Minsk’s Courtyards
As in capital cities and grand boulevards everywhere, Minsk puts on a polished façade for visiting heads of state. But the city’s true heart lies behind these smartened-up fronts. The same is true of Minsk’s courtyards, which often reveal a very different life from the one suggested by their elegant façades.
Will man eine Stadt entdecken, so empfhiehlt sich of ein Blick in Ihre Hinterhöfe. So geht es auch in Minsk - die Hinterhöfe von minsk zeigen nicht die aufgeräumten Prachtbauten.
Photo: Ilya Kalachev
Minsk’s courtyards are a special part of the city. In Minsk, it is not the old architectural monuments that embody the city’s soul. The city was almost completely destroyed during the Second World War, and only a few old landmarks survived. To see the heart and soul of Minsk, you have to take the paths into its courtyards and backyards.
Minsk’s courtyards can tell travelers a great deal about the city. In the courtyards and backyards of central Minsk—around Victory Square, along Komsomolskaya Street, in the Trinity Predmestya district, and near the Opera House—you can often find artifacts that have survived in remarkably strange ways. The real reasons they remain in their original form are unclear. Here you’ll find plenty of run-down buildings, forgotten by the world, yet still carrying the charm of bygone times.
Everything has to happen fast in the new Minsk. Many of the treasures hidden in its courtyards have already disappeared from the plans for the city’s ambitious future. Given how quickly the municipal authorities are changing what remains of “old Minsk,” these old houses, factories, and courtyards have little chance of being discovered as lasting attractions. Perhaps the photos you are looking at right now are already records of Minsk’s past.
