Brest (Belarus) - Brest (Weißrussland)

Brest (Брэст (Belarus.) Брест (Russian) Brestas (lit.) Brześć nad Bugiem (Polish)), earlier Brest-Litovsk, is a city in the southwest Belarus at the Bugwho is the limit to Poland and thus represents the EU, opposite of Terespol. It is on the culture route of the Via Jagiellonica.

background

In the early Middle Ages, Brest was on the border between the Polish Mazovia and the Kievan Rus. The strategically located city changed its political affiliation several times from the 11th to the 13th century, until it was destroyed by the Tatars in 1241 and the depopulated area was then disputed between Poland and Lithuania until the 14th century. The dispute was settled with the union of Krewno in 1385, when Brest now came to the dual state of Poland-Lithuania, which in personal union of the Jagiellonian was ruled. The conveniently located city received the city charter of Mageburg as early as 1390 and trade flourished here in the following centuries. The Polish-Lithuanian kings organized meetings with the Lithuanian magnates at the local castle several times. Brest rose to become the capital of the voivodeship of the same name in the 16th century and the Reformation found its way here in the form of Calvinism. In Brest in 1563 the first complete Protestant translation of the Bible into Polish was printed, the so-called Brest Bible. In 1596 the Brest Union between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches in Poland-Lithuania closed from which the Unified emerged. With the third Polish division In 1795 Brest came to the tsarist empire. To control the area, the tsars left after the November uprising build the fortress of Brest from 1833, whereby a large part of the medieval and baroque old town was destroyed. Only the early baroque Basilian monastery was preserved as a white palace. Here in March 1918 the Peace of Brest-Litovsk signed between the German Empire and Soviet Russia. The fortress and town, which had previously been burned down by the retreating Russian soldiers, was taken by German units as early as 1915 without fighting. In the interwar period, Brest became part of the Second Polish Republic and became the capital of the voivodeship of the same name. During the Second World War, the city was first occupied by the Soviet Union, then by the Third Reich and then again by the Soviet Union. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the city came to Belarus. Due to the events of World War II, the once multicultural city is now almost entirely populated by Belarusians.

getting there

By plane

Brest airport is not used much. But if you know someone with a small private plane, you can actually get to Brest by plane.

By train

Brest is located on the main Warsaw-Moscow route and has the train station Brest Central. The direct trains that previously connected Brest with Berlin have - like so many other long-distance connections in Europe - been discontinued. One or two times a week you can still make the trip in Warsaw (and possibly Terespol) without annoying changes: the rather expensive Paris-Moscow Express also stops in Brest, it takes about thirteen hours for the route. The gauge change facility, in which chassis are converted from Central European standard gauge to broad gauge, is not run through before disembarking in Brest; on the journey to Berlin you get on when the train has already changed gauges. The journey from Berlin to Brest, including the bed card, costs around 130 euros.

By bus

Several bus companies offer trips from various German cities to Brest. The journey from Warsaw West Railway Station (Warszawa Zachodnia) is relatively convenient, it takes four to five hours and is significantly cheaper than the train ride.

The new bus station is right next to the train station. International and national lines come together here.

In the street

Brest is on the E30 or the Belarusian main road M1 Moscow-Minsk-Poland. Brest is one of the most important border crossings from Belarus to Poland. The Brest border crossing / Terespol is very busy and the waiting times are long.

Entry by bike is at the Brest border crossing Not possible. Cyclists have to make a long detour through the northern one Belovežskaja Pušča do. This is initially very scenic, but the rest of the route, which is more than 60 kilometers long, runs largely on busy country roads with no bike paths.

mobility

Various bus, trolleybus and Maršrutka lines operate in Brest. The tickets are bought at kiosks on the street, they have to be stamped in the means of transport. You only pay the driver in the Maršrutki. A route planner can help to orientate yourself [1].

Taxis can be hailed in the street or ordered by phone. They are always a reliable and, by Western standards, extremely inexpensive means of transport. Taximeters are usually installed, so you should make sure (and if necessary insist) that the device is switched on when starting your journey.

Tourist Attractions

Since Brest was almost completely demolished for the construction of the Brest Fortress and was almost completely burned down by the retreating Russian troops in August 1915, only a few very old buildings have survived.

