Brest, Belarus, Sovietskaya Street

It is about 1.7 km long, running north-south. between Ordzonikidze Street and the river, crossing Mitskevich Street, Pushkin Street, Mayakovsky Street, Gogol Street, Budyonny Street,Dzerzhynsky Street and Masherov Avenue

The previous names:

Russian period

The southern half was Millionnaya (Million) Street, the northern half was Politseyskaya (Police) Street

(left) the part of the street that was called Politseyskaya before WW1,
(right) the part of the street that was called Millionnaya before WW1.

Polish period

ulica Dąbrowskiego (Dabrowski Street)

Soviet period

Sovietskaya Street

A historic background

The street was laid out in the mid-19th century. In the 1970s, it was closed to car traffic and transformed into a pedestrian shopping area, much like those found in many European cities. It is sometimes referred to as the 'Mall of Brest' in English, akin to the one in London.

Sovietskaya Street is truly the heart of the city, the main tourist attraction. It is a tree-lined pedestrian promenade that runs through the heart of the downtown shopping district.

With its restaurants, outdoor cafes, and bars, the mall is a delightful place to sit and people-watch..

The pavement is made of red and gray flagstones. The street underwent a considerable reconstruction in 2007-2019. That was a part of the city's preparations for the coming millennium of Brest. That's why, some pictures are titled like before the Millennium reconstruction and after the Millennium reconstruction.

Sovetskaya Street, Beltelecom Office, mural

The view of the street before the Millennium reconstruction.
Click to see more pictures, taken before the Millennium reconstruction.

Main attraction

Millennium Monument of Brest

Brest Millennium Monument was opened on July 25, 2009. That is the main landmark at the intersection of Sovietskaya Street and Gogol Street

High reliefs on the monument depict significant events in the town's history.

There is an old legend about a tiny settlement that eventually grew into the city we know today.

The construction of the first wooden fortress of Berestye (Brest)

Millennium Monument of Brest, battle of Grunwald

The warriors of Brest at the pivotal battlefield of Grunwald or the First Battle of Tannenberg, (in Lithuanian) Žalgiris

Millennium Monument of Brest, Grunwald battle

The victory of the united troops of Lithuania and Poland. The regiment of Brest was among them

Millennium Monument of Brest, Brest bible

That was Brest, where the first book (Brest Bible) was printed in the country.

The picture was taken during a reenactment on the Day of the City.

In 2008, the old trees by the monument were uprooted. Young trees appeared in the street in the course of the Millennium reconstruction. Among species, quite rare for Brest, you will find hereabouts golden chain (Laburnum) that is native to temperate and subtropical Eurasia. Laburnums bear yellow flowers, similar in structure to those of the pea, in late spring in Brest.

Sovetskaya street, Brest, laburnum blooming

The Laburnum trees here are quite small for the time being. The trees withstood frosts in Brest. Their first flowers appeared in May 2010.

Reenactment on June 21,2012

Brest, Reanactmemt on June 21,2012, a girl in a Soviet uniform

Brest, Reanactmemt on June 21,2012, Millennium monument

Brest, Reanactmemt on June 21,2012, TV interview

Brest, Reanactmemt on June 21,2012, interview in Sovietskaya Str.

Brest, Reanactmemt on June 21,2012, a vintage motorcicle

Brest, Reanactmemt on June 21,2012, a boy in a Soviet uniform

Participants of the re-enactment of the war-outbreak in 1941 are marching along the street in June 2012.

Glimpses of the street

Let's take a walk along the street from its northern end.

Sovetskaya street, Brest, Belarus, winter garden

A new indoor garden is located at the northeastern corner of Sovietskaya and Mitskevich Str. next to the old building of Pushkin State University. It was designed by Brest architects. The construction was completed in December 2010. That winter garden is an excellent facility for biology students. It also attracts tourists who wish to immerse themselves in a green paradise of tropical vegetation, especially during the cold months.

Sovetskaya street, Brest, Belarus, st. Nicolos Curch, summer

Sovetskaya street, Brest, Belarus, st. Nicolos Curch, winter

The Russian church of early 20th century at the corner of Mitskevich Street

Sovetskaya street, Brest, Belarus, Russian sailors' memorial

The memorial by the church commemorates the Russian sailors.

Sovetskaya street, Brest, Belarus, gazebo

Sovetskaya street, Brest, Belarus, gazebo, angel

Passers-by can take refuge from snow or sun under a blue, umbrella-like gazebo dotted with stars, topped with the figure of an angel scattering stars.

