Known for
The Peter and Paul church of 1613 on Rakovskaya, and the low merchant houses around it.
Quiet Rakovskaya: the Peter and Paul church and merchant houses
Rakov Suburb
Ракаўскае прадмесце
Rakovskaya
A short quarter west of Nemiga, lower and calmer than the Upper Town. At Rakovskaya 4 stands the Peter and Paul church of 1613, one of the oldest buildings in the city, with fragments of its fence. Merchant houses sit around it. Some come from the 19th century, some were rebuilt to the same height and rhythm. The quarter has no town-hall square of its own. An hour covers the whole of it.
Why go
Morning and late afternoon, when the church reads from the street and the lane is not yet a cut-through to the Nemiga shopping hall. At midday the street works as a passage. At night it has few lights of its own. For bars, go back up the hill.
Where to stay
For anyone who wants the quiet edge of the old centre and the church outside. Evening life is a short walk away, in the Upper Town, while these houses themselves empty out. If you want a long choice of supper, sleep nearer Freedom Square or the avenue.
Local guide
Fedor Samorodov · guide
The church is at Rakovskaya 4, just past the Nemiga shopping hall and the Niamiha metro. The Upper Town is uphill, toward Freedom Square. The suburb is the houses by the church. The road out to the town of Rakov starts much further on.
Where to have it
- Раковский Бровар — Источники не поделили этот дом — синагога 1882 года, иешива на 160 учеников или еврейский Дом торжеств, — а в 1997-м здесь открылся первый в Минске ресторан-пивоварня. Пиво варят за стеклом, и из зала это видно. В 2020-м Артём Ракецкий, бренд-шеф группы, куда входил «Раковский бровар», после встречи с Константином Ивлевым спросил себя «а что у нас?» и придумал новую белорусскую кухню из местных продуктов, а не реконструкцию старых рецептов. Пей пиво здесь: в барах и магазинах Минска сорта этой пивоварни не продаются.