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Belarus. Brest
The capital city of the Brest oblast in Belarus at the border with Poland. A self-proclaimed center of Europe. Recently Brest celebrated its millennium but all of its ancient buildings and monasteries were demolished in 19th century when Russian Empire built the powerful Brest Fortress on its site. The battle for the fortress in 1941 was a major one during WWII. Today it is the best destination to play Niantic games (Pokémon GO, Ingress) in Russia and Belarus, because on the most territory of these states the gameplay is effectively blocked by Niantic itself.
I've been in Brest before, so this time I explored some unvisited places. Narutovich colony is a low-rise neighborhood constructed in 1920s by Polish as a housing for the town officials. Except for one house which is a museum, other are still used as living quarters.
Former Lutheran church.
A horse in a park near Narutovich colony.
An old polish manhole cover.
The sign says that parking is prohibited to everyone except the transport of KGB. The national intelligence agency of Belarus kept the name of its soviet predecessor.
Brest railway museum with a load of old Soviet, German, and Czech steam engines.
A steam locomotive in section.
Narrow gauge diesel locomotive.
The interior of a freight car converted to transport soldiers or prisoners.
One can freely climb into some steam or diesel engines.
Soviet coat of arms.
Vegetation prevails.
Inscriptions on a captured German steam locomotive.
One of the must-see museums in Brest is Fifth Fort situated in the southern suburbs. It is a well preserved fortifitication which has a small historical exposition.
A small part of the fort has recently been fitted with lighting. But basically you need to walk around the Kazmets with a flashlight.
A hole with a view of a ditch.
In the caponier, during the restoration, the inscriptions were opened. They were left by the Germans after the Russian troops left the city and the fortress in August 1915.
Also during the restoration, the armored personnel carrier BTR-60 without a turret which stood there as an exhibit and was gradually dismantled, was dragged out of the territory and threwn behind the fence. An outrageous mismanagement of military resources!
Getting in (as of June 2022): М1 highway. A direct train from Minsk. Unfortunately, after the start of the coronavirus pandemic, Brest airport doesn't serve flights anymore.
Where to stay: Hampton by Hilton in the southern suburb or the Hermitage hotel in the city center near the Narutovich colony.
Where to eat: Hinkalnia cafe on the Gogol street.
What to buy: the products of the Brest meat processing plant, especially sausages, are considered among the best in Belarus.
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