{"id":625284,"date":"2006-08-30T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2006-08-30T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/archives.gov.by\/en\/?page_id=625284"},"modified":"2006-08-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2006-08-30T00:00:00","slug":"overview","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/archives.gov.by\/en\/welcome-to-the-archives-of-belarus-website\/subject-guides-to-archival-records\/culture\/the-architectural-ensemble-of-independence-avenue-the-main-thoroughfare-of-minsk-city\/overview","title":{"rendered":"Overview"},"content":{"rendered":"
\r\nList of archival documents<\/a>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n

Overview<\/h2>\r\n\r\n

Independence Avenue (Prospect Nezavisimosti) is the main thoroughfare of Minsk City,\r\ncrossing it from south-west to north-east. Independence Avenue (before 1991, Lenin Avenue)\r\nwas laid out where Sovetskaia Street and Borisovski Highway passed earlier. After World\r\nWar II, only 10 buildings remained intact on Sovetskaia Street and the main city\r\nthoroughfare began to be constructed on a new, wide and straightened road. As a main\r\ncompositional diameter, the Avenue makes an impact on the planning and building of the\r\nwhole city. Located on the avenue are the main city squares: Independence Square, October\r\nSquare, Victory Square, Iakub Kolas Square, Kalinin Square, as well as the important\r\nadministrative, cultural, educational, trade & other institutions and also residential\r\nhouses.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

According to the planning and development, Independence Avenue is divided into 3 parts:\r\n1st (central) part – between Independence Square and Victory Square<\/strong>; 2nd\r\npart – between Victory Square and Kalinin Square<\/strong>; 3rd part – between\r\nKalinin Square and the city entrance from the side of Moscow Highway<\/strong>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Not many buildings remained on the site of the present-day avenue after the Second\r\nWorld War. Those which survived include the Government House, the Cathedral of St. Simeon\r\nand St. Helen, the House of Officers, the Belarusian State University of Physical\r\nEducation, the buildings of Hospital No.1, the main building of the Belarusian National\r\nTechnical Academy, the National Hydrometeorological Observatory, the main building of the\r\nNational Academy of Sciences, and a small number of residential houses.\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n

The 1st (central) part of the avenue – between Independence Square <\/strong>(Ploshchad\r\nNezavisimosti) and Victory Square <\/strong>(Ploshchad Pobedy) –<\/strong>\r\nrepresents an architectural ensemble where many buildings are clear examples of the Soviet\r\ncivil architecture.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

