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Brest, Belarus

City name

There are several theories of the city name origin. The most common are as follows,

the name of the city comes from the Slavic root beresta meaning birch, bark,

the name of the city comes from the Slavic root berest meaning elm,

the name of the city comes from the Lithuanian word brasta meaning ford.

Once a center of Jewish scholarship, the city's name in Yiddish, is בריסק ("Brisk"), hence the term "Brisker" used to describe followers of the influential Soloveitchik family of rabbis.

History

thumb|left|150px|In 1019 Brest was first mentioned in chronicles as Berestye
The city was founded by the Slavs. As a town, BrestBerestye in Kievan Ruswas first mentioned in the Russian Primary Chronicle in 1019 and is one of the oldest cities in Belarus. It became part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, laid waste by the Mongols in 1241 (see: Mongol invasion of Europe), and was not rebuilt till 1275.

In 1390 Brest became the first city in modern Belarus to receive Magdeburg rights. Its suburbs were burned by the Teutonic Knights in 1379; and in the end of the 15th century the whole town met a similar fate at the hands of a khan of the Crimea. It was renamed Brest-Litovsk in the 16th century, after it became part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1569 (see: Union of Lublin).

During the period of the union of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and Sweden under king Sigismund III Vasa (Polish-Swedish union), diets were held there; and in 1594 and 1596 it was the meeting-place of two remarkable councils of the Roman-Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church bishops of the region; the 1596 council establishing the Uniate Church (known also as the Belarusian Greek Catholic Church in Belarus and Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Ukraine). In 1657, and again in 1706, the town was captured by the Swedes; in 1794 it was the scene of Suvorov's victory over the Polish general Sierakowski. Brest passed to Russia when Poland-Lithuania Commonwealth was partitioned for the third time in 1795 (see: Partitions of Poland). During Russian rule in the 19th century a large fortress was built in and around the city.
thumb|180px|right|Brest railway station during World War I, circa 1915thumb|right|180px|Resurrection Church of Brest, the biggest in Belarus, commemorates the victims of World War II
The town was captured by the German army in 1915, during World War I. In March 1918, in the Brest-Litovsk fortress on the western outskirts of Brest at the confluence of the Western Bug and Mukhavets Rivers, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed, ending the war between Russia and the Central Powers and transferring the city and its surrounding region to the sphere of influence of the German Empire. This treaty was subsequently annulled by the treaties which ended the war.

In 1918 the city was declared part of the short-lived Belarusian Democratic Republic. The newly reconstituted Poland took control of Brest in 1919. The city changed hands twice during the Polish-Soviet War and eventually stayed inside Polish borders, a development that was formally recognized by the Treaty of Riga in 1921. In the fortress, heavily damaged during World War I, Polish Army troops with the headquarters of the 9th Military District were stationed, and the city itself became a capital of Polesie Voivodeship. In 1930 Wincenty Witos and some other prominent Polish statesmen were detained here before the notorious trial in Warsaw.

During the Invasion of Poland in 1939 the city was defended by a small garrison of four infantry battalions under General Konstanty Plisowski against the XIX Panzer Corps of General Heinz Guderian. After four days of heavy fighting the Polish forces withdrew southwards on September 17 (more in articles: Battle of Brześć Litewski).
The Red Army entered the city in 1939 in accordance with the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact's Secret Protocol, and joint Nazi-Soviet military parade took place. Most Belarusians consider it a reunification of the Belarusian nation under one constituency (BSSR at that time).

The city had a significant Jewish population: 30,000 out of 45,000 total population according to Russian 1897 census, which have fallen to 21,000 out of 50,000 according to the Polish 1931 census.Christopher R. Browning, Nazi policy, Jewish workers, German killers',
On June 22, 1941 the fortress and the city was attacked by Nazi Germany at the beginning of the surprise war, codenamed Operation Barbarossa, but held out for six weeks. Nearly all the defenders perished. Brest's Jewish community was decimated under Nazi rule in 1942. The city was liberated by the Red Army on July 28, 1944.

According to the agreements of the Yalta Conference of February 1945, Brest's status as part of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic was officially recognized. The Poles of Brest had a choice where to reside.
Sights in Brest
thumb|right|150px|In 2009 a majestic [[Millennium Monument of Brest|Millennium Monument was erected in Sovietskaya Street]]

A majestic Soviet style war memorial was constructed on the site of the 1941 battle, to commemorate the known and unknown defenders of the Hero-Fortress. This war memorial is the largest tourist attraction of the city. In addition, an archaeological museum of the old city Berestye is located on the southern island of the Hero-Fortress. It offers objects and huts dated back to the 11th - 13th century, that were unearthed during excavations in the 1970s. Brest is proud of its shopping Mall, Sovietskaya Street. It was dramatically reconstructed in 2007 - 2009 to revive the initial view of the old town. In July 2009 the Millennium Monument of Brest was unveiled.

Brest also hosts the first Belarusian outdoor railway museum.

Earlier in Brest there was a synagogue, which was regarded as the first one in [Grand Duchy of Lithuania].

It is also the seat of an Armenian and of a Greek Catholic bishop; the former has authority over the Armenians throughout the whole country.

A Holocaust memorial commemorates over 34 thousand Jews of Brest ghetto that were killed in 1941 - 1942.
Brest City Park is 100 years old, but looks quite new after the recent reconstruction.

The local airport (code BQT), is operating flights to the capital city Minsk and to Moscow and Novgorod in Russia on a weekly basis.

Brest lies astride the Mukhavets River, that is known to Bresters as "the river". The river flows west through the city, dividing it into north and south, and meets the Western Bug in the Brest Fortress. The river flows slowly and gently. You can hop into a tube that looks like a big rubber doughnut and take a relaxing float down this river.
Today the river looks quite broad in Brest. The terrain is fairly flat around Brest. The river has an extremely broad floodplain, that is about 2–3 km across. Brest was subject to flooding in the past. One of the worst floods in recorded history occurred in 1974.
thumb|center|350px|Rowing course in Brest
A part of the floodplain was reclaimed from the river during the last 3 decades. In the 1980s big cutter-suction dredgers were mining sand and clay from the riverbed, to raise the banks. After the dredging the river became deeper and the riverbanks higher. Today the river does not overflow its banks.
thumb|right|250px|the largest stadium in Brest
In the 2000s Brest developed new residential areas and sports attractions on the reclaimed land along the river and increased its vitality. The big sports venues on the northern riverside are an indoor track-and-field center, the Ice Palace (Ice Arena) and Belarus' first ever outdoor baseball stadium. On the opposite riverside is a large rowing course opened in 2007, home to the National Center for Olympic Training in Rowing. It meets international requirements and can host international competitions. It has accommodation and training facilities, favorable location, 3 km away from the border crossing along Warsaw Highway (the European route E30).
Sights around Brest
Belavezhskaya Pushcha National Park, 70 km north of Brest, is a biosphere reserve of world distinction and can be reached by car or bus. This medieval forest is home to rare European bison (wisent). There is a museum and a zoo, available for tourists in the forest, animals can be seen in enclosures all the year round. 2 hotels and some restaurants and bars are there. Excursions can also be taken by horse and cart into the interior of the forest. As a new tourist attraction, the forest features the residence of Grandfather Frost, known as Ded Moroz, the Eastern Slavic Santa Claus, that works all the year round.

Brest also hosts the first Belarusian outdoor railway museum. Brest City Park is old, but looks new after the recent reconstruction.
Kamyanets, Belarus, that lies on the way to the National park from Brest, features an outstanding landmark, the 13th-century tower of Kamyanets.
The village of Kosova, where Tadeusz Kościuszko was born, is also in the Brest region and features a 19th-century palace and a nice Roman Catholic church.
Brest can easily be reached from Warsaw (Poland) by taking the daily sleeper train to Brest Centralnaya (Brest Central) from the central train station in Warsaw, although visas must be sorted out for EU passport holders before travelling. There are a few hotels in Brest, including "Intourist" Hotel on Prospekt Masherava (Masherov Avenue).
Sister cities
Sister cities of Brest:
Oryol, Russia
Nizhny Tagil, Russia
Astrakhan, Russia
Kovrov, Russia
Tyumen, Russia

Petrozavodsk, Russia