Pinsk. The Pedestrian Street. 'Strolling Down Haz'

In 2018, a pedestrian zone opened in the historic centre of Pinsk. After reconstruction, Lenin Street — the town's most iconic and best-loved street — appeared in a modern guise, with renovated facades, paving slabs, flowerbeds and slender thujas.

Pinsk. Brest region, Belarus. Lenin Street

A town's appeal to tourists depends in large part on whether it has a pedestrian street.

A pedestrian zone is a kind of commercial and civic core, with landmarks and a cultural programme, which can make a substantial contribution to the town's economy.

As the organisers envisaged it, the main street of this town on the Pina was to become a cultural hub, with performances by musicians and actors, mass events, and a place for exhibitions by artists and craftspeople.

How did the street change, and did it become attractive to tourists?

Lenin Street stretches 750 metres from the square of the same name. Over 600 years the town's oldest street was called Velyka Spaska, Velyka Frantsyskanska and Kyivska; under Polish rule, Kosciuszko; and with the establishment of Soviet rule, Lenin. Nameplates are present on every building and are written in Belarusian and Russian.

The street was always the most expensive one, and the invitation to take a walk along the main street sounded, in the local dialect, like 'shpatserovat po Hazu'. Since 2017 the traveller has been met by a sculpture of a Polishchuk who bends his little finger and with dignity utters the phrase, 'First of all, I am from Pinsk.' This collective image of a Polissia man, the work of Oleksii Pavliuchuk, drew a mixed reaction from the townspeople, but the bronze figure of the Pinsk man nonetheless won the affection of passers-by, who happily have their photographs taken with it.

The building here dates from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, typical of Western Belarus.

23 Lenin Street

Almost every building holds the status of an architectural monument.

25 Lenin Street

In the three-storey residential building No. 1, crowned with an attic, the ground floor has been filled with shops.

The former 'Anhliiskyi' (English) hotel, built in 1928 with elements of Art Nouveau, was considered the best in pre-war Pinsk. Every room had a telephone, and on the ground floor there was a cabaret restaurant.

Building No. 14 is a structure of 1930; on the wall facing Komsomolska Street a mural has been painted, depicting the street blocks of the early 20th century, with an inscription in Belarusian.

The architects tried to preserve what had taken shape over decades and many generations. Sadly, the lime-tree avenue had to be cut down. Several green islands with benches for resting adjoin the pedestrian strip, and there you can take shelter from the sun's rays.

Lenin Street. The public garden. The monument to the Fighters for the Establishment of Soviet Rule

Lenin Street. The public garden. A wooden sculpture

In one of the public gardens rises a memorial sign in honour of the liberators of Pinsk in 1944. On the stele is mounted an image of the medal 'To the Partisans of the Great Patriotic War', with bas-reliefs of the leader of the world proletariat and the father of all peoples.

The fountain, alas, did not show off its crystal jets on a sweltering day.

Lenin Street. The public garden. The fountain

From the 'Zalaty kolas' bakery-cafe wafted the aroma of fresh pastry. You can step into this branded cafe, win back your lost calories with fresh buns, and buy, to take away, products made from natural ingredients under the local brand.

Lenin Street. The 'Zalaty kolas' cafe

Summer terraces, cafeterias, pizzerias and kiosks with ice cream and drinks have not yet overrun the whole space as they have in the pedestrian zones of other towns, but there are places to grab a bite.

24 Lenin Street

26 Lenin Street

Instead of the usual hexagonal trylinka pavers that the Pinsk locals were used to, the whole street was paved with modern slabs. Some stretches were laid with old cobbles, the 'Pinsk bone', and this, to some degree, helped preserve the atmosphere of the old town.

The Franciscan monastery, founded in the 14th century, is the largest Baroque architectural complex in Belarus. The Roman Catholic Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, the bell tower and the monastery buildings occupy a whole block from the street down to the River Pina.

Building No. 27 is the former Basevich hotel, whose end wall is covered by a huge canvas depicting the streets of the historic centre and marking the landmarks.

We carry on strolling along Lenin Street, examining the two-storey dwellings, the administrative and commercial buildings, and stepping into the shops.

12 Lenin Street. An architectural monument

14 Lenin Street. Built in 1930.

31 Lenin Street

27 Lenin Street. The College of Arts

The shop signs are done in Russian, though one would have wished them in Belarusian.

11 Lenin Street. A shoe shop

Lenin Street. A bank

28 Lenin Street. A bookshop

30 Lenin Street

34 Lenin Street. The 'Pinskyi trykotazh' (Pinsk Knitwear) shop

The former school for the nobility was attended by the first president of the State of Israel, Chaim Weizmann, and other well-known figures. Today the education department is housed in the building.

39 Lenin Street. The former gymnasium. The education department

Building No. 38 was built at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, of red brick with a decorative ornament, for the daughter-in-law of Napoleon Orda. Before the war, the building housed the library of a famous Polissian noble family.

38 Lenin Street. The Orda House

Building No. 45 serves the health care of athletes, and its attic resembles a winners' podium for awarding the victors.

45 Lenin Street. The sports medicine clinic

All the buildings are carefully plastered, painted in caramel tones and look very smart.

47 Lenin Street

42 Lenin Street

40 Lenin Street

The residential building No. 49 is girdled by an original stone cornice.

49 Lenin Street

The Wedding Palace, the former Butrymovich Palace built in 1794, deserves particular attention. The main entrance is on the side facing the Pina and is formed by wings executed in the Baroque and Classicist styles. The building houses a branch of the Museum of Belarusian Polissia.

Lenin Street. The Butrymovich Palace

Lenin Street ends with the 'Prypiat' hotel and entertainment complex on the southern side and the 'Zimaletto' cafe on the opposite one.

The 'Prypiat' hotel and entertainment complex

55 Lenin Street. The 'Zimaletto' cafe

Summing up after this wonderful walk, one can say that the best street in Pinsk has everything for spending a day off, taking an informative excursion, enjoying a romantic evening, having a lunch break and even registering a marriage.

The traveller will find it easy to get their bearings thanks to the tourist information, and will surely find much of interest to their taste; but as yet you cannot buy, as a keepsake, souvenirs, books with the history and photographs of Pinsk, magnets, dolls in national costume, caskets, or items made from Polissian wood.

Pinsk. Lenin Street. The pedestrian zone

Address: Lenin Street, Pinsk, Brest region, Belarus.

Coordinates: 52°6’50"N 26°6’38"E