News & Events in Belarus

There were two candidates for the title 2015 Belarus’ Capital of Culture, namely Brest and Molodechno. The board of the Culture Ministry decided in favor of the former.

The history of Brest stretches back almost 1,000 years. It is one of the three oldest Belarusian cities on a par with Polotsk and Turov. In 1390 Brest was one of the first to get the Magdeburg rights. In 1553 by the order of Brest Governor, Chancellor of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania Mikolaj Radziwill Czarny a printing house was opened in the city. This printing housed published the famous Brest (Radziwill) Bible. All in all, some 40 books were published at the printing house. Brest is associated with the beginning of music printing in Belarus.

With time in the city there was opened a mint. Later a music and drama association was created. The association was the precursor of Brest theaters, music schools, and the philharmonic society. During the Great Patriotic War the city was almost completely destroyed, but it arose from the ashes. Today it is a big administrative center of Brest Oblast of Belarus with a wonderful infrastructure and a wide network of cultural facilities, recreation areas, cultural and historical sites, and modern tourist attractions. The famous sites include St. Nicholas's Garrison Church, the old building of the railway station, St. Simeon's Cathedral, the modern monument to the 1,000th anniversary of Brest, the avenue of street lights ignited by the lamplighter every day, and others.

The memorial complex Brest Hero Fortress remains the main attraction for tourists and city residents. Brest also has the museums Saved Artistic Value and Museum of War - Territory of Peace, the museum of Brest history, the Brest Railway Museum, etc.

The city holds around 2,000 events annually, including ones at the national and international level. It has two professional theaters, a philharmonic society, twelve houses of culture, and 85 libraries. In 2014 Brest was awarded the title Child Friendly City.

Brest is planning to hold 150 original national and regional art projects, campaigns, and forums in 2015. The events will mostly celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Great Victory.

Earlier the title Belarus’ Capital of Culture was awarded to Polotsk, Gomel, Nesvizh, and Mogilev, and two of them - Gomel (2011) and Mogilev (2013) had the title of the CIS Capital of Culture. Each of the cities held around 200 events during the year, including innovation projects, concerts, music and theater premiers, and art exhibitions.

The board of the Belarusian Culture Ministry also decided that the 2016 Capital of Culture will be chosen in the first half of 2015, which will allow the winner to get fully prepared for the responsible mission.