Together with MTS we've created an audiobook about our city. There are 9 chapters, and each of them is a separate documentary about one of the important places or phenomena. Grab your headphones and head for a long walk around the city. And remember, Minsk can surprise you, you just need to listen.
Episode 1.
Minsk for Beginners
As in a true detective story, we will dive into the throbbing suspense of the capital of Belarus. Utopia and revitalization, Soviet vibe and nostalgic groove, bas-reliefs of the Bar Centralny and street art of Kastryčnickaja Street, World Of Tanks and Medok cake – here are all you need to make friends with the city. It doesn’t matter whether it’s your first visit or you have been living here for a long time. It’s never too early to take the first steps and get to know the city better. It’s never too late to hit the reset button and start the relationship all over.
Episode 2.
The Main Street of Minsk
Praspiekt Niezaležnasci is a 15 kilometers long city artery, the main showcase and highlight of the capital. A living utopia, a perfect, wide and sunny street with palaces, parks, fountains, and embankments – that's how architects and urbanists imagined it. Completely wiped off the face of the Earth and reborn, built almost with bare hands – it's not just a street, it's an idea, a dream, a fantasy.
Episode 3.
The Bolshoi Theater
The Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theater of Belarus is an impressive white building, which looks like a spaceship that landed on the mountain Troickaja in Minsk. We'll explore this spaceship, go behind the scenes, and try to find out what secrets the main theater of Belarus is keeping. It is the only opera theater in Belarus and the biggest stage of the country. Its building is an architectural monument of national importance.
Episode 4.
Kamaroŭski Market
Kamaroŭka is the best place to taste the real life of Minsk. We'll have a virtual walk around the legendary Kamaroŭski market (a.k.a. Kamaroŭka) and its surroundings. At the beginning of the previous century, the area of current Kamaroŭka had been considered the gloomiest and seediest outskirts of old Minsk. One was better not wandering around there after the sun goes down. Nowadays, anytime at night and during the day one would meet students, bikers, taxi drivers, businessmen, and pretty much anyone there.
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Episode 5.
Kastryčnickaja Street
Kastryčnickaja Street today is modern art, huge murals, large-scale festivals, delicious street food and endless parties. We are going back in time to see how the unfriendly industrial outskirts have turned into the most popular and vibrant street of the city. From the yeast distillery to creative hubs, legendary bars, parties all night long and gigantic murals. We've tried to pack a beautiful story of our favorite place into a ten-minute podcast.
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Episode 6.
Parks of Minsk
To make a proper acquaintance with Minsk you have to walk through its green areas and embankments. We will tell you about the famous Water-Green Diameter of the capital. It is a unique complex of parks, boulevards and water reservoirs stretching along the Svislač River for dozens of kilometers. A grand ecological belt of 18 parks crosses the entire city cutting it into halves. There’s no such an extensive green corridor in any European city. Many Belarusian and foreign architects believe that the water-green diameter could become a real brand of Minsk.
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Episode 7.
Parties of Minsk
Do you know what cultural hubs looked like 100 years ago? And which part of Minsk could have become a local Montmartre? We’re going to dive into the history of Minsk of the last hundred years by walking through its powerful spots, where the creative and active community was hanging out at different times.
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Episode 8.
Niamiha Street
Niamiha is a mysterious river hidden in the pipes deep under the ground. One of the oldest streets in Minsk is named after it. The street has been ruined and restored but preserved the secrets of the city, as if the ghost of old Minsk still lives there. We’re going to trace the history of Niamiha from current days back to the ancient times.
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Episode 9.
Tractor Plant Neighbourhood
Minsk Tractor plant Neighbourhood is a compact city in the city that was largely influenced by the utopian ideas of the late 40s and early 50s. This area resembles a serene urban oasis transferred to our time from the past. We invite you to take a walk through the streets of the factory district and find out what we love about this charismatic corner of the capital.
Cover photos by palasatka
