Historical and Cultural Tourism

Historical and cultural tourism is one of the most popular types of tourism now, as it allows experiencing a particular culture by visiting places of historical and cultural significance, architectural landmarks, and wildlife areas.
Castle complex Mir, Mir Castle, Mir
Mir Castle. Full size

Belarus’ key landmarks include fortresses and castles, palace and park ensembles, churches, monasteries and convents, wildlife areas, ancient engineering marvels, museums and ethnographic villages,  and ancestral homes of famous artists, writers, scientists and other outstanding people.

Four sites in Belarus are featured in the UNESCO World Heritage List. These sites are destinations in themselves. They include the Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Park, the Mir Castle Complex, the Architectural, Residential and Cultural Complex of the Radziwill Family at Nesvizh and the Struve Geodetic Arc. Sites listed on the State List of Historical and Cultural Values of the Republic of Belarus are also of great interest to tourists.

One of the sub-types of cultural tourism is the communist heritage tourism (or "iron curtain" tourism) as well as the tourism related to the history of the Great Patriotic War. This kind of tourism is a great draw for history lovers. 

Every year thousands of people come to Belarus for music and theater festivals, arts and crafts events, culinary festivals and festival of Medieval culture.