Belarus

Pilies Street is the oldest and most flamboyant street in the Old Town of Vilnius. The street appeared in place of the former road from Vilnius Castle to the south, towards Poland and Russia. This was the main road to the castle, with its branches finally turning into side streets. The name of Pilies Street was mentioned in historical annals as early as 1530. http://vilnius-tourism.lt/en/what-to-see/top-20/pilies-street/

The reconstructed Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania, the former political, diplomatic, cultural center of the State, was one of the most famous in Europe in the 15th-17th centures and was demolished in the beginning of the 19th century. This Palace is excellent located just in the heart of Vilnius, within the confines of Lower Castle. Nowadays the Gothic, Renaissance and Early Baroque halls of this multifunctional Museum are ideally applicable to organize a different size and content public events, official visits, conferences, meetings, seminars, concerts, performances, receptions and other. http://vilnius-tourism.lt/en/what-to-see/museums/palace-of-the-grand-dukes-of-lithuania/

The Cathedral of St. Stanislav and St. Vladislav is the most important place of worship for Lithuania’s Catholics, and the venue for the country’s main Christian and national festivities. http://vilnius-tourism.lt/en/what-to-see/places-to-visit/churches/cathedral-basilica/

Almost all known Ciurlionis’ artworks, manuscripts and other works are stored and exhibited at the National M. K. Ciurlionis Art Museum in Kaunas. While in Druskininkai, the former Ciurlionis family house hosts M.K. Ciurlionis Memorial Museum, where you can see the artist's life. http://www.lithuania.travel/en-gb/attractions/mkciurlionis-art-museum/17120

Kaunas Town Hall, referred to as a “White Swan”, is one of the oldest and most beautiful buildings in the temporary capital city. It stands in the Town Hall Square – the main square of the city of Kaunas. http://www.lithuania.travel/en-gb/attractions/kaunas-town-hall/17176

If you like mysterious places with breathtaking stories, the sites that have witnessed many battles, travel around Lithuania and visit its impressive castles. Lithuanians valiantly defended them and that's why they were not destroyed to the present day and are delighting the residents of Lithuania and the eyes of its visitors. http://www.lithuania.travel/en-gb/attractions/kaunas-castle-/17167

Smolensk fortress wall (also known as Smolensk kremlin) is a defensive structure built in 1595-1602. The length of the walls is 6.5 km (only less than half of walls and towers are preserved). http://russiatrek.org/smolensk-city

The cathedral was built on Soborny (Cathedral) Hill in memory of the heroic defense of Smolensk of 1609-1611. The construction was completed in 1772. http://russiatrek.org/smolensk-city

“Teremok” is a historical and architectural complex located in the former estate of the artist and patron of arts M.K. Tenisheva in the village of Flenovo, about 19 kilometers from Smolensk. http://russiatrek.org/blog/art/historical-and-architectural-complex-teremok/

The Rundale Palace is set amidst the fertile Zemgale Plains in the south of Latvia. Most of the interior decorations were created between 1765 and 1768 when a sculptor from Berlin Johann Michael Graff, and Italian painters from St. Petersburg Francesco Martini and Carlo Zucchi worked at the palace. http://www.latvia.travel/en/sight/rundale-palace-and-museum

The Jesuit St. Peter and Paul Cathedral majestically standing in the very heart of the historic Lviv is one of the town's largest and most important cultic buildings. Located in the Old Town's longest street. https://discover-ukraine.info/places/western-ukraine/lviv/857

The historical and cultural complex “Castle Radomysl” is a private museum complex located in the town of Radomyshl in the Zhytomyr region, about 100 km from Kiev. It was created by the Ukrainian medical doctor Olga Bogomolets. http://ukrainetrek.com/blog/entertainment/historical-and-cultural-complex-castle-radomysl/

Riga Central Market, which opened in 1930, was recognized not only as the largest, but also the best and most advanced marketplace in Europe. Riga Central Market has invariably remained in the very heart of Riga city, ensuring diverse shopping experience, a personal touch, lively conversation, tall tales and exuberant bargaining with the vendors. http://www.latvia.travel/en/sight/riga-central-market

The Riga Art Nouveau Centre is the only museum in the Baltics that presents a complete picture of the historical heritage of Art Nouveau and offers an authentic environment for discovering and savouring Art Nouveau in an early 20th century apartment in Riga. http://www.latvia.travel/en/sight/riga-art-nouveau-centre

