The National Library can be called one of the main attractions in Belarus. It is an architectural milestone in tourist Minsk. Should you plan to do the sites in Minsk, the National Library is your first guided tour choice. On the National Library webpage you can find information about the Book museum, guided tours and viewpoint working hours.
Nowadays the library stock comprises about 10 million books. Among them there are 0,5 million unique state documents published in the territory of Belarus from early XIX to modern times, as well as publications and materials about Belarus, including foreign ones, all of them being of extra value.
The library stores more than 90 thousands rare and early-printed books and manuscripts, the earliest of them dating back to XIV-XV. Among those one can find the collection of the printing pioneer Francysk Skaryna publications of 10 Bible editions that started the printing history of Belarus.
The Belarus National Library building was constructed in 2006. Built of heat-reflecting mirror glass the Library has the shape of a giant sphere looking like a diamond.
The Library has two thermos shells, a special technology providing necessary temperature, humidity and even chemical constitution of the air that is required for book storage.
The building is 73 meters high and the most visited site in Minsk, namely the viewpoint is situated on top of it. The rooftop offers a spectacular view over the capital’s surroundings that can be enjoyed through panoramic view binoculars.
During the Library guided tour visitors get the chance to become readers and frequent visitors of the National Library, as well as get to learn more about the book collection and the rarest books that have been stored for several centuries. Visitors get the possibility to check out the impressive storage, transportation and sorting system of the Library, get acquainted with the electronic catalogue and find out the way chosen books are transported from one section to another.
Visitors can admire a small sphere-shaped granite fountain. It symbolises the value of knowledge, the endlessness of the world to explore and the constant flow and change of history. Visitors will learn why the architects have made such an extraordinary decision when planning the building and how all the citizens of Belarus took part in the construction of the building.
The guided tour includes a visit to the Book Museum where visitors can see unique books of cultural significance - the biggest book and the smallest book.
Part of the museum’s exhibition is devoted to the history of the National Library.
Address: Republic of Belarus, Minsk, Nezavisimosty prospekt, 116
Getting here:
Subway: «Vostok» («Uskhod») station
Bus: № 25, 27, 34, 64, 77, 80, 87с, 89э, 91, 95, 113, 145с, 165, 921
Trolleybus: № 41, 42
Road map: goo.gl/maps/NeEtZKKiTc42
Official webpage: www.nlb.by
Guided tours of the National Library: www.nlb.by/content/uslugi/sots...
Visa-free travel to Belarus: • Visa-free travel to Be...