Gomel is a town in the Republic of Belarus, rich in architectural and natural monuments where every street is filled with the spirit of the people’s history.

When the town began to be more and more populated it was decided to construct a building in which representatives of different social classes could discuss current issues and accept decisions. In 1880, the construction of Duma town was started under the project of the then famous architect E. Torlin. It was constructed on the site of the former town council. It was agreed that the building would have two storeys for those purposes. There were shops and different offices on the first floor of the building, meetings were held on the second.

The owner of an estate in Gomel Prince Fyodor Ivanovich Paskevich was the head of the town for many years up to his death. As it was his summer residence, Paskevich made major decisions and shaped the future of the town visiting Gomel every summer. Prince Paskevich was granted the honorable title of «Honored Citizen of Gomel» in 1888.

The town council existed as such for a long time. That building hosted the editorial office «Gomelskaya Pravda» and the factory «Polespechat» in 1917.

In 1935, it was agreed that the two storeys were not enough and the construction of the third one was started.

 In terms of architecture, the three-storey building in the center of Gomel was designed in eclectic style. All the floors were ornamented with a denticulate belt and quadrangular fielded panels, and the windows of the second and third storeys were decorated with framing and gables. The exterior of the building looks very beautiful and majestic. 

As it has been mentioned the building accommodated the factory «Polespechat». It began its existence in 1921 when small printing offices were combined in a big one. In the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, that printing office issued all republican newspapers on military topics and the then famous army paper «Boevoy Natisk». In the course of the war and violent military actions, the situation of the factory greatly worsened. All the equipment necessary for the work was taken to Perm region. But the building of the printing office was not empty in Gomel, the work continued there. It was not as huge as earlier but was very important for the army. There was formed a clandestine group of T. Borodin made of the office workers that provided partisans with fonts and paper that was very important at the time. And today the factory «Polespechat» is still in this building.

The building of Duma town is a decoration of the main street in Gomel. It attracts tourists coming to the town to rest with its exterior. In any season, the building of the town of Duma cordially receives guests of the town and reveals its secrets.