If you look for a place in the centre of Minsk, where you can spend time with your whole family, or just find a place to stay alone, then it’s worth paying attention to the park on the Paris Commune square, which surrounds the famous Opera and Ballet Theatre. Lots of paths and comfortable benches, greenery and interesting monuments – all of it won’t let any person, who loves nature, indifferent.

Fr om Trinity mountain to… Trinity mountain

The central place in the park belongs directly to the Paris Commune square, which right up to 1919 was named Trinity Mountain. This was truly historic part of Minsk, wh ere as back as in the second half of the XVI century the first settlements appeared.  They related to Zamchishche, located nearby, and quite soon became the basis for the further city development and prosperity.

In 1919 Trinity mountain was renamed into the Paris Commune square, that related to the events of 1871, when the first proletarian revolution took place. At last, in 2009 the initial historically-formed name  - the Trinity mountain, was returned.

However, the central square is not all that the park is famous for, or as it is also called a garden, around Opera and Ballet theatre. It was laid in 1950, upon the project of I. Langbard, later, completed and implemented by talented Belarusian architects – L. Matskevich and E. Kazakova.

The above-mentioned Opera and Ballet theatre, to which 6 beautiful alleys lead, is located in the central part of quite a large garden, having area of 8, 25 hectares. The most popular among the alleys’ guests are: “Ballet”, “Opera” and Central. Also there’s a lot of paths, freely crossing them and several flanking alleys.

Relatively recently a most beautiful fountain has been added to the park, now it is located straight in front of the theatre building.

About 46 representatives of Belarusian flora grows in the park on the Paris Commune Square. Linden plants are of particular interest, which grow in groups in some places, and in individual compositions in the other. 

The park’s monuments 

Due to interesting ideas of Belarusian authors the garden began to be gradually developed. Thus, one of the key figures near the “Ballet” alley is a sculpture “Ballet” opened in 2006, by the sculptor L. Gumilevski. In “Opera” alley another original theme sculpture – “Muse” was established in 2008, by K. Selikhanov authorship.

A famous monument to Maksim Bogdanovich is of special interest, which since 1981 has been located  in the park, closer to a street with the same name. Y. Kazakov, L. Moskalevich (architects) and S. Vakar (a sculptor) are the authors of this project. The last was the furious fan of Bogdanovich’s work, he created a lot of sculptures with his images.

The very monument, set up on the red granite pedestal, depicts the author in a thoughtful pose with a bunch of favourite flowers in the hand – cornflowers.

It is interesting that in spring of 2008 it was sent on reconstruction, and it was supposed for some time to erect a fountain in its place. However, this decision arouse a storm of indignations and protests in the society, explaining Bogdanovich’s role in the national art and the life of the country in the whole, thus in autumn a renewed monument was returned on its legal place, moving 150 meters to the writer’s native house side. The last, unfortunately, hasn’t preserved to the present day.