Two neighbouring parks on the banks of the Svislach offer the city’s residents a rare combination of natural space, cultural heritage, and active recreation in the very centre of the capital.
On the western bank of the Svislach river, within easy walking distance of Independence Avenue, lie two of the most beloved parks in Minsk — Gorky Park and Kupala Park. Adjoining one another and connected by the city’s main bike path, they form a continuous green corridor that stretches along the riverfront and provides residents with an accessible escape from the urban fabric of the centre.
Gorky Park, the larger and more animated of the two, takes its name from Maksim Gorky, the celebrated Russian writer. A monument to Gorky stands near the main entrance, greeting visitors as they arrive. The park is popularly known as a children’s park, and for good reason: in the warm months it fills with families drawn by the large observation wheel and a collection of fairground attractions that animate the grounds from spring through to autumn. The park sits behind the Belarus National Circus, and the prestigious Prospect business centre occupies a position directly adjacent.
For those interested in active sport rather than leisure, Gorky Park has considerable infrastructure. An indoor ice hockey rink within the park grounds is used for training sessions by a professional ice hockey team. A gym and a grass hockey field complete the sporting offer. The Minsk bike path — one of the city’s main cycling routes — passes directly through the park, making it a natural waypoint for cyclists travelling along the Svislach embankment.
One of the more unusual features of Gorky Park is its small planetarium, which includes an observatory. It has been a fixture of the park for decades and continues to offer public sessions. Close to Independence Avenue, a fragment of old brickwork marks the site of the first electrical plant ever built in Minsk — a modest but historically significant remnant preserved within the park as a monument to the city’s industrial beginnings.
Immediately adjacent to Gorky Park stands a small but historically extraordinary wooden building: a house museum marking the site where, in 1898, the founding congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party took place. This was the party that would later, under Lenin’s leadership, become one of the defining political forces of the twentieth century. The building has been preserved as a museum and stands as one of the more unusual historic landmarks in the centre of Minsk.
Kupala Park, which borders Gorky Park to the south, is dedicated to Janka Kupala — one of the most important figures in Belarusian literature and a symbol of national cultural identity. A large monument to Kupala dominates the park, and a museum devoted to his life and work is housed within the grounds. The park has a quieter, more contemplative character than its neighbour, reflecting the literary and cultural associations of the man it honours.
Like Gorky Park, Kupala Park is traversed by the Minsk bike path, making it part of the same extended riverside cycling and walking route. Together, the two parks offer something for almost every visitor: children’s entertainment, sport, cycling, history, literature, and simply the pleasure of being beside the river in the centre of a busy European capital.