Great Patriotic War Museum

Minsk, Belarus

The Belarusian Great Patriotic War Museum is a museum commemorating the German-Soviet War after the end of Nazi occupation sprung up even before the close of the war. The museum first opened shortly after the liberation of Minsk from the Nazi invaders, on 25 October 1944, making it the first World War II museum to open during the course of the war. It relocated to its current location in 1966. The museum staff also engages in historical research: particular areas include Belarusians in the Red Army, local anti-fascist and partisan activity, and the history of the Auschwitz death camp.

References:

Comments

Your name

Website (optional)


Address

Praspyekt Nyezalyezhnastsi 25, Minsk, Belarus
See all sites in Minsk

Details

Founded: 1944
Category: Museums in Belarus

More Information

www.warmuseum.by
en.wikipedia.org
minsktourism.by

Rating

4.8/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby


Minsk City Hall (0,4 km)
St. Joseph Church (0,3 km)
Holy Spirit Cathedral (0,4 km)
Cathedral of Saint Virgin Mary (0,5 km)
Church of Saints Simon and Helena (1,3 km)
Peter and Paul Cathedral (0,7 km)
Belarusian National Arts Museum (0,6 km)
Holy Trinity Church (1,4 km)
Loshyca Manor (6 km)

User Reviews

Hendro Yosua (15 months ago)
Amazing library! Very beautiful at night
Ashton Brantingham (2 years ago)
I have been to many war museums, and this was a unique experience. To see from the point of view of soldier's and civilians living in those times is humbling. The presentation of this museum is immaculate, and English speaker friendly.
Michel (2 years ago)
Rating this place is difficult. On the one hand it's quite big and filled with objects and replicas (a lot of weapons) from the war, displayed skillfully and with comprehensive information in Russian, Belarussian and English. On the other hand there are some big objectivity issues and the facts need to be reevalued and updated. Definitely worth a visit.
Ian Burtonshaw (2 years ago)
One of the best museums for Soviet WW2 awards I have ever been to. The rest is pretty good as well but the awards and story's behind them is the biggest part and well worth visiting just for them.
Nicklas Gustafson (2 years ago)
If you´re interesting about WW2/GPW and visit Minsk, this is something you must see. One woman as working their had knowledge in German language - she helped me to answer some question. But the exhibition talk for itself and no further question is actually necessary. Yes I liked this museum, exhibitions, the architecture, internal environment.
Powered by Google

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

The Beauty of Cinque Terre
Photo from Flickr, copyright Frans.Sellies

Historic Site of the week

Kromeriz Castle and Gardens

Kroměříž stands on the site of an earlier ford across the River Morava. The gardens and castle of Kroměříž are an exceptionally complete and well-preserved example of a European Baroque princely residence and its gardens and described as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The first residence on the site was founded by bishop Stanislas Thurzo in 1497. The building was in a Late Gothic style, with a modicum of Renaissance detail. During the Thirty Years' War, the castle was sacked by the Swedish army (1643).

It was not until 1664 that a bishop from the powerful Liechtenstein family charged architect Filiberto Lucchese with renovating the palace in a Baroque style. The chief monument of Lucchese's work in Kroměříž is the Pleasure Garden in front of the castle. Upon Lucchese's death in 1666, Giovanni Pietro Tencalla completed his work on the formal garden and had the palace rebuilt in a style reminiscent of the Turinese school to which he belonged.

After the castle was gutted by a major fire in March 1752, Bishop Hamilton commissioned two leading imperial artists, Franz Anton Maulbertsch and Josef Stern, arrived at the residence in order to decorate the halls of the palace with their works. In addition to their paintings, the palace still houses an art collection, generally considered the second finest in the country, which includes Titian's last mythological painting, The Flaying of Marsyas. The largest part of the collection was acquired by Bishop Karel in Cologne in 1673. The palace also contains an outstanding musical archive and a library of 33,000 volumes.

UNESCO lists the palace and garden among the World Heritage Sites. As the nomination dossier explains, 'the castle is a good but not outstanding example of a type of aristocratic or princely residence that has survived widely in Europe. The Pleasure Garden, by contrast, is a very rare and largely intact example of a Baroque garden'. Apart from the formal parterres there is also a less formal nineteenth-century English garden, which sustained damage during floods in 1997.

Interiors of the palace were extensively used by Miloš Forman as a stand-in for Vienna's Hofburg Imperial Palace during filming of Amadeus (1984), based on the life of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who actually never visited Kroměříž. The main audience chamber was also used in the film Immortal Beloved (1994), in the piano concerto scene.

Map Top Sights Tags Historical Periods City Guides About Us Sign Up Upload new site
© 2020 SpottingHistory.com. All rights reserved.