Colloquium participants are invited for bus tour of Minsk city.

Excursion acquaints with a hero town Minsk, its past and the present. During excursion you learn about more than 900-years history of city of Minsk, about its occurrence on pages of annals, its basis and revival after numerous wars and fires, about modern shape of modern compact city. Excursion acquaints with the Top city - the historical center of the Belarus capital above which the Cathedral of Maiden Maria of XVII century and the Cathedral Catholic cathedral XVIII tower Piously-spirits.

The capital city of Belarus was first settled over 900 years ago in 1067. Much of old Minsk was razed to the ground during World War II. Among the sights that you will see are:

• Independence Square with the House of Government

• the "Red" Roman Catholic Church

• Victory Square with its 38 metres grey obelisk and the Eternal Flame commemorating the heroes of World War II

• Yanka Kupala Park with a wonderful fountain

• Troitskoye Predmestye (Trinity Suburb) - an example of Minsk urban architecture of the previous century

• Holy Trinity Cathedral and St.Catherine's Church - architectural monuments of the 17th century.

• Lots of parks and other modern architectural ensembles.

The first and at the moment the only private museum of material culture where the past and present are brought together, a museum of handicrafts where a piece of clay, steel or wood are brought to life before your eyes.

Founded in 1993, covers the territory of 160 hectares.

On the picturesque banks of the river Ptich (once it was one of the waterways «from the Vikings to the Greeks») you will find this unique DUDUTKI museum where activities and entertainment combine in harmony with nature and history.

Former inhabitants of Dudutki estate in the 19th century, the Elskys Family - the representatives of Igumen shlachta (old Belarusian dynasty), owned it for 130 years. They made Dudutky to one of the centres of cultural life in Belarus.

Whoever you are, irrespective of age or position, plunge yourself into the atmosphere of the 19th century Belarus, get to know the ways of country life and discover the secrets of ancient handicrafts.

You will visit, taste and participate:

• the old and the only working windmill in Belarus, where they can see how grain was turned into flower and find a surprise

• the pottery shop, where one can see traditional work of a skilled potter and join the artisan in creative process

• the ancient smithy, where one can watch a blacksmith at work and receive a lucky horse shoe as a gift

• the village bakery with tasting fresh village rye bread made before your eyes, farmer's butter, cheese and milk

• the only legal in Belarus apparatus for «SAMOGON» (local vodka) tasting it with fresh cucumbers or marinated pickles with honey

• the water park where you can walk along its riverside pathways, enjoy nature and share the admiration and delight of the former inhabitants - musicians, historians and writers who lived here in the 19th century and made this country estate to the «Manor of Muses».

• the ethnographic gallery displaying old personal belongings for everyday use from XVIII-beginning of XX century.

• the stable, where one can see Orlov trotters. You'll have a chance to ride them and/or take some riding lessons. You will also see donkeys, Scotch ponies, sheep, goats there.

Zaslavl with its 1000 years history is one of the most ancient towns of Belarus. Zaslavl was founded by Kiev prince in 985 AD. The interesting sights here are the ruins of a castle and its fortifications - the first and the oldest fortification system in Belarus, dated by XVI-XVII c.c. There are also some pagan burial places spread around the ruins. Ethnographic complex of Zaslavl presents traditional handy crafts and everyday life of a small Belarusian town. In the domestic museum you will find out many interesting things about archeological findings and a unique art-gobelins.

Zaslavl is the city-monument of the ancient culture of Belarus. That is why the ancient part of the city X-XIII centuries, archeologists and architectural monuments included in Zaslavl historical-cultural reserve. You will see architectural places of interests: Spaso-Preobrazenskaia church of XVI century (former Reformist Church), st. Mary's cathedral and others.

Now at the territory of reserve opened ethnographical complex "Mlin"(a mill), which includes "Mlin" museum, "Hata zavoznika", "Kuzna", "Sviran"-of the beginning XX century, music instruments museum. In the "Hata zavoznica" visitors could feel Belarusian hospitality take a cup of tea from "Samovar" (traditional tea pot) with Belarusian pancakes.

This excursion tell you about originality of Belarusian multiconfessional and polyethnic settlements. Way of life, crafts and culture of such settlements is a unique phenomena. You will visit the most typical and in a good state of preservation - Rakov and Ivenets.

Rakov is a Belarussian town with the miraculous past. For the first time Rakov was mentioned in 1465. It's known that this town belonged to many noble and rich magnates (the king Kazimir, Kezhegailo, Sangushki, Oginskiy and other). In 1793 there was built an Uniate Church. Now it's St. Transfiguration Cathedral. St. Dominic's Cathedral (neo gothic style) was built in 1906.

Ivenets is an old settlement that is situated on the colorful banks of a river Volmianka among the Nalibokskaya puscha forests. The settlement is known from the 14^th century as a privately owned settlement of Lithuanian Grand duke Vytautas At the beginning of the 20^th century Ivenets had become one of the greatest potter centers in Belarus and the quality of the ceramic production was beyond all the comparison to the other potter centers. Here you will see Catholic church of St. Aleksy and the Monastery of Franciscan with Catholic church of St. Michael the Archangel.

You will visit the Museum of Local Lore, History and Economy, unique museum-gallery of Yanushkevitch family, pottery and smithy. And in the end of excursion you will have the possibility to taste Ivenets confectionary production - excellent caramel.