Gomel

The second largest Belarusian city is located in the southern part of the country 301 kilometers from Minsk. Railways connect Gomel with Zhlobin, Kalinkovichi, Novozybkov and Chernihiv, and motorways link the city with Bobruisk, Kalinkovichi, Mogilev and Charnihiv. There is a bus station, a railway station and an airport in Gomel.

Gomel is one of the oldest Belarusian cities. the first settlement appeared here as early as at the end of the first millenium B. C.  The city was first mentioned in chronicles in 1142 as a settlement owned by Prince of Chernihiv Igor Olegovich that was captured by Rostislav, Prince of Smolensk.

In 1454 the city was handed over to prince of Mozhaisk Ivan Andreyevich, grandson of Dmitry Donskoi. In 1535 it was occupied by Crimean Tartars, and in 1648 the city was seized by the troops of Ukrainian hetman Bohdan Khmelnitski.

In 1670 the city received Magdebourg Right (the right to self-government).

During the Great Nothern War the city was occupied by Russian troops. The military actions ruined much of the buildings and fortifications that had been built in Grodno in the 16th century.

The city’s hey-day is connected with earl Peter Rumyantsev-Zadunaiski, a favorite of Russian Queen Yekaterina II, and his son Nikolai, also an outstanding politician and prominent public figure. These two people made an immense contribution to the development of Gomel’s cultural life and architecture. A similar impact on the city’s development was made by earl Ivan Paskevich. Today the park and palace of Rumyantsevs-Paskevichs is the major sightseeing attraction of Gomel. In addition to the palace, the ensemble includes a hunting lodge, the shrine of the Paskevich family, St Peter and Paul’s Cathedral that has the biggest bell in Belarus and a green house with a watchtower. The ensemble is surrounded by a beautiful park.

The call card of Gomel is the Palace & Park Ensemble, which includes the Duke Rumyantsev and Paskevich Family Palace, the Paskevich Family Chapel, St Peter and St Paul’s Cathedral, and a park, all positions on a high bank of the River Sozh.

• Tourism
  • Tourfirms
• Accomodation
  • Hotels
• Rehabilitation and recreation
  • Sanatoriums
  • Profilactic sanatoriums
• Architecture
  • Palaces and estates
• Food
• Leisure and sports
  • Billiard and bowling
  • Discoteques and clubs
  • Horse-Riding/Sports Centre
• Nature
  • Rivers
  • Fishing