The area of Independence Square (before 1991, Lenin Square) began to be built up in the\r\nlate 19th – early 20th centuries. The only buildings to survive from that time are the\r\nCathedral of St. Simeon & St. Helen (Red Church), a monument of neo-Gothic\r\narchitecture with the elements of Art Nouveau style (1908-1910, architects T. Poiazdersky,\r\nV. Markoni, G. Gai) and the houses located on Sovetskaia Street at No.17 (1912, architect\r\nS. Gaidukevich) and No.19 (early 20C, architect G. Gai) built in the Art Nouveau style.\r\nThe ensemble of Independence Square began to take shape in the 1930s as a result of the\r\nconstruction in the area of the Belarusian State University’s campus (1928-1931,\r\narchitects I. Zaporozhets, G. Lavrov), the Government House (1930-1934, architect I.\r\nLangbard) and the main building of the Belarusian Teachers Training University (1931,\r\narchitects I. Zaporozhets, G. Lavrov). The architect Iosif Langbard, to whose design the\r\nGovernment House was constructed, also made a design for the Square in front of it. In\r\nline with his concept, Independence Square was to become the main city square facing onto\r\nthe City Terminal. But after World War II, Central Square (now October Square) was\r\nestablished as a new city center according to the master plan of 1946 for the city’s\r\nrestoration and reconstruction. Independence Square was later largely improved according\r\nto a new project developed in 1964 by the architect V. Anikin and the engineers R.\r\nObraztsova & I. Shpit. The square had occupied an area of 7 hectares and became the\r\nlargest in Europe. It acquired a rectangular shape with the main longitudinal axis along\r\nthe avenue and had a small public garden in the center. The open part of the square\r\nopposite the Government House was used\u00a0 as a forum for Soviet military parades and\r\nmass rallies on celebration days and as a car park on weekdays.\r\n
\r\n
\r\nThe ensemble of the square now includes the Government House with a monumental statue of\r\nLenin, the main building of the Belarusian State University (1962, architects A. Dukhan\r\n& M. Baklanov, engineer N. Moroz) consonant in architectural style with the Government\r\nHouse, the Metropolitan Administrative Building with a small tower crowning the entrance\r\n(1984, architects Yu. Grigoriev, D. Kudriavtsev), and the Minsk City Council (1964,\r\narchitects S. Musinski, G. Sysoev). The Belarusian Teachers Training University\r\n(architects G. Zaborski, V. Nikitin, I. Marchenko, engineer G. Basinkevich), built in\r\n1990, completed the square’s development.
\r\nDespite different years of construction, all the buildings here stand out for\r\ncompositional integrity and produce a perfect sence of harmony.
\r\n
\r\nA new project for the reconstruction of Independence Square was launched in the 1990s. The\r\nfirst stage of the reconstruction work was completed in the year of 2002. The\r\ntransportation scheme of the square was then changed. Two more\u00a0pedestrian underpasses\r\nwere constructed and in the future they are to make part of the Underground Trade Center.\r\nSeveral parking lots are to be built in the\u00a0area adjacent to the square.
\r\n
\r\nThe construction work in the central part of Independence Avenue was carried out in two\r\nstages: the 1940s-1950s – between Independence Square<\/strong> and October\r\nSquare<\/strong> (Oktiabrskaia Ploshchad); the 1950s-1960s – between October Square\r\nand Victory Square<\/strong>. The construction was supervised by the architects M.\r\nParusnikov and M. Barshch.
\r\n
\r\n Most of the residential apartment houses\r\nlocated in this part of the avenue were built according to the standard project and\r\nproduce an artistic integrity due to the repetition of certain types of models. Among the\r\nbuildings noteworthy here are the General Post Office (1949-1953, architects A.Dukhan,\r\nV.Korol), an example of classical interpretation in architecture and the Minsk Hotel\r\n(1957-1967, architects G. Badanov, G. Sysoev, S. Musinski, D. Kudriavtsev), an example of\r\nmodern architecture. \r\n\r\n\"Minsk\r\nWorthy of note are also the apartment houses at No. 12 (1952,\r\narchitect L. Batalov), No.13 (1950-1954, architects G. Badanov, M. Osmolovski), No.14\r\n& No.16 (1947-1951, architect M. Parusnikov), No.18 & No.19 (1948-1952, architect\r\nG. Badanov), No.22 & No.23 (1949-1954, architect M. Parusnikov) – clear examples of\r\nthe Soviet civil architecture. The compositional center of the avenue between Independence\r\nSquare and October Square is a monumental administrative building at No.17 (1945-1947,\r\narchitects M. Parusnikov, G. Badanov) connected on the left side with the house at No.15\/6\r\n(1915, architect G. Gai), an administrative building in neo-classical style.\r\n \r\n \r\nOf interest among\u00a0 public buildings are the Belarusian National Bank\r\n(1947-1952, architect M. Parusnikov), where the classical and Renaissance motifs are well\r\ninterpreted architecturally to produce a magnificent monumental effect and the GUM\r\nDepartment Store (1951, architects L. Milegi, R. Gegart), a typical work of Soviet\r\npost-war architecture.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

October Square (before 1984, Central\r\nSquare) began to take shape in the 1950s-1960s, initially following the project developed\r\nby the architects G. Badanov, V. Korol, L. Matskevich, M. Osmolovski, & M. Parusnikov.\r\nBuilt on the western side of the square\u00a0are the appartment house with a ground floor\r\nshop (1949-1953, architects G. Zaborski, M. Parusnikov), the buildings of the Minsk Region\r\nExecutive Committee (1958, architect V. Volchek) and the Central Telegraph Office (now\r\nBeltelecom, 1962, architects A. Dukhan, V. Korol). On the eastern side of the square are\r\nthe Trade Unions Palace of Culture (1954, architect V. Ershov) and the Belarusian State\r\nMuseum of the History of the Great Patriotic War (1964, architects G. Benediktov, G.\r\nZaborski). Adjacent to the square from the south is an old Central Park, behind which\r\nstands the Residence of the President of the Republic of Belarus (formerly the building of\r\nthe Central Committee of the Communist Party of Belarus) (1941, architects A. Voinov, V.\r\nVaraksin). From the side of the park, the square is lined by the granite balustrade with a\r\ntribune (1957, architect E. Zaslavski). Between 1986 and 2001, the Palace of the Republic\r\nwas erected\u00a0in the square to the design of the collective body of Belgosproek\r\nInstitute (architects M. Pirogov, V. Danilov, L. Zdanevich, L. Moskalevich, V. Novikov, M.\r\nTurliuk, V. Usimov, A. Shabalin). The Palace has become the center of the square and\r\ncompleted its development. Now it is the largest public structure in the city with a\r\nuniversal hall for 2,700 seats used for various conferences, congresses, concerts &\r\nperformances. The palace complex also includes several small halls, a press-center, &\r\na restaurant.\u00a0 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

