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Brest

Description of the Coat of Arms: In the blue field of the shield of the baroque style there is a silver arrow, with the tip directed upwards. The image of the arrow is connected with the ancient legend. According to the legend Brest residents were always ready to defend their grounds but during one of the numerous sieges of the city they failed to defeat the enemy as the their soldiers were encased in strong armor so that arrows were not able to hit them. When it seemed that there was no hope of winning, a wonderful arrow with the tip, directed upwards, descended from heaven. Having used it the residents successfully won the battle. Blue color of the background in the Belarusian heraldic symbolizes heaven

Brest on old photograph: end of the 19th century

About Brest: 

Brest is a city in the southwest of Belarus, an administrative center of the Brest district of the Brest region. The area of the city - 146.12 km². On January 1, 2016 the city population was 340,141 people. It is located in the southwestern part of the region, at the confluence of  the Mukhavets River and the Western Bug, at the state border with Poland.  It is a large railway junction, a river port on the Mukhavets, an important node of automobile roads. It is now at the crossroads of the European Union and the Eurasian Economic Union. (Wikipedia).

Brest looks modern and elegant but it is one the most ancient cities in Belarus. It was first mentioned in the First Novgorod Chronicle under the year 1019. The city is preparing to celebrate its millennium in 2019. In Belarus older than Brest are only Polotsk (862), Vitebsk (974) and Turov (980). During its history the city was destroyed many times. In the 13^th--14^th centuries Brest was subjected to numerous raids of the Tatar-Mongols and the Crusaders but every time it revived, grew richer and developed even more rapidly.    Trade flourished and crafts were kept at a very high level, especially pottery, blacksmithing, weaving, woodworking, spinning. The city was mentioned among the most successful cities in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. So it is not surprising that Brest was the first among Belarusian cities to be granted the Magdeburg right in 1390.

Tourist Attraction No.1of the Brest region is the Belovezhskaya Pushsha State National Park (World Heritage sight)

Being in Brest it would be a regret not to take an opportunity to visit the "Belovezhskaya Pushcha" State National Park", the most ancient forest in Europe. Apart from visiting the forest foreign tourists prefer a visit of the Residence of the Belarusian "Father Frost" to a visit of the Finnish "Father Frost" in Laplandiya. Mind this is a visa free tourist attraction!

Beloveshskaya Pushcha State National Park is what is left from the primeval forest, which in the 12th century stretched from the Baltic sea to the Bug river and from the Order to the Dnieper. It is a unique ancient forest which is remarkable for the variety of wild and plant life. Here, one can come across gigantic 44-50 meters high fur trees, 40-50 meters high pine trees. Gorgeous oak trees impress by their sizes and age. One thousand of them are from 300 to 700 years old. Pushcha is home to such rare animals as the European deer, the wolf, the lynx, the badger and the otter. The pride and the symbol of Beloveshskaya Pushcha is the European bison, which has been reintroduced in this unique virgin forest. The most ancient bull is now the largest wild animal in Europe. Its length ranges from 3, 5 to 3, 75 meters, height up to 1, 8 meters, an average weight is 800 kilograms, males reach 1, 2 tons in weight.  Looking clumsy a bison runs adroitly among the trees & swims very well. Pretty powerful it throws up logs with its horns, running short distances develoing a speed up to 50 kilometers per hour. Pushcha is one of a few places in the world where 680 species of this remarkable animal live in natural conditions. In 1992 Beloveshskaya Puscha was included into the UNESCO World Heritage List. The National park is  visited by thousands foreign and Belarusian tourists. The tour includes visit to the Nature Museum and an excursion into the forest to see animals in open air cages. During the tour one can also visit the Residence of  "Grandfather-Frost", home of the Belarusian Santa Claus.

• Address: 225063, Kamenyoki village, Kamenets district, Brest region, Republic of  Belarus
• Tel: +375 01631 56 267
• Fax: +375 01631 56 398
• Website: www.npbp.brest.by

Other sights of  Brest and Brest region can be found in the section of the website "Excursions and museums"

Interesting facts about Brest and Brest region:

• In 1563, the first printing house was opened in Brest where the Bible was printed.
• In 1665 the first in Belarus Mint House started working in Brest. In the first year of its existence 240 million copper solids worth over 2.5 million Zl. were issued.
• In 1411 the first synagogue on the territory of Belarus was opened in Brest (Berestye).
• There is the Holy Trinity Catholic church in the village of Chernavchitsy along Brest Kamenets road. It is a unique monument of Belarusian architecture of the late Gothic and Renaissance, with expressive features of defensive architecture of the Middle Ages. There is a Bell Tower with a hipped roof that stands separately from the church.