The bell tower
Tall and square.
Eugene Zelenko — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Eugene Zelenko — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Eugene Zelenko — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Eugene Zelenko — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Eugene Zelenko — CC BY-SA 4.0
The Red Church, or Church of Saints Simon and Helena, is a Catholic church on Independence Square in Minsk, the capital of Belarus. With its red colour and pointed towers it is one of the city's best-known buildings, seen from far across