the other side of the street, are the early 20th century buildings of the former railway hospital; these now belong to the 11th city clinical hospital and have been recently restored, with a modernist facade.
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dishes and, even, waiters’ outfits. Uruchie suburb’s latest coffee house, Cool Coffee, tempts us to try Belgian chocolate-laced cappucino, served with truffles made from Belgian or French chocolate. Meanwhile, Partizansky Av e n u e i s h o m e t o CoffeeLab; a favourite with students, it serves Napoleon’s coffee of choice. Wake Up Coffee, on Dzerzhinsky Avenue, serves decaffeinated coffee and a range of beverages at affordable prices, aiming to encourage Minsk residents to pay regular visits. Yezhednevnik Bistro, on Kalvariyskaya Street, has a similar ethos, with plenty of seating and a vegetarian menu, including pancakes, salads and various tasty garnishes.
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беларусь.belarus 2014
Feeding the soul Having filled our stomachs, it’s time to feed our souls and stir our minds. The Museum of Gas-filling Stations has opened on the А-100, near Borovaya village, bordering Minsk. Besides a collection of old refuelling pumps, there are cars and a range of machinery from the past. The rarest exhibit is a Soviet gasoline tank truck, dating from 1936 and still drivable. The oldest gasoline pump is f rom 1947 but there is a German fuel can from 1936 and German fuel drum from 1943. The fuel can is one of the first to use a particularly convenient handle, inspiring our modern day designs.
Snowy avenues await visitors
Rare gasoline tank truck, dating from 1936
Going beyond Minsk’s ring-road, to the village of Annopol (named after noblewoman Anna Khaletskaya) we can explore the former park’s avenues. Korolishchevichi, on the bank of the River Svisloch, evokes the film Indiana Jones with its ruined manor and arched cellars, once home to the Pruszyński family. It’s easy to imagine finding treasure, but be careful on those ruins! Priluki’s silvery poplars remain from the former park, as do its palace, brewery and carriage house. The nearby spring brings forth the purest of water. The Czapski family once owned the estate, which became home to Hitler’s deputy in Belarus, Wilhelm Kube, during Nazi occupation. The only way to discover the city’s unique corners and suburbs is to put on your boots and begin the adventure. By Viktor Korbut