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Terra Incognita
just in the middle of Europe. Is it possible in the XXI century when there are no “white spots” on the map
of the world?
 Actually it is because Belarus today is
known by a very limited amount of people. Belarus is not
larger than Great Britain and is located exactly between
Poland and Russia but it differs from its neighbours from
cultural and other standpoints. Tourists are usually
impressed by the amazing compliance between the name of
the state Belarus which actually means White Russia and
its lluminous landscapes. And the Belarusians are indeed
the inhabitants of the White country – they have light
eyes and fair hair. They are very hospitable and
open-minded people.
 You will find yourself surrounded by
white birch-trees, lots of clean lakes and natural
reservoirs, hundreds of springs with cold and delicious
water. The scenery is natural – there are hundreds of
kilometres of old virgin forests and plentiful grass. The
trees and animals live on their own following the rules of
the Nature. There are national parks – even five of them
for such a small country. The largest is the Belovezha
Forrest (Belovezhskaya Pushcha). It’s an excellent place
for hunting: wild forest, impassable marshes being an
essential part of Belarusian landscape, and numerous
streams – a free terrain for animals and birds. Where
else in Europe will you see a wild boar, a wolf, a hare,
an elk and a deer in wild? And if you forget about the
present and release your sleeping instincts of a
pre-historic hunter miracles can happen! Imagination of
Belarusians inhabits the Belovezhskaya Puscha with ghosts,
wood-goblins, vampires and other fairy-tale spirits. Even
a real wild animal – zubr (a humpbacked Belarusian
bison) – was about to have become a legend, yet luckily
it was saved. Zubr – the King of the Belovezhskaya
Puscha – is the biggest animal in Europe.
 Unfortunately, there are not many
historical monuments left in Belarus because of various
devastating invasions. In the course of many centuries
Belarus was regularly razed to the ground by Poland, by
the Russian rule which in fact banned the very name
“Belarus”. Very often it happened so that Belarus was
so close to lose its name that would actually mean “to
disappear”. Even now though the official language in the
country is Belarusian, in the streets one can hear only
Russian. They say that Belarusian is the second melodious
language in the world after Italian. There’s one more
fact one should know: in the 16th century the
Belarusian lands were the core of the most prosperous
state of those times – the Great Duchy of Lithuania. Yes
exactly, the former Great Duchy of Lithuania is not the
modern Lithuania. It is Belarus! At that time the
Belarusian princes – the Radziviles – were one of the
most powerful families in Europe having treasury larger
than that of the state and they had their own army too.
The territory, that used to belong to them, exceeded the
territory of some European countries.
Some time ago tourists used to call
Belarus “the land of castles”. One could find castles
here every 30-40 kilometres. Although there are quite a
few of them left, they are wonderful. In the 16th
century the famous Italian architect Bernardoni erected a
castle in Nesvizh, the family house of the Radzivilles.
The castle in Mir is an amazing and rare for Belarus
sample of the gothic style. The castle in Novogrudok some
time ago dominated the capital of the Great Lithuanian
Principality.
 The modern capital of Belarus – Minsk
– cannot take pride in the ancient architecture,
although it’s about a thousand years old! Practically
everything was destroyed during World War II and the city
was rebuilt anew. Obviously one will wonder what differs
this city from other European cities. We think this is:
wide avenues and streets that are clean and green. Unlike
other European cities with their hustle and bustle and an
ever-hurrying crowds of people and a car noise, here in
Minsk you will find a quiet pace of life. There are not
that many people and cars in the streets. One can breathe
easily here. White Russia! But what is most amazing is
stunningly beautiful girls all around!
Belarus is still Terra Incognita for
foreigners. What does the world know about it? Just a few
facts: the Soviet Union collapsed here – in 1991 an
agreement on creation of CIS was signed in the
Belovezhskaya Pushcha; Chernobyl catastrophe because of
which Belarus suffered more than the Ukraine.
We would like you to discover our
country – the Motherland of the first book printer
Frantsisk Skorina, the well known painter Kazimir Malevich
(“title quadrate”), the genius painter Mark Shagal,
etc.
We are sure that you will love “White
Russia” as strong as we love it.
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