In Stowbtsy District, literary landmarks meet estates, churches built in different periods, and an interactive attraction dedicated to medieval history. To plan your trip, you can start by choosing a theme: Jakub Kolas’s life and work, historic buildings, or landscapes and nature. The destinations offer a wide variety of highlights.
Literature and Estates
The branch of the State Literary and Memorial Museum of Jakub Kolas opened in Smolnya in 1967. The literary exhibition traces Kolas’s childhood and youth, as well as his later life and creative career. The collection at the Smolnya estate includes the poet’s letters to his compatriots, photographs, documents and rare editions of his works. The focus is therefore both on the writer’s development and on the surviving records of his work.
The Akinchitsy Memorial Estate is associated with Mikhail Mitskevich, Jakub Kolas’s father. He lived there with his family from 1 April 1881 to 1 April 1883. The reconstructed estate includes a forester’s homestead, a house, a barn, a well and other farmyard features. It displays replicas of objects owned by the Mitskevich family, as well as household items used by peasants in the late 19th century. The site thus connects a specific family history with insights into everyday life at the time.
Albuc offers a different literary perspective: its literary and memorial exhibition is based on Jakub Kolas’s poem “New Land.” Items on display include equipment used for beekeeping and fishing. This connects the literary reference with selected objects from rural life.
Park and Landscapes
The interactive “Great Principality of Sula” park on the banks of the Sula River is dedicated to medieval history. Visitors can take a guided excursion route on a horse-drawn railway; fresh bread is available to taste at the park bakery. The grounds are designated as a pedestrian zone. As visitor services, food options and on-site rules may change, check the latest visitor information before your visit.
At the Lastok estate, geological and architectural features sit side by side: the estate and its surroundings are a natural monument featuring deposits of the Palaeo-Neman and Proto-Neman. The house and barn are still standing. The site thus combines a historic farmstead with two named geological formations.
The Dzerzhinovo Museum Estate is located in a forest within the Naliboksky Landscape Reserve, in the valley of the Usa River. The estate and its surrounding area of 80 hectares have been a natural monument of national significance since 1963. The restored two-storey house contains an exhibition on the history of the Dzerzhinsky family, spread across six rooms. If this particular exhibition is important to your plans, check in advance for the current layout.
Churches and Memorial Sites
Novy Sverzhen has two churches built just two years apart: the Church of Saints Peter and Paul was built in 1588, and the Church of the Assumption of Mary in 1590. The Church of St. Joseph in Rubezhevichi dates from 1906 to 1910. These dates offer a brief comparison between church buildings of the late 16th century and one built in the early 20th century.
Also in Rubezhevichi is the “Memory in Stone” installation: 46 glacial erratics are arranged around a stone cross. Its form is clearly distinct from the churches and estates, giving it a focus of its own on the use of stone.
A private museum of Jewish everyday life opened in Rubezhevichi on 20 February 2018. If you plan to visit, check in advance whether visits are possible and confirm the opening hours.
A distinctive accommodation option is the late-19th-century watermill in Novy Sverzhen. It has been rebuilt and restored and now houses a small agrotourism lodge. Check its current availability before planning to stay there.
To choose a theme, you can compare the literary sites and collections with the churches, the park and the natural monuments.
Discover more destinations: Valozhyn District, Smaliavichy District, Myadzyel District, Dzyarzhynsk, Maladzechna District, Salihorsk District, BarysaĹski rajon, Minsk District.
For the broader travel overview: Minsk Region.
