Unique structures were found during excavations of ramparts on Menka

The event brought together employees of the Tourism Department of the Ministry of Sports and Tourism and the National Tourism Agency, representatives of travel agencies and TICs, tour guides and teachers of tourism disciplines.

Representatives of the Institute of History of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, director Vadim Lakiza and head of the archeology center Alexey Avlasovich, told the participants of the visiting workshop about the progress of excavations on the territory of the ancient settlement.

Every archaeologist's dream is to make amazing finds. The most important task of archaeology is to reveal history bit by bit from the remains of material culture, through which the spiritual culture of ancestors is revealed, mysteries that cannot be found in written sources.

Today, historians face fundamental tasks in studying the history of Minsk. The most significant research is carried out by archaeologists on Menka. This is the main brand of our country. Unique artifacts, wooden structures have been discovered here.

The complex on Menka has been on everyone's lips lately. One of the main reasons is the cultural and tourist value of the resource. This site has enormous potential for promoting the history of Belarus.

Archaeological excavations enable not only to determine the historical and cultural role of the settlement in the 9th – 11th centuries in the history of Minsk, but also to reconstruct the everyday, cultural and economic life of the population of that time.

The plans for the museumification include the restoration of wooden defensive structures, gates, a bridge and a water moat located on the territory of the ancient settlement. In the future, all this will be reflected in the concept of an open-air archaeological museum, which is planned to be created on Menka. It will be a historical, cultural, scientific, tourist and social-educational complex.

The workshop participants visited the Republican Center for Olympic Training in Water Skiing and got acquainted with the largest wake park located on the territory of a sports base with developed infrastructure. There is everything necessary for recreation: a cafe, a beach, a wood-fired sauna, gazebos, barbecue areas, a hot tub in the open air, a playground.

In the summer, prestigious competitions are held at the RCOT for water skiing. Those who wish can watch water skiers training.

The high point of the workshop was the round table "Archaeological Heritage as a Tool for Popularizing Historical and Cultural Tourism". In her welcoming speech, Irina Voronovich, Director of the Tourism Department of the Ministry of Sports and Tourism, drew attention to the relevance of events aimed at promoting and preserving historical and cultural heritage. The creation of specialized projects and mapping of significant sites will become key measures in promoting the national cultural heritage.

Director of the Institute of History of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus Vadim Lakiza is confident that archaeological sites can become a significant link in the creation of eco-trails and various tourist routes. Belarus has enormous potential in this area.  

Archaeological monuments can become objects of tourist interest, Alexey Avlasovich, head of the archaeology center of the Institute of History of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, emphasized in his speech. Take, for example, the settlement on Menka. It is unique in its essence: wooden structures inside the ramparts were built in the 10th-11th centuries. To date, similar structures of such antiquity have not been found anywhere in Eastern Europe.

The Director of the National Tourism Agency Dmitry Morozov spoke about the need to develop mechanisms for popularizing archaeological heritage sites. Work in this direction is meant to be comprehensive: this includes creating a developed infrastructure, holding events in historical places, and making various household items based on found items. All this will contribute to the growth of not only the attractiveness of the historical heritage of Belarus, but also the development of tourism potential.