Jesuit Collegium of Pinsk

About this place

The Jesuit Collegium is one of the best-known landmarks of Pinsk in southwestern Belarus, in the Polesie region on the bank of the Pina river, about 162 km east of Brest and 222 km southwest of Minsk in a straight line. The college was built in the mid-17th century on the site of Pinsk's old citadel, and the building combines features of Renaissance and Baroque architecture. Its interiors have changed many times over the years and lost their original form, but its facades still keep the beauty of its architecture. The historian and poet Adam Naruszewicz and the philosopher Karol Wyrwicz studied here. Part of the building now houses the Museum of Belarusian Polesie. The long, pale-pink building has three storeys with regular rows of windows, topped by a stepped, decorated Baroque gable. It stands close to the riverbank, and from the far side it looks out over the water and gardens. Many tours of Pinsk start at the college: visitors admire its facades, go into the Polesie museum to see its collections on the region, then walk along the bank of the Pina. The UK Foreign Office advises against all travel to Belarus, so read the current advice before any planning.