MINSK, BYELORUSSIA

Minsk, the capital of Byelorussia, is a large cultural and industrial centre. First mentioned in1067, it became capital of the Minsk principality in1101 and part of Lithuania in 1326. At the end of the 15^th century, it became a great craft and trade centre. It passed to Russia in the second partition of Poland in 1793. The city’s industrial development began in the 1870s, and it was one of the largest Jewish centres of Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages and before World War II. Although the city was heavily damaged by the war, several monuments, including a former 17^th–century Bernardine convent and the 17^th–century Ekaterin Cathedral remain. The Academy of Sciences of the Byelorussia, the Byelorussian State University and Library are in the Minsk.