Belarusian Mogilev is a regional city, a small one (with slightly over 350 thousand residents) and not very popular with tourists, but in vain, because there are iconic places in the city that are interesting not only for tourists, but also from a historical point of view.
But first, it is worth knowing why it is called ‘Mogilev’. Among the versions of the city’s name origin is the legend that has it that on the place of Mogilev, a bandits’ camp of gang-leader Masheka was located in the vast forest. He used to be a peaceful peasant long ago. But a tyrant boyar took his bride from him, and Masheka rebelled and began to take revenge for the insult caused. Masheka was killed insidiously, in his sleep by his own beloved who had become the boyar’s wife by that time.
People buried the hero on the high bank of the Dnieper River and built a mound over his grave. The place was called ‘Mogila Lva’ (Lion’s Grave), and the city founded in this place was named Mogilev.
By the way, at the end of 1930, Mogilev had a real chance to become the capital of Belarus. Until September 1939, Minsk was only 35 kilometers away from the state border. In case of war, such a distance from the enemy’s positions posed a serious danger. So, on April 19, 1938, a resolution was adopted “On the Urban Development in the City of Mogilev Related to the Transfer of the Capital of the Belarusian SSR”. However, the construction was sabotaged as the local officials did not want to move to Mogilev, and in 1939, after the reunification of Western Belarus with the Belarusian SSR, there were no arguments in favor of this decision any more.
Basically, tourists who come to the city are advised to walk along Leninskaya Street. And that’s all, nothing else was offered. But it’s interesting to go sightseeing around Mogilev and see more of the city! Belarusian ethnographer and politician Ivan Lutskevich even called Mogilev ‘a small Prague’ as until the beginning of the 20th century, the city was full of sacral architecture, including 26 Orthodox churches, 6 Catholic churches, several dozen synagogues, and a Lutheran church. But most of the masterpieces of the Mogilev school of architecture that the city authorities managed to build over almost 750 years of its existence were destroyed during World War 2.
But, nevertheless, it’s better to start the tour of the city with Leninskaya Street.
But first, it’s worth mentioning that Leninskaya Street begins from the Square of Glory, the administrative and historical center of the city. Today, the memorial complex Fighters for the Soviet Power is located in the square made in 1982, which includes a bronze female sculpture symbolizing the Victory, and the Eternal Flame war memorial. And there is also a viewing platform in the Square of Glory on the Dnieper River, a beautiful bend of the river is just opposite it.
So, Leninskaya Street starts from this square. The first building at 1, Leninskaya Street is the former city government and the Mogilev city hall, which now houses a museum. The building is truly unique and its design has practically no analogues in Belarus. But in general, it was desperately unlucky throughout its long life. More than once, fires raged in the building, it was repeatedly repaired and rebuilt, and one day in July 1957, it was blown up, despite the status of an architectural and cultural heritage site. So, the city hall building that all tourists can see now is a ‘remake’ built in 2008. It must be admitted, it’s a very beautiful building.
Going along the street, it is worth paying attention to the houses on the right side located at 3, 5/1 and 5/2, Leninskaya Street. These are the buildings of the former shopping arcade built in the 19th century, which used to house stores. Today, there are studios and a restaurant in these buildings. So, the continuity is preserved. Moreover, there is also a former bishop’s courtyard in Leninskaya Street. By the way, this area was the center of Orthodoxy in Belarus in the 17th and 18th centuries.
The Catholic center is the St. Stanislaus Church hidden in the courtyards at the intersection of Pervomayskaya and Komsomolskaya streets. It was built from 1738 to 1752. Interestingly, this church is an archcathedral one, which means that all the Catholic churches in the Russian Empire at that time were part of the Mogilev diocese. This cathedral is, of course, a must-visit to admire the frescoes and enjoy the church organ music. The drama theater, another point of tourist attraction of Mogilev, is not far from the cathedral. This is the oldest theater in Belarus tracing its history back to 1888. It is known that when the theater was under construction, it was impossible to build the walls in an arc due to low-quality bricks. Therefore, the longitudinal walls of the auditorium were built in straight lines and only one side has an arc. Fyodor Chaliapin sang on the stage of this theater, and famous poets Yanka Kupala and Yakub Kolos recited their poems at this theatre.
Mogilev ‘reaches out towards’ the stars, because at the end of Leninskaya Street, there is the Star Square with a sculpture of an astrologian - a Skywatcher in a pointed cap sits on a high chair next to a telescope. By the way, this is the only sculpture of a Skywatcher in the world! There are chairs with symbols of the Zodiac signs on the sides of the square. And, of course, a legend has it that if a person sits on the chair of his/her Zodiac sign and makes his/her dearest and most secret wish, it will definitely come true.
Mogilev was almost completely destroyed during World War 2. Just imagine, over 600 houses were blown up in the city upon one Hitler’s order only. And there were other bombing attacks, too. But nevertheless, the city - like the Phoenix - ‘arose from the ashes’ and became very beautiful and attractive. And Mogilev is definitely worth visiting.
