Brest, Belarus
Brest , formerly Brest-on-the-Bug and Brest-Litovsk, is a city in
Belarus close to the
Polish border where the Western Bug and
Mukhavets Rivers meet. It is the capital city of the
Brest voblast and is located at .
Being situated on the main
Berlin–
Moscow railway line and intercontinental highway, Brest became a principal border crossing since
World War II in
Soviet times. Today it links the
European Union and the
Commonwealth of Independent States.
Because of the "break of gauge" at Brest between the Russian
broad-gauge system and the European standard gauge, all through rail passenger cars must have their bogies changed here, cargo in freight trains must be transshipped.
Encyclopedia
Brest , formerly
Brest-on-the-Bug and
Brest-Litovsk, is a city in
Belarus close to the
Polish border where the Western Bug and
Mukhavets Rivers meet. It is the capital city of the
Brest voblast and is located at .
Being situated on the main
Berlin–
Moscow railway line and intercontinental highway, Brest became a principal border crossing since
World War II in
Soviet times. Today it links the
European Union and the
Commonwealth of Independent States.
Because of the "break of gauge" at Brest between the Russian
broad-gauge system and the European standard gauge, all through rail passenger cars must have their bogies changed here, cargo in freight trains must be transshipped. Some of the land in the Brest rail yards remains contaminated as a result of the transshipment of
radioactive materials here since Soviet days.
City name
There are several versions of the city name origin. The most common are as follows,
- the name of the city comes from the Slavic root beresta meaning birch bark,
- the name of the city comes from the Slavic root berest meaning elm,
- the name of the city comes from the Lithuanian word brasta meaning ford.
History
The city was founded by
Slavs. As
Berestye it was first mentioned in the Russian Primary Chronicle in 1019 as a town in Kievan Rus. It was subdued several times by
Poland and by
Lithuania, conquered by the
Mongols in 1241. It was renamed Brest-Litovsk in the
16th century, after it became part of the
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1569. In 1596 it hosted the council which established the Eastern Catholic or
Uniate Church. Brest passed to
Russia when Poland-Lithuania was partitioned for a third time in 1795. During Russian rule in the 19th century a large
fortress was build in and around the city.
It was captured by the
German Empire in 1915, during
World War I. In March 1918, in the
Brest-Litovsk fortress on the western outskirts of Brest at the confluence of the Western Bug and
Mukhavets Rivers, the
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed, ending the war between Russia and the
Central Powers and transferring the city and its surrounding region to the sphere of influence of the German Empire. This treaty was subsequently annulled by the treaties which ended the war.
The newly reconstituted
Poland took control of Brest in 1919. The city changed hands twice during the
Polish-Soviet War and eventually stayed inside Polish borders, a development that was formally recognised by the
Treaty of Riga in 1921. In the former
Brest-Litovsk fortress, heavily damaged during
World War I, Polish troops with the headquarters of the 9th Military District were stationed, and the city itself became a capital of Polesie Voivodship . In 1930
Wincenty Witos and some other prominent Polish statesmen were detained here before the notorious trial in Warsaw. During the Invasion of Poland in 1939 the city was defended by a small garison of four infantry battalions under Gen.
Konstanty Plisowski against the XIX Panzer Corps of Gen.
Heinz Guderian. After four days of heavy fighting the Polish forces withdrew southwards on September 17.
]
The city was annexed by the
Soviet Union in 1939 in accordance with the
Ribbentrop-Molotov pact's Secret Protocol effectively partitioning Poland signed with Nazi Germany in August, 1939. Most Belarusians considered it a reunification of the Belarusan nation under one constituency .
On June 22, 1941 the fortress and the city was attacked by
Nazi Germany at the beginning of the surprise war, codenamed
Operation Barbarossa, but held out for six weeks. Nearly all the defenders were killed. Brest's
Jewish community was decimated under Nazi rule in 1942. The city was liberated by the Red Army in July 1944. An interesting fact was the large number of ethnic
Chechens in the contingent of the fortress, which politically always contradicted the somewhat stereotypical veiw that Chechens were collaborators of Nazi Germany.
According to the agreements of the
Yalta Conference of February 1945, Brest's status as part of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic was officially recognised. It is now part of the independent country of Belarus.
Sights in Brest
A majestic Soviet style war memorial was constructed on the site of the 1941 battle, to commemorate the known and unknown defenders of the
Hero-Fortress. This war memorial is the largest tourist attraction of the city. In addition, an archeological museum of the old city
Berestye is located on the southern island of the
Hero-Fortress. It offers objects and huts dated back to the 11th - 13th century, that were unearthed during excavations in the
1970s.
Brest also hosts the first Belarusian outdoor railway museum.
A
Holocaust memorial commemorates the dead Jews of Brest
ghetto.
Brest City Park is 100 years old, but looks quite new after the recent reconstruction.
Brest has several stadiums, indoor sport halls and many outdoor sport facilities.
The local airport , is operating flights to the capital city
Minsk and to
Moscow and
Novgorod in
Russia on a weekly basis. It is currently closed.
Sights around Brest
Belavezhskaya Pushcha National Park, 70 km north of Brest, is a biosphere reserve of world distinction and can be reached by car or bus. This medieval forest is home to rare European bison . There is a museum and a zoo, available for tourists in the forest, animals can be seen in enclosures all the year round. 2 hotels and some restaurants and bars are there. Excursions can also be taken by horse and cart into the interior of the forest. As a new tourist attraction, the forest features the residence of Grandfather Frost, known as
Ded Moroz, the Eastern Slavic
Santa Claus, that works all the year round.
Brest also hosts the first Belarusian outdoor railway museum.
Brest City Park is old, but looks new after the recent reconstruction.
Kamyanets, Belarus, that lies on the way to the National park from Brest, features an outstanding landmark, the 13th-century
tower of Kamyanets.
The village of
Kossovo, where
Tadeusz Kosciuszko was born, is also in the Brest region and features a 19th-century palace and a nice
Roman Catholic church.
Brest can easily be reached from Warsaw by taking the daily sleeper train to Brest Centralnaya from the central train station in Warsaw, although visas must be sorted out for EU passport holders before travelling. There are a few hotels in Brest, including "INTOURIST" on Praspekt Masherava .
Individuals associated with Brest
See also
External links
