Although in Minsk there are more monuments to Lenin than there are monuments to poets and writers, in general, there are many unusual monuments and sculptures in our country. If you have not read about them yet — it's time to correct this annoying omission. This article will also focus on an interesting sculpture installed directly on the side of the M-1 highway. When traveling around Belarus, you definitely won’t miss it, because we are talking about a twenty-meter ... bison! Read below about the unusual sight of Belarus.

The history of the monument bison

The idea to establish a huge bison on the highway belonged to the former chairman of the Brest Regional Executive Committee Vasily Dolgolev. He borrowed it from Spain, only offered to embody not the bull, which is an unofficial symbol of Spain, but the bison.

An interesting fact from VETLIVA: the figures of the bulls installed along the Spanish freeways are nothing but the logo of the sherry brand Veterano. The drink is produced by Osborne Trading House, and the sculptures themselves have since been called Osborne Bulls.

The installation of the monument was supposed to be dedicated to Dozhinki-2003. The employees of the Pinsk Shipbuilding and Shiprepairing Plant, who were entrusted with the mission to manufacture it, had only 40 days to complete the task. Therefore, the specialists had to work in two shifts.

According to Tamara Novysh, who headed the executive committee in Petkovichy village at that time, the figure of a bison cost about 370 million rubles, that is, almost 180 thousand dollars in equivalent.

Since the project was very large-scale, they approached its implementation quite creatively:

• on asphalt, they plotted squares the size of a meter per meter,

• then they drew the contours of the future sculpture in improvised cells,

• assembled a frame, which was then sheathed with metal sheets,

• the finished 11 parts of the bison were transported to the M-1 highway and mounted on the spot.

Advice from VETLIVA: wondering what to bring from Belarus? Since the bison is an unofficial symbol of our country, a souvenir with its image will be an excellent memory of a trip to Belarus.

There was no person responsible for the new monument in the village executive committee. Therefore, at first the figure often suffered from vandals, it was constantly painted with various inscriptions that had to be rubbed with gasoline. And when the backlight was installed, it also did not last long. They had to install 4 instead of 16 fixtures, but anti-vandal. Now the state of the monument is monitored by employees of the Baranavichy district housing and communal services, so the proud, handsome bison looks beautiful and photogenic. It is not surprising that travelers passing by are constantly taking pictures with it: perhaps, you can feel as small only during an excursion to the BELAZ factory.

VETLIVA tip: Want even more cool photos from your travels? Then our selection of the most picturesque places in Belarus will come in handy.

Description of the bison sculpture on the M-1 highway

A huge metal bison is an almost flat figure with truly impressive characteristics:

• 70 tons of weight,

• 28 meters long,

• 20 meters in height (for a minute, this is equal to the height of a six-story building!).

Unlike its prototypes, it is much higher, and this effect is enhanced by the location of the monument on a small hill. It is visible from afar to everyone who is driving along the M-1 highway. For more than 16 years the Bison has been meeting and escorting guests to Brest. So, going on an excursion or on a tour to this city, you will get a chance to capture it from the window of a tourist bus. There is an opinion among motorists that everyone who takes pictures with a local attraction will have a good road ahead and a trip that is truly full of interesting impressions.

Source:   http://wikimapia.org/