Sovetskaya Str., Brest, Belarus, corner Pushkin Str.

The hub of the street is the intersection of Sovietskaya Street and Pushkin Street.

The houses on either side of the street were originally two stories high. An additional story was added to each of them after the war.

Sovetskaya Str., Brest, Belarus, corner Pushkin Str., winter

the house at the north-western corner in winter

Sovetskaya Str., Brest, Belarus, corner Pushkin Str., postcard

the view of the same house 100 years ago.

Sovetskaya street, Brest, Belarus, Monument "Old Town"

The quirky monument in the shape of tiny old houses with big cats, sitting on the roofs, is named "Old Town". It is situated near the intersection of Sovietskaya Street and Pushkin Street. It is not tall (2.8 m) and anyone can touch and stroke the lovely cats of the monument. It was designed by a teacher of a Brest high school Ruslan Usmanov. unveiled on December 31, 2008. As a matter of fact, it was erected to refurbish the old ventilation duct. It was made of silumin (a high-strength alloy of aluminum with silicon content of 12%).

The stretch of the Mall between Pushkin Street and Mayakovsky Street is devoted to the history of the city.

Sovetskaya Str., Brest, Belarus, corner Pushkin Str., dentist's

The redbrick house of the former Town Hall is still seen at the corner of Sovietskaya St. It was originally two storeys high. Now it is surrounded by taller buildings. To rise the height of the building, an additional story was added after the war.

Sovetskaya Str., Brest, Belarus, corner Pushkin Str., dentist's sign

At the corner of the former Town Hall

Sovetskaya Str., Brest, Belarus, clock tower

After the Millennium reconstruction a clock tower, a tiny brother of Big Ben, appeared at the Mall of Brest. Being 6m high, the tower is not as tall as its Big Brother in London, yet it shows the exact time and plays nice tunes each hour.

Sovetskaya Str., Brest, Belarus, clock tower, winter

Sovetskaya street, Brest, Belarus, mural, printing house

There are two murals on the wall of the house next to the Clock Tower. It commemorates the first printing house in Belarus in the 16th century where the first book (Brest Bible) was printed.

Sovetskaya street, Brest, Belarus, mural, mint

This mural commemorates the mint of Brest in the 17th century.

Sovetskaya street, Brest, Belarus, mural old city

Sovetskaya street, Brest, Belarus, former school

The house, former girls' gymnasium (high school), looks quite new today after the refurbishment, like many old structures around after the Millennium reconstruction.

To the left of the former school is BelTelecom building.

Sovetskaya street, Brest, Belarus, Beltelecom office

BelTelecom building

Two gazebos with semitransparent domes appeared after the Millennium reconstruction here. A small figure of the medieval city sentry, bugling at the top of the tower, surmounts one gazebo. Bugle or trumpet calls were used in many European cities to signal the opening and closing of city gates at dawn and dusk. Such calls were also used to warn of fires and other dangers.

Sovetskaya street, Brest, Belarus, gazebo , bugler

The bugler over the gazebo by the Clock Tower.

Sovetskaya street, Brest, Belarus, gazebo , warrior

The guardian over the gazebo near the big mural of the 17th century.

Sovetskaya Str., Brest, Belarus, mural 17th century

The big mural provides the panoramic view of the Old Brest in the 17th century.

Sovetskaya Str., Brest, Belarus, mural 17th century, artists

Artists finish their work (2007).

Sovetskaya street, Brest, Belarus, relief, City Charter

At the corner of Mayakovsky Street In 2007, a beautiful relief appeared on the wall as a tribute to the historic event when Brest was granted urban rights by a royal charter in 1390.. That made it a free city as the second in Lithuania after Vilna.

Didas Persia Shopping Center

Sovetskaya Str., Brest, Belarus, Didas Persia

The shopping center built by "Persia Didas" occupies the bigger part of the eastern side between Mayakovsky Street and Gogol Street.

In front of the center passers-by find some small attractions

Sovetskaya street, Brest, Belarus, Lucky Boot

by trying on a Lucky Boot

Sovetskaya Str, Brest, Belarus, Millionnaya Str. attraction, coining press, mint

Sovetskaya Str, Brest, Belarus, Millionnaya Str. attraction

or by dropping some coins into the bag of the old mint of Brest.

Millennium Monument of Brest, Belarus, gate

We pass by the Millennium Monument. There are some more pictures of the monument at the top of the page.

Sovetskaya street, Brest, Belarus, former bank

Sovetskaya street, Brest, Belarus, former Jewish bank

In the inter-war period a bank, set up by the Jewish community, was in the house on the western side. Today it houses several shops.

