Church of St. Mary Magdalene

The Church of St. Mary Magdalene is an Orthodox church built in 1847 in brick. It was closed in 1949 and adapted for the storage of film and photographic archives. In 1990, the church was returned to the Orthodox faithful. It was the first church in Minsk to be licensed by the Soviet-era services after a long period of banning the opening of churches.

About this building

Key Features

  • Architecture

Visitors information

  • Car park at the building
  • Café within 500m

Other nearby buildings

Wikimedia Commons/Insider

Cathedral of the Holy Spirit

The Cathedral of the Holy Spirit was built between 1633 and 1642. At the time of its construction, the building belonged to a Catholic monastery in Bernardines. It was only in 1860 that the church was converted to Orthodox worship, and shortly afterwards an Orthodox monastery was inaugurated there in 1870. However, the monastic community was dispersed by the Bolshevik authorities in 1922. The church is now an Orthodox cathedral.

Wikimedia Commons/Vedenei

Church of St. Joseph

The Catholic Church of St. Joseph is a monument of 17th-century Baroque architecture. The church used to be an abbey, but in 1864 the church and monastery were closed and confiscated by the Russian authorities. The church was adapted to the Orthodox church, and the monastery buildings were transformed into barracks of the Kolomna Infantry Regiment and the premises of the Investigation Commission. Since the end of the 19th century, this desecrated church has housed the archives.

Wikimedia Commons/Zedlik

Salzman Synagogue

The Salzman Synagogue was built in 1864 at the expense of the merchant Salzman for the poor Jews of Minsk in the suburb of Raków. During the Second World War, it was abandoned and was later rebuilt to house a sports club. Today, the two-storey brick building houses a chess centre.