Brest fortress

In the mid-1960s, the Brest fortress, built in the mid-19th century, was given the title "Heroes' Fortress". Today there is a memorial on the approximately four square kilometers large area, which commemorates the defense against the attacking units of the Wehrmacht. There are several monuments and preserved ruins on the site, including those of the "White Palace", where the "Peace of Brest-Litovsk" was signed. In addition, a large number of memorial plaques provide information about events during the battles for the fortress. However, since the authors mainly used self-defined (alternative) facts, they are not particularly informative. There are also several museums on the site (see below).

In front of the central monument "Mužestvo" ("Courage" or "Boldness"), a 34-meter-high block made of reinforced concrete, an eternal flame burns, on which an honor guard is placed by students in the mornings. The memorial was named the "ugliest memorial in the world" by CNN in 2014. Although no one is known who would have ever described the concrete head as "beautiful", a shitstorm forced the broadcaster to delete the dictum from its website and to apologize.^[1]

The fortress is located on the western outskirts of the city and can be reached with the "Maršrutki" 8 and 10 as well as the trolleybus, the drivers of the Maršrutki drive to the fortress area at no extra charge if you ask in good time.

synagogue

• 52.09085523.694668The former Brester 1  Main synagogue (a cinema today), vulica Budzionaha 62, Brest 224030, Belarus. was located at today's Sovetskaya Street. In the Soviet Union it was converted into the "Belarus'" cinema and, even after the collapse of the USSR, it was not returned to the Jewish community. Attentive observers will recognize the old components of the building with the characteristic octagonal floor plan: the massive foundation walls can be seen inside the building (basement - toilets), from the outside the upper part of the walls can be seen clearly. Since December 2018, a plaque in four languages ​​to the left of the main entrance has been commemorating the history of the building.last change: Mar. 2019

Museums

There are a number of museums in Brest. Amazingly, they all ignore the city's rich Jewish history, which came to a brutal end with the liquidation of the ghetto in October 1942. If you want to find out something about the fate of the Jews of Brest, you won't find anything in the state museums and therefore have to make do with a small exhibition (see below). Over the years, a kind of museum quarter has emerged in the Brest Fortress, the focus of which is on the "Great Patriotic War". Further fortress objects will be restored for permanent exhibitions in the next few years (status: 2018).

• Museum of Defense of the Brest Fortress. The museum is a central part of the monumental memorial Brest hero fortress. It is dedicated to the battles for the fortress in the first days after the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, but also provides information about the construction of the fortress, the "Polish period" and the later construction of the memorial. The museum is entirely focused on the hero cult. During the few days of fighting (the museum speaks of a month), thousands of Red Army soldiers were taken prisoner by Germany. The absolute majority did not survive the German camps - their fate is almost completely concealed in the museum. The corridors on the ground floor are used for special exhibitions, and there is a weapons exhibition in a room on the ground floor.Open: Daily 9 a.m. - 6 p.m., guided tours take place every day except Monday.Price: Admission: around € 1.last change: not specified

• Museum of War - Territory of Peace, Brest fortress. The museum, which opened in 2014, is part of the memorial Brest hero fortress. It partially duplicates the Museum of Defense of the Brest Fortress, but in contrast to it is equipped with all the technical bells and whistles that modern museum technology has to offer. An important innovation is that here - in contrast to the older museum - the issue of captivity is clearly thematized. But if you want to know how many Soviet soldiers were captured during the fighting for the fortress, you will also be disappointed here.Open: Daily 9 a.m. - 6 p.m., guided tours take place every day except Monday.Price: Admission: around € 1.last change: not specified

• Army club, Brest fortress. The branch of the fortress museum created in 2017 Army club is essentially the salvation of an old powder storage facility. The permanent exhibition is not very interesting, but you get an insight into the fortress architecture.Open: Daily 9 a.m. - 6 p.m., guided tours take place every day except Monday.Price: Admission: around € 1.last change: not specified

• Brest Oblast Museum of Local History, ul.Karla Marksa (Karl-Marx-Strasse). Since 2011, the local history museum has again had a permanent exhibition on the history of the city and its surroundings up to the beginning of the 20th century. Other halls will be redesigned over the next few years. The local history museum is subordinate to the Oblast administration. It has two branch offices, both of which are located on the extensive grounds of the Brest Fortress: the one that is particularly worth seeing archaeological museum "Bjaresce" (Belarus. Бярэсце) and the Art Museum.last change: not specified