Further on Independence Avenue is a building of the European Humanities University (the\r\nbuilding of the former ecclesiastical consistory built in the\r\nmid-19th C), an architectural monument with Classicism elements and the building of the\r\nformer church & archaeological museum (1913, architects V. Struev, I. Fomin), an\r\narchitectural monument in pseudo-Russian style. The\r\nadministrative building at No.27 (1940, architect G. Iakushko) is built in a\r\ncharacteristic Constructivism style. The Soviet civil architecture is exemplified in\r\nhouses No. 29 & No. 30 (1957, architect M. Barshch). The Minsk Circus (1959, architect\r\nV. Zhukov) is built in classical traditions. The Central Gorky Children’s Park stretches\r\nalong the Avenue from the Minsk Circus to Victory Square, crossing the River Svisloch with\r\nits granite embankment (1958, architect K. Ivanov). Opposite the park on the other side of\r\nthe Avenue, between Ia.Kupala Street and the River Svisloch, spreads out the Park named\r\nafter Ia.Kupala, the famous Belarusian poet. Beyond the Bridge across the River Svisloch\r\n(1951, architects M. Parusnikov, G. Badanov) stands the House-Museum of the 1st Congress\r\nof the Russian Socialist Democratic Labour Party.
\r\n
\r\nVictory Square (before 1954, Round Square) with the majestic Victory Monument in the center (1954,\r\narchitects G. Zaborski, V. Korol) ends the central part of Independence Avenue. This\r\nsquare is one of the most impressive sights in Minsk. \r\n \r\n\r\nThe architectural ensemble of the\r\nsquare began to take shape in the 1930s, when two multi-storey, bow-shaped buildings were\r\nconstructed here (1939, completed in 1947 by the architect R. Stoller). The further\r\ndevelopment of the square was based on the master plan of 1946 (architects N. Androsov, N.\r\nTrakhtenberg), design projects for the residential apartment blocks (1950-1956, architects\r\nM. Barshch, L. & G. Aranauskas) and the square’s improvement of 1954 (architect G.\r\nZaborski). In 1985, when the 40- year anniversary of Victory in World War Two was\r\ncelebrated, the square was largely reconstructed. The platform before Victory Monument was\r\nextended, several pedestrian underpasses were created and connected with the entrances to\r\nthe Victory Square Metro Station (architects B. Larchenko, B. Shkolnikov, K. Viazchik).\r\nThe monument’s foundation underground was circled by a passage gallery with a memorial\r\nhall to the victims of World War II. In the center of the hall you can see an illuminated\r\nwreath of colour glass (artist V. Pozniak). On the wall is the bronze bas-relief of the\r\nStar of the Hero of the Soviet Union and the memorial plaques with the names of 566\r\nsoldiers and officers who gave their lives to liberate Belarus from the Nazi invaders and\r\nwho were awarded this highest government decoration. The memorial granite blocks are\r\ninstalled in the hall in honour of the Soviet Hero-Cities. Today Victory Square represents\r\na fine architectural ensemble where the memorial complex is successfully combined with the\r\nadjacent residential buildings, parks and the river.
\r\n
\r\nIn the part\r\nof Independence Avenue between Victory Square and Kalinin Square<\/strong> <\/em>the\r\nbuildings erected before WWII (1937-1941, architects A. Bregman, G. Iakushko) alternate\r\nwith the new residential apartment houses (1952-1958, architects M. Barshch, L.\r\nAranauskas, A. Dukhan, S. Batkovski, N. Makletsova, N. Spigelman). The focal point in this\r\npart of the avenue is Iakub Kolas Square (before 1956, Komarovskaia Square) with a\r\nmonumental statue of the national poet Iakub Kolas (1972, sculptor Z. Azgur, architects\r\nIu. Gradov, G. Zaborski, L. Levin) standing in the center of a small park. The dominant\r\nbuilding on the square is the Belarusian State University of Physical Education (1939,\r\narchitects A. Bregman, A. Voinov, V. Muromtsev) with a side wing stretching along\r\nIndependence Avenue (1963, architects S. Musinski, G. Sysoev). Further on, the Avenue is\r\nlined with the buildings of Hospital No.1 (1929-1931, architect G. Lavrov, reconstructed\r\nin the 1970s-1980s), the Belarusian National Technical Academy (the main building erected\r\nin 1932, architect G. Lavrov, reconstructed & extended in the 1950s-1980s), the\r\nNational Academy of Sciences of Belarus (1932-1939, architects G. Lavrov & I.\r\nLangbard, with several new buildings erected in the 1960s-1970s). Noteworthy here are also\r\nthe October Cinema (1975, architect V. Malyshev), the Belarusian State Academy of Arts\r\n(1953, architect Ia. Shapiro), residential appartment houses (1962, architects G. Sysoev,\r\nD. Kudriavtsev) and the Pervomaisky Department Store (1964-1965, architects S. Musinski,\r\nG. Sysoev). Kalinin Square (Ploshchad Kalinina) with a statue of Mikhail Kalinin (1978,\r\nsculptors V. Poliichuk. I. Glebov, architects Iu. Grigoriev, A. Nevzorov) ends this part\r\nof the avenue. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

