Baranovichi is an industrial city and a large railway junction
halfway between Minsk and
Brest. Its history began with the
construction of a railway, so the city can hardly be called
historical, but, oddly enough, there are several not quite trivial
sights in it: a wooden Polish church, a railway museum, as well as
curious temples of the first and second half of the 20th century.
Baranovichi arose in 1871 in connection with the construction of
the Smolensk-Brest railway. The name was given to the village that
existed on this site at least from the 17th century. Although from a
modern point of view, the name seems sarcastic, at that time there
was nothing special in it: if there is
Bobruisk, there must be
Baranovichi. Soon, new railways appeared: a branch to Bialystok and
a main line Vilnius-Rivne, crossing the Brest line in Baranovichi.
From that moment on, Baranovichi turned into the largest railway
junction in the west of Belarus.
The settlement around the
station rapidly increased in size and already in 1894 received city
status as part of the Novogrudok district. After the revolution, the
city passed to Poland, where it was part of the Novogrudok
Voivodeship. Since the fall of 1939, Baranovichi was part of the
Byelorussian SSR. At that moment, a "castling" took place:
Baranovichi became the regional center, and Novogrudok became the
regional center, now the Baranovichi region, which, in general,
fully reflected the actual state of affairs. Nevertheless, the
Baranovichi did not have to enjoy the status of the regional center
for long: in 1954, the region was abolished, dividing it between
Grodno and Brest, and Baranovichi themselves ended up in the latter.
Now Baranovichi is a large city by Belarusian standards, which,
at first glance, is completely uninteresting, but for an attentive
traveler it will still be more curious than their railway
counterparts Molodechno and Orsha. There is a good railway museum in
Baranovichi and there are several monuments from Polish times. In
addition, the city is almost impossible to drive past, so if you are
traveling in western Belarus, it is worth spending a few hours
exploring it.
Orientation
The center of Baranovichi is
Lenin Square, located approximately in the middle between the
Central and Polessky railway stations. Around the square are
quarters of Stalinist grand buildings, and the rest of the city is a
mixture of panel houses and the private sector. Huge industrial
zones adjoin the railways, so Baranovichi looks the least attractive
from the train window.