• Exhibition on the history of the Jews and the Shoah, in the basement of the building ul.Gogolja 32 (access through the courtyard). Tel.: 37 5296513859. The exhibition is not made very professionally, but given the ignorance of the state museums, it is the only way to find out about the life of the Brest Jews up to the extermination.last change: not specified

• Bjaresce Archaeological Museum. The Archaeological Museum, opened in 1982, offers insights into the beginnings of the city. The museum building was provisionally erected over an excavation site of more than 100 m² and thus houses the exposed wooden foundations of around 30 buildings from the 13th century in its center. 35 years after its construction, the temporary structure was completely renovated. The permanent exhibition is housed in the galleries around the center of the museum and contains other excavation finds, explanatory diagrams and the like.last change: not specified

• Art museum. The art museum opened on May 17, 2002. Its permanent exhibition shows art objects by professional and non-professional artists from the region in seventeen halls. These include paintings of all kinds, sculptures, batik work, but also products from weaving and craftsmanship. A large model of the city of Brest as it might have looked in the 17th to 19th centuries is of particular interest to visitors from the city and abroad. The artist Anastasija Fetisowa and the students of the Politechnical College who were involved in the creation of the model have based their work on historical templates, which are, however, sparse, which is why it was supplemented with imagination. Two other halls are available for special exhibitions, which, according to information from the museum, change about every one to two months.last change: not specified

• City history museum, uliza Levanewskogo 3. The permanent exhibition of the small, subordinate to the city administration Museum of the History of the City of Brest shows the fortunes of the city from the earliest times to the end of the First World War on almost 200 m² of exhibition space. It opened in 1998.Open: except Mon Tue daily 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.last change: not specified

• Museum of Rescued Art Treasures. The exhibits of the Museum of Rescued Art Treasures (Belarus. Музей "Выратаваныя мастацкія каштоўнасці") on the corner of Masherov Prospect and Lenin Street have only one thing in common: They are works of art that the Belarusian customs confiscated when an attempt was made to illegally remove them from the country. This is why there is a colorful mix of different objects - icons from the 16th century, furniture from the 19th century, paintings by Russian and Western European artists, and silversmiths.last change: not specified

• Railway Technology Museum. Naturally, the one that opened on May 5, 2002 has particularly large exhibits Railway Technology Museum at the western end of the Mašerov prospect. Locomotives and wagons from different epochs of railway history are exhibited here in the open air. The museum is open every day except Mondays.last change: not specified

activities

• Brest was a strongly Jewish city until the Shoah. With the audio play Brest Stories Guide you can explore the urban space and familiarize yourself with the history of anti-Semitism and the Shoah in Brest. A free app for smartphones and tablets contains a map with entered routes and audio files.
  

  The entrance of the "Kryly Khalopa" room in Brest
• Prastora Kryly Chalopa (also KCh - pronounced ka-cha; Пространство КХ), ul. Chalturina 2/1. Tel.: 37 5298231916, 37 5295251652. Both an independent theater and a gallery and event space. Theater workshops, lectures, seminars, yoga and language courses, a cinema club and other events are also held here, and there is a bookcrossing zone in front of the door. "KCh" is a place that is unparalleled in Belarus and a real enrichment of the Brest cultural landscape. The institution and its activists have already received several Belarusian and international cultural awards. Most of the active members of the "KCh" also speak English. The place is not that easy to find, as the entrance is in a small street a little east of the street marked as ulica Chalturina on city maps.last change: not specified
  Type is group designation

shop

• "Korona" shopping centerlast change: not specified

• "Miks" supermarketlast change: not specified

• "Evroopt" supermarket chainlast change: not specified

kitchen

Cheap

medium

Upscale

nightlife

Cheap

medium

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accommodation

Cheap

medium

Upscale

Learn

Work

security

health

Practical advice

The lingua franca in Brest is Russian. But many people also speak Polish and younger people also speak English, less often German.

trips

Web links

• http://city.brest.by - Brest official website