The capital of Belarus

The reconstructed town-hall of Minsk
(Originally built in 18th century)

Minsk is the capital of the Republic of Belarus and its industrial, political, scientific and cultural centre. Its population is about 1.7 million people. The city is situated in the heart of Belarus - on the crossroads of trade routes from the East to the West and from the North to the South.
Historically Minsk is an ancient Russian town founded in 1067. In the 'Annals of Past Years' Minsk (or ancient Menesk and later Mensk called so up to the beginning of the 20th century) was mentioned in the entry of 1067 as a fortress in the Polotsk Principality situated on the banks of the Svisloch and the Nemiga rivers and surrounded by swamps and woods.

There are several opinions as to the city's name. Some historians refer to an old legend about Menesk (or Minch), a man of extraordinary physical strength who used to protect the town from enemies. Others believe that the name has something to do with the Menka River, some 16 km. to the West of the city's present location). Still others are sure that the towns name was derived from the Slavonic word "mena" (barter, exchange) because in the ancient times there used to be a barter market where the merchants from many countries of Europe and Asia struck deals and exchanged their goods.

By the end of 11th century Minsk branched away from the Polotsk principality to form a separate Minsk Principality. In the beginning of the 14th century the Minsk Principality was incorporated by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, a powerful medieval state with the Belarussians taking up about 80% of its population. In 1499 under the Magdeburg Law the city was granted the right of self-government and land ownership, as well as certain privileges relating to crafts, commerce, duties, etc. In 1569 the Grand Duchy of Lithuania united with Polish Kingdom to form a joint state of Rzeczpospolita. Unfortunately, Rzeczpospolita was doomed to destruction and in 1793 the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was unified with the Russian Empire, Minsk being transformed into a gubernia (province) centre.

This transformation had a positive effect on the city's industrial and demographic development. Year by year, step by step the city was turned into one of the largest industrial and trade centres in the region. Minsk kept on its old tradition of being a place where the merchants from the four parts of the world met until 1914, the year of the greatest shock for the whole mankind, the year when the World War 1 began.

The October revolution of the 1917 in Petrograd, the Civil War, the German and the Polish invasions with the consequent period of economic chaos had the most negative impact on Belarus. Yet, with great hardships the situation started to improve gradually. Minsk acquired the status of the capital city; the large-scale construction program was adopted. It was the period of a relatively stable economic growth.

The three years of the World War II (1941-1944) had a disastrous effect on Minsk. Its central part was actually raised to the ground, more than 80% of the dwelling houses were ruined. Only about 40,000 people lived in Minsk by the time it was liberated on July 3, 1944 as compared to 270,000 inhabitants on the eve of the war.

In the post-war period the Belarussian capital was practically rebuilt to become a large industrial, political, scientific and cultural centre. New enterprises were erected in that period: Minsk Automobile Plant (MAZ), Minsk Tractor Plant (MTZ), Minsk Automatic Lines Plant (MZAL), Minsk Motorcycle and Bicycle Plant (ADJVZ), Refrigerator Plant, etc. Minsk is proud for its scientists and engineers, writers and teachers, artists and sportsmen who have established Belarus internationally as a highly developed state in Central Europe willing to live in peace and friendship with all countries.