Strana Mini, a unique museum of miniatures in Minsk

If you are a first-comer in Minsk, I would strongly recommend you to start your trip by visiting Strana Mini, a unique museum of miniatures in Minsk. This is a place where you can find many interesting facts about Belarusian history and culture. It is located in the city center, on Independence Square. The museum presents unique interactive architectural models of different Belarusian attractions, and it is one of the favorite places of tourists. 

Museum Strana Mini, Minsk

Prospekt Nezavisimosti 25, Minsk, Belarus

Description and history

You can see around 19 unique architectural miniatures in Strana Mini. They represent the places that will give a visitor a good idea of the culture and history of the country. The miniatures show famous places such as Brest Fortress, Belavezhkaya Pushcha, Castles, Cathedrals, etc. There are also models of places that no longer exist, but they are still interesting for visitors who love history. 

The museum Strana Mini was founded in 2016. The author of the idea and the creator of the museum is a Belarusian Evgeny Danilik. The scales of the models are 1:100, 1:87 and 1:120. Twenty-five people were working hard for eight months to create those miniatures. The creation process was very interesting as in the beginning, they created a 3D picture of each sightseeing on the computer. After this, they worked on the color graphics image and finally, they created the miniatures. When the miniatures of each place were almost ready, they created other details such as people, animals, trees, etc. 

Soldiers for Brest Fortress

The creators were ordering the figures of soldiers from the special workshop. However, when they needed them for Brest Fortress, they had to create it by themselves. The reason was that all the faces of soldiers that were in stock were happy. For the miniature of Brest Fortress, they needed soldiers with sad and tired faces, that would reflect its history the best, as they were guarding the fortress. That is why they created special 200 figures of soldiers with tired faces. While seeing the model, you can feel how much work was done to create such great miniatures. It reflects the epoch accordingly as they thought of each detail. 

Strana Mini Today

Each architectural model is a great piece of art. You can use audio-guide in the museum or hire guides who can speak several languages. There is also a nice souvenir shop in Strana Mini, where you can get some presents as a memory of this place. Each miniature has a day and a night mode which means that if you click on a special button, you can see how it is getting darker. In some miniatures, there is the light in the windows that make the sightseeing unforgettable.  

Strana Mini is a unique miniatures museum in Minsk worth visiting. When you visit Strana Mini, check all the miniatures to choose the places that impress you most, and after that, you can continue your trip by visiting them. 

Video © Credits to Youtube/Музей Страна мини