The part of Independence Avenue between Kalinin Square\r\nand the city entrance from the side of Moscow Highway <\/strong>is mainly built up on one\r\nside of the avenue. Here you will find the buildings of the Minsk Watch Plant (1956-1961,\r\narchitects S. Botkovski, I. Bovt, N. Shpigelman), the Belarusian Agrarian Technical\r\nUniversity (1956, architect M. Baklanov), and residential apartment blocks. On the right\r\nside of the avenue is the Chelyuskintsev Park of Culture & Recreation, a miniature\r\nChildren’s Railroad (the central station was built in 1956, architect G. Zaborski) and a\r\nspacious woodland. The Cheliuskintsev Park was created in the city’s outskirts in the\r\n1930s, and it now occupies 78 hectars of natural pine woods. The reconstruction of the\r\npark has been recently launched by the design institute “Minskproekt” to be\r\ncompleted in three stages. The park is to be surrounded by a decorative fence with the\r\nentrances newly decorated and the main entrance crowned with a special arch. The project\r\nauthors – architects A. Goliakov, M. Gaukhfeld, L. Beliakova, O. Sergeev, V. Ageenko, K.\r\nViazin and more, the sculptor O. Anushenko and designer O. Gordina.\u00a0 Further on the\r\navenue are the Film Studio Belarusfilm (1960), residential houses (the 1950s), the\r\nNational Hydrometeorological Center (1934, architect I. Volodko), the Moskovski Bus\r\nTerminal (1999, architect N. Naumov), and the buildings of the Belarusian National\r\nTechnical University (1976-1986, architects I. Esman, V. Anikin). The residential district\r\n“Vostok” plays an important part in the architectural and artistic appearance of\r\nthis final section of the avenue. In 2006, the construction of a unique complex of the\r\nNational Library of Belarus (architects M. Vinogradov, V. Kramorenko) was here completed.
\r\n
\r\nFurther on Independence Avenue is the Eastern Cemetry, where Belarusian public and\r\npolitical figures, and prominent men in art and culture have been buried.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Outside\r\nthe city ring is a big residential area of Uruchie, which is still under construction. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

Along the whole distance of the avenue stretches line No1 of the\r\nMetro: from the Institut Kultury station to the Vostok station (1984). At present several\r\nstations more are being constructed in the Uruchie direction.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

In 1968, the architects G. Badanov, M. Barshch, S. Botkovski, A.\r\nVoinov, V. Korol, S. Musinski, M. Parusnikov, G. Sysoev, N. Trakhtenberg, and N. Spigelman\r\nwere awarded the State Prize of the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic for the\r\nindividual, architectural and artistic design of Independence Avenue.
\r\n
\r\nThe architectural ensemble of Independence Avenue – the main\r\nthoroughfare in the Belarusian Capital Minsk – is of high, cultural and historical value.\r\nAmong the other 1000 best works of world architecture it is included in a 10-volume\r\nencyclopaedia “The World Architecture, 1900-2002”. At present time the\r\narchitectural complex of Independence Avenue is to be considered for inscription on the\r\nUnesco’s World Heritage List. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

Our website gives information on the archival documents relating\r\nto the design and building of Independence Avenue, which are held at the Belarusian State\r\nArchives of Scientific & Technical Documentation (BGANTD). The summary information\r\nincludes the data from 12 archival fonds: the design institutes\r\n“BelNIItopproekt” (fond 1), “Belgosproekt” (fond 3),\r\n“Minskproekt” (fond 10), Belpromproekt (fond 18) and\r\n“Minskkomunproekt” (fond 66),\u00a0 Office for the Construction of Government\r\nHouse (fond 121), the Belarusian Architects’ Union (fond 68), and also the personal\r\ncollections of the people’s architect of the USSR V. Korol (fond 51), the honourary\r\narchitect of the BSSR G. Sysoev (fond 127), the former director of the\r\n“Belgosproekt” Institute V. Kondratovich (fond 104), and the architects I.\r\nVolodko (fond 105) and A. Bregman. The summary table gives annotations on architectural\r\nworks, the type and date of design documents, and archival indexes. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

The survey of documents was prepared by G. I. Shostak, leading\r\nspecialist at the BGANTD. <\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"List of archival documents Overview Independence Avenue (Prospect Nezavisimosti) is the main thoroughfare of Minsk City, crossing it from south-west to north-east. Independence Avenue (before 1991, Lenin Avenue) was laid…","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":410336,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-625284","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archives.gov.by\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/625284"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archives.gov.by\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archives.gov.by\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archives.gov.by\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archives.gov.by\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=625284"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/archives.gov.by\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/625284\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archives.gov.by\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/410336"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archives.gov.by\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=625284"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}