Even quite new structures look quite old here.

The redbrick building on the eastern side of the street once housed the first telephone exchange. The building was rebuilt in the 1990s. Today it houses a cafe. The building to the right is a bank office.

Once there was the main synagogue in the street. It was constructed in the mid-19th century after the city was relocated 2 km eastward to construct the Brest fortress.

Great Synagogue of Brest before WW1, postcard

In the 1970s, a huge glass-walled barrel of Belarus cinema hid the facade of the former synagogue.

Belarus Cinema
It is located at the northeastern corner of Budyonny Street and Sovietskaya Street.

Sovetskaya street, Brest, Belarus, Belarus Cinema

Before the renovation

After the renovation

Belarus Cinema is equipped with Dolby Surround, 3D. That is a concert hall as well.

Sovetskaya street, Brest, Belarus, view from the cinema

A view from the cinema

Sovetskaya street, Brest, Belarus, pavement

a pattern of the pavement

Sovetskaya street, Brest, Belarus, national movie festival

Opening ceremony of the national movie festival in 2012.

Sovetskaya street, Brest, Belarus, edifice in an old style

The edifice in an old style opposite the cinema was built in 2009-2010.

The big fountain by the Belarus cinema was an ideal place on a hot summer day.

Sovetskaya street, Brest, Belarus, fountain, cinema, 2003

2003

Sovetskaya street, Brest, Belarus, fountain, cinema, 2008

Sovetskaya street, Brest, Belarus, fountain, cinema, 2008, boy

the views around the fountain by the cinema (2008)

Alas, the fountain has been dismantled in 2014 in the course of redevelopment.

Sovetskaya street, Brest, Belarus, reenactment, 2014

The glamor of the Old Brest at the reenactment during the Day of the City in July 2014.

A new fountain appeared on the site of the old one in 2018.

Corner of Sovetskaya Str. and Budyonny Str., Brest, Belarus

Corner of Sovetskaya Str. and Budyonny Str., Brest, Belarus, sculpture

The views opposite the cinema on the south-western corner of Sovietskaya Street and Budyonny Street. A night club, casino and other entertainments are under one roof.

Corner of Sovetskaya Str. and Budyonny Str., Brest, Belarus, 1980

The same place in the 1980s before the complex was built. That was an outdoor cafe in the shape of a wooden castle. It reminded of the medieval wooden castle of Brest, that was destroyed in the 19th century. Today a relief on the Millennium Monument reminds of the castle.

On the way between Budyonny Street and Dzerzhynsky Street

Corner of Sovetskaya Str. and Budyonny Str., Brest, Belarus, cinema

Summer 2009, the pavement is being replaced.
After the reconstruction.

Sovetskaya Str., Brest, Belarus, new shops

Sovetskaya Str., Brest, Belarus, new shops, boy

Dzerzhynsky Street crosses the street at a sharp angle here.

Sovetskaya street, Brest, Belarus, pedestrian presinct

Old low-rise houses at the corner of Dzerzhynsky Street look quite attractive after they were renovated in 2003 and in 2009.

Old Street Lights

The stretch between Dzerzhynsky Street and Masherov Avenue is illuminated every night with old-fashioned lanterns on the lampposts. The street lights attract tourists every evening.

Sovetskaya street, Brest, Belarus, pedestrian presinct, edict

That is the edict of the city mayor regarding the lanterns with kerosene lamps that are lit in the street every evening.

Sovetskaya street, Brest, Belarus, pedestrian presinct, lamp lighter

Each evening, the lamplighter lights the kerosene lamps in the lanterns.

Sovetskaya street, Brest, Belarus, pedestrian presinct, clock

Sovetskaya street, Brest, Belarus, pedestrian presinct, clock, 2024

This clock indicates when the lamps will be lit tonight. (Left) the old clock, (right) today's clock.

Sovetskaya street, Brest, Belarus, pedestrian presinct, dentist's

This part of the street after the reconstruction in 2009. The old-fashioned lampposts and the cobbled pavement create the atmosphere of the Old Brest-Litovsk.

Sovetskaya street, Brest, Belarus, pedestrian presinct, drug store

an old drug store on the western side (before the renovation)

the drug store (after the renovation)

Location of the drug store at Wikimapia.org

Sovetskaya street, Brest, Belarus, pedestrian presinct, a new house

A new structure in an old style was built in 2007 at the corner of Masherov Avenue, yet it looks as if it were built before WW1.