There are so many miracles in Belarus! The Belarusian Maldives and the Martian landscapes, and the local Notre Dame, even Dubai — each of these locations seem to be willing to appear in the lens of a smartphone or a camera. Photos — that’s what you can take as souvenirs from the blue-eyed. It is time to tell you about another photogenic place. It will probably remind someone of the coast of Norway — that’s why people call this place the Belarusian fjords. So, welcome to Glushkovichi, where there is a marvellous granite quarry.

The history of a career in Glushkovichi

The Belarusian fjords appeared relatively recently, only 40 years ago. On the border with Ukraine, the Ukrainian crystalline shield reached the surface. This has become an excellent tool for the construction of a crushed stone production plant in Lelchitsky district. 

An interesting fact from VETLIVA: The Ukrainian crystalline shield is one of the oldest geological structures on the Earth, it’s a source of production of many different minerals, in particular, many sorts of granite.

When the developing of the deposit started, of course, no one thought about the landscape design. The stone factory Glushkevichi was built here in 1975. In order to make the rocks look like the real northern fjords, many tons of explosives were spent. At the same time, experts are now complaining: if in the last century they treated stone more gently and used gunpowder instead of TNT, there would be no microcracks in the stones. Their presence of the cracks complicates the processing of stone, and high-quality granite has to be processed into crushed stone.

Granite, mined at Glushkovichi stone factory, was famous throughout the Soviet Union. The stone was used in decorating Minsk metro stations, as well as the facades of buildings in Gomel. And memorials and monuments are made of granite too.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the quarry was abandoned. Over time, it filled with water, which made the resemblance to the Norwegian fjords even more noticeable.

An interesting fact from VETLIVA: The fjords are the natural sights of Norway, which are narrow sea bays deeply protruding into the land. The indescribable beauty of the steep rocky shores brought fame to the country. Nature itself is a landmark of many countries, Belarus is no exception: our guide will convince you of this!

The Belarusian fjords: the magnificent sight of Belarus

While many people have already visited the Maldives near Grodno, not everyone even knows about the fjords. Local fishermen, Gomel geology students and sophisticated experts of Belarusian sights are perhaps the only visitors of this unique place.

The most picturesque is Hope quarry. It is constantly drained, but the cavity is constantly getting filled with water again. According to preliminary data, there are 3.4 million cubic meters of block stone here, which means that the deposit can be developed again at any time. Nearby there is another flooded quarry, but it reminds of a forest lake with the usual for people gently sloping banks covered with trees.

Advice from VETLIVA: if you like beautiful and secluded places — go on a journey through the Belarusian exclusion zone. You will definitely like beautiful landscapes, unusual locations! You will meet wild animals and get indescribable emotions!

The surroundings of Nadezhda quarry have been chosen by foxes (the voids formed in the rocks gave the red predators ready tunnels) and other representatives of the local flora and fauna. Bizarre rocks are reflected in the water, and sometimes it’s hard to believe that you see all this being in Belarus. Perhaps one day the fjords near Glushkovichi will become a real tourist Mecca. In the meantime, you can go here yourself and see the beauty of Belarusian Norway with your own eyes!