The Dubno Caste stands on the steep cape near the Ikva River, in the city very center. It is one of Ukraine’s oldest fortification complexes. Impressing with its majestic beauty and huge historical value, it is a part of the Dubno historical and cultural reserve and is recognized as a true gem of Ukraine’s castle architecture. The Prince Konstantin of Ostroh built the castle on the place of the Old Russian fortifications, in the late 15th century. The defensive complex consisted of wooden constructions, surrounded by an earthen wall, which was fortified with wooden paling. However, frequent fires that regularly destroyed the majority of castle buildings forced prince’s descendants to rebuild the fortification complex in stone one and a half centuries later. Thus, a fierce castle and two powerful brick-and-stone casemate bastions with towers appeared there. The castle was erected in the Renaissance style. Fortress’s outer defence was a deep ditch. Today, one can see two palaces on the territory of the Dubno Castle – the Ostroh Palace, where the archives of the princely families were stored, and the Lubomirski Palace, which is notable for coats of arms of its former owners and elegant bas-relief frieze, made by an Italian master. It adorns the big hall, which used to serve for crowded feasts. There is a system of vaults and underground galleries under the palaces. Local residents used to hide there during numerous sieges, and supplies of water and food were stored. Nikolay Gogol described the dungeons of the Dubno Castle in his immortal work “Taras Bulba.” Nowadays, one of the vaults houses an exhibition of torture tools and hosts theatre performances. https://discover-ukraine.info/places/western-ukraine/rivne/2348

Rivne is famous for being the city with tough and tragic fate, which haunted it over the whole history of its existence. However, the darkest pages in city’s history were entered by the 20th century: during the World War II, Rivne’s territory was occupied by the German-fascist invaders and concentration camps, where people were massively annihilated, were created there. https://discover-ukraine.info/places/western-ukraine/rivne/1061

Church of St. Basil the Great is the oldest church of the small town of Ovruch located in the northern part of the Zhytomyr region. http://ukrainetrek.com/blog/regions/church-of-st-basil-the-great-in-ovruch/

The unique museum of astronautics - the only one of its sort on the territory of Ukraine - is opened in Zhytomyr for a reason. It is here that Sergei Korolev - the talented scientist and engineer, the initiator of applied cosmonautics, the creator of Soviet space and rocket equipment, the person, whose ideas enabled the launching of the first artificial satellite, - was born and spent his childhood. The rich museum's exposition is located in two buildings. Its first part - memorial - is situated in the house, where the genius constructor was born and tells about the principal stages of his life and work. The separate building was constructed for the main - cosmic - part of the exposition that tells in absorbing way about the history of cosmonautics' development. There are two rockets turned high into the air at its entrance. https://discover-ukraine.info/places/central-ukraine/zhytomyr/338

The narrow streets of the ancient Podol shelter one of the most unusual and interesting museums of Ukraine's capital, the Pharmacy Museum, whose unique exposition is devoted to the history of the pharmacy. It is located in the building where the German pharmacist Johann Heiter opened Kyiv's first private drugstore in 1728. After Heiter's death, his son-in-law Georg Bunge inherited the pharmacy business and made the drugstore very popular among Kyiv's residents. It could brag about one of the largest assortments of drugs in the city - about a thousand names. All drugs that were sold here (ointments, pills, mixtures) were made in the pharmacy's laboratory only from natural components: healing herbs, minerals, shells, animal blood and the poison of insects and reptiles. In addition, the Bunge's drugstore, as it was nicknamed by the Kyiv locals, was intended for the very broad sections of the public: it had two sections and respectively to separate drug registries, for poor and wealthy townspeople. Of course, the structure and quality of the drugs were different. Few centuries ago pharmacies sold not only drugs, but also creams, powder, perfumes, tooth powder, and even ink, cans and tubes, which are now the unique exhibits of the Kyiv Pharmacy Museum. https://discover-ukraine.info/places/kyiv/kyiv/997

The outdoor museum of architecture and life Mamajeva Sloboda is situated not far from the city center, near one of the capital’s picturesque parks. It is an authentic cultural complex that reproduces Cossack settlement of 17th – 18th century. Not only original architectural buildings of Cossack age, but also inimitable atmosphere and spirit of that time were recreated there. The culture and entertainment complex Mamajeva Sloboda is situated in the historical place – at the source of the Lybid River. These lands once belonged to the St. Michael's Golden-Domed Cathedral and was occupied by monastery apiary with farm and pond. Later, gardens were planted and a park was laid out in this area, but the ethnic saksen with neat Ukrainian huts under golden straw roofs didn’t appear there until 2009. The museum got its name in honour of the legendary Cossack Mamai – one of the Ukrainian Cossack folklore’s most popular characters, whose image could be found next to the icons in almost every house at Cossack times. https://discover-ukraine.info/places/kyiv/kyiv/1540

This cathedral is an outstanding architectural monument of the 19th century, one of the oldest stone religious buildings in Zhitomir. In Soviet times, the building housed a puppet theater. http://ukrainetrek.com/zhitomir-city

The Cathedral of St. Sophia, where the princes of Kyiv were crowned in the years of Kyiv's grandeur, has outstanding mosaics and frescoes dating back to the 11th century. Overlooking the old section of Kyiv, Podol, stands the Ukrainian Baroque church of St. Andrew, much beloved by Ukrainians. http://www.traveltoukraine.org/kyiv.htm

The history of the National Opera of Ukraine was initiated in 1867, when in Kiev, one of the major administrative centers of the then Russian Empire, after a long petition the government opened a permanent opera troupe. There was a first outside the capitals - Petersburg and Moscow - a musical theater. https://www.opera.com.ua/about/istoriya-teatru

The modern center with surviving parts of the old city are on the hilly west, or right bank, of the Dnipro River. The main street, Khreshchatik, runs between two steep hills. Parallel about half a kilometer west, is vulytsya Volodymyrska, the main street of the Old Kyiv area (Staryj Kyiv). http://www.traveltoukraine.org/kyiv.htm

The Bessarabian Market, or just Bessarabka, as it is usually referred to by Kyiv residents, is the central and the most famous covered market of Ukraine's capital that is reckoned among the oldest in the country. It's an unusual building in Ukrainian art nouveau style was built 100 years ago on the square adjoined to the Kyiv main street and is still one of the capital's most interesting constructions. In the second half of the 19th century, the land, where the market stands today, was unsightly city outskirts. But soon, the square was founded and numerous merchants from all over the world started to come here. In the early 20th century, the adjoined to the square streets, particularly Khreshchatyk, were rapidly lined up with buildings obtaining European elegant look, and the vicinity of the absurd chaotic marketplace seemed more and more inappropriate. One of the prominent Kyiv residents of that time called the Bessarabian Market 'a purulent blister on the tip of the beautiful classic nose.' It was then that the city authorities decided to create a civilized covered market in this place. However, due to lack of money (construction demanded a fantastic sum for those times), idea's implementation was postponed. https://discover-ukraine.info/places/kyiv/kyiv/970

The Kyiv Toy Museum is a truly unique place, interesting for both, children and adults. For the first ones it is an opportunity to plunge into the fairy world, where hundreds of different heroes live, for the latter ones - a chance to feel nagging nostalgia, and at the same time to learn many interesting facts about the history of toys as an integral part of the country's culture. The Toy Museum, opened in 2005, is one of the youngest in the capital. Nevertheless, its impressive collection numbering over 10 thousand exhibits exists over 80 years! It is based on the items that were gathered for the toy exhibition, which took place back in 1936. Today, the museum's exposition visually demonstrates the history of national toy production and is the vivid evidence that Ukraine rightly occupied the second place among the Soviet republics in volumes and quality of manufactured children toys. Museum shelves are 'inhabited' by hundreds of different dolls and teddy animals, technical and construction toys, as well as a unique collection of board, printed games. Besides commercial items, museum funds include exclusive author's works by soviet puppet-makers and authentic collection of Ukrainian folk toys. https://discover-ukraine.info/places/kyiv/kyiv/955

The Holy Dormition Pskovo-Pechersky Monastery is one of the largest and most famous monasteries in Russia with a long history. http://russiatrek.org/blog/architecture/pskov-caves-monastery-a-unique-architectural-complex/

Located in the very heart of Kyiv, the National Sports Complex "Olimpiyskiy" is the main arena of Ukraine and one of the biggest stadia in Europe. After hosting the final match, in particular, and Euro-2012, in general, the renovated venue became one of the most emblematic sights of the Ukrainian capital. Currently, the multifaceted arena holds both top football and athletic competitions, as well as conferences, exhibitions and concerts. Not only sports fans, but those who are interested in contemporary architecture may enjoy a visit to the Olympic Stadium in Kyiv. Its history dates back to 1923 when the Red Stadium Trotsky was opened to the public. It was a simple venue intended for hosting football matches. Shortly, the arena was remodelled: athletic tracks, showers, lockers, etc. were built. The first large-scale renovation of the stadium was scheduled in the middle of 1930s when Kyiv had become the official capital of the Soviet Socialist Republic of Ukraine. The 50.000-seater stadium in accordance with all requirements was planned then. The refurbished sports arena was due to be opened on June 22, 1941, however, its renovation was postponed for 5 years because of an outburst of the II World War. https://discover-ukraine.info/places/kyiv/kyiv/2540

The Kyiv Fortress is one of the most important and interesting military monuments in the Ukrainian capital, well-known far beyond the country’s borders. It is the largest earthen fortress in Europe and the second-largest earthen fortress in the world. The museum exhibitions housed there and the fortification complex itself are among the most visited places of interest in Kyiv – every year it welcomes about one hundred thousand tourists. The Kyiv Fortress, also known as Nova Pechersk Fortress, was built on a site of Old Pechersk Fortress, walled around the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra. It was erected by the order of Emperor Peter the Great in the first half of the 18th century. It contained four main fortifications, as well as dozens of defensive areas such as towers, walls, underground passages, powder warehouses, arsenals, barracks, and even the castle prison. Then the Kyiv Fortress featured the so-called hand-made tsunamis for city defence from the riverside. It was composed of two dams and two large pits, which could be filled with water within hours to defeat the enemy fleet with a powerful wave. https://discover-ukraine.info/places/kyiv/kyiv/2539

Situated next to Zhulyany Airport (Kyiv), the Aviation Museum is one of the largest museums in the capital and is reckoned among the largest historical and technical museums of Ukraine. At its opening in 2003, museum’s exposition numbered thirty aircraft, and now more than seventy exhibits – helicopters, planes, as well as samples of aircraft armoury, unmanned aircraft and engines – can be seen on its territory of almost 20 hectares. Presented machines include both widespread and rare ones. There are also exhibits that exist only in a single copy, such as Soviet pilot plane with airborne early-warning radar An-71. In addition, you can see the first Soviet airliner and the famous MiG-25, which set an absolute world record for flight altitude – 37 km. Museum’s exhibits are arranged according to topics, design offices, and their role in history. The Kyiv Aviation Museum presents products of almost all the leading aviation design offices of the Soviet period – Tupolev, Yakovlev, Ilyushin, Antonov, Sukhoi, Mikoyan-Gurevich, Kamov, Mil, Beriev. Some collections of planes and helicopters are reckoned among the most complete in the world at that. Exclusive items include the first prototype Il-86, the first Il-18 and Tu-104 of mass production, preseries Tu-134, as well as Tu-22M0 from the test batch. https://discover-ukraine.info/places/kyiv/kyiv/2424

Sangaste Castle is one of the 21 Southern Estonian places worth discovering that are marked with a yellow National Geographic window; if you are interested in culture and history, it is definitely worth a visit. Sangaste castle and park were fashioned after the famous Windsor castle in England. The magnificent halls, architecture and history of the castle make this a good place for a big wedding, get-togethers or spending the night in a genuine castle. The castle restaurant serves local food and real rye vodka made from Sangaste rye. In addition to the castle, the stables, dairy, barn, water tower and arboretum are also open for visitors. https://www.visitestonia.com/en/sangaste-castle#

Spread out in Kyiv’s picturesque surroundings, the Culture and History Center ‘Park Kyivan Rus’ is a unique project in its nature and scale that has no analogues in Ukraine and even in Europe. It recreates architectural appearance and atmosphere of princely Kyiv with amazing accuracy, taking visitors on a time travel to the Middle Ages and bringing them in the very heart of one of the most influential states in Eastern Europe – the Old Rus. It was decided to create the park exactly in this place for the reason that it is a historically important territory not far from the capital. It is mentioned in antique chronicles and its landscape is very close to the relief and vegetation of the Old Kyiv. The creators of the Culture and History Center brilliantly recreate the ensemble of the Kyiv stronghold – the historical core of the ancient city – as it looked under the rule of the Prince Vladimir the Great. It is from Kyiv kremlin (another name for the medieval stronghold) that the origin and development of Kyiv and the Old Rus started. Later it became the cradle of Slavic civilization. https://discover-ukraine.info/places/kyiv/kyiv/1527

The District Museum in Rzeszów is a multi-faceted institution located in the historic 17th century Piarist building at 3 Maja 19 Street. The historical monastery complex includes the former male school of the Order of Piarists (currently I High School). The center of the architectural complex is occupied by the parish church of Saint. Cross with a beautiful interior design. http://www.rzeszow.pl/kultura-i-sport/galerie/galeria-fotografii-miasta-rzeszowa