Excursion to Khatyn from Minsk

Convenient place for the group to gather

Minsk, Minsk-Passazhirsky railway station, 1st floor (city level), near the central escalator (nearest metro station Pl. Lenina),

Tour of the Khatyn Memorial Complex

The tour begins with a story about the fate of the village of Khatyn, completely destroyed along with its inhabitants. Of the 149 dead, more than half were children.

You will learn about the events that led to the tragedy and about hundreds of similar villages that were also destroyed during the war.

Monument to the Unconquered Man

In the center of the Khatyn memorial complex stands a six-meter bronze sculpture "Unconquered Man". This composition depicts the figure of an elderly peasant holding a dead boy in his arms - a moment of extreme grief, pain and pride at the same time. The prototype of the image was Joseph Kaminsky, the only adult to survive the burning of Khatyn: on the night of the tragedy, he found his mortally wounded son among the bodies, who died in his arms. The sculptor conveyed the feeling of inexpressible loss and national tragedy through this episode.

Symbolic chimneys and bells

Symbolic chimneys and bells are one of the key images of the Khatyn memorial complex. On the site of each of the 26 burnt houses, the crowns of log houses have been recreated, with obelisks installed inside them, imitating the remains of chimneys scorched by fire. These pipes symbolize the little that often remained of Belarusian villages after punitive actions: only stove pipes, whitewashed and scorched by fire.

Bells are fixed to the tops of these obelisks. Each obelisk has a memorial plaque with the names of the residents who died in that house. The bells ring every 30 seconds, filling the memorial with a mournful sound: this continuous ringing reminds of the irrevocable loss, every minute of hell experienced by the residents of Khatyn and thousands of other destroyed villages of Belarus. The idea of the bells came to the architects so that Khatyn would not “fall silent,” so that the sound of grief and memory would always be heard, reminding them of the need to remember the tragedies of the past and warning the living against repeating them.

Cemetery of villages

The cemetery of villages in the Khatyn memorial complex is a unique monument that perpetuates the memory of 185 Belarusian villages destroyed by the Nazis along with their inhabitants and not restored after the war. Each village is dedicated to a symbolic grave - a kind of ashes with a funeral urn, which contains the soil from the site of the former village. In the center of each grave is a pedestal in the form of a tongue of flame, symbolizing that the village was burned by fire.

Wall of sorrow

The Wall of Grief at the Khatyn Memorial Complex is a long reinforced concrete block with niches containing memorial plaques with the names of more than 260 Nazi death camps and places of mass extermination of people on the territory of Belarus. Architecturally, the wall is reminiscent of prison cells and crematorium fences, which enhances the atmosphere of memory and grief for the millions of victims made during the Second World War.

Tree of Life

The Tree of Life in the Khatyn memorial complex is a symbolic monument that perpetuates the memory of 433 Belarusian villages destroyed by the German occupiers during the Great Patriotic War, but revived after the defeat of fascism. The names of these settlements are placed in alphabetical order on the branches of these metal “trees”.

This memorial element symbolizes hope, rebirth and life, which, despite terrible losses and destruction, managed to grow again from the ashes of war. The "Tree of Life" becomes not only a tribute to the memory of the dead, but also a sign of the unbending spirit of the people who won the fight for freedom and the preservation of their land.

Memory Square

The Memorial Square in the Khatyn Memorial Complex is a central, symbolic space where the memory of those who died in the terrible tragedy of World War II is read. In the center of the square grow three birches, symbolizing the survivors, and in place of the fourth birch burns the Eternal Flame - a symbol of memory of every fourth resident of Belarus who died during the war. This composition clearly reflects the enormous losses of the Belarusian people and evokes deep emotions of grief and respect.

Note:

A visit to the new museum on the territory of the memorial complex, which opened in March 2023, is NOT INCLUDED in the program of the group excursion! A visit to the museum can only be organized for individual groups of no more than 10 people and for persons strictly over 12 years of age by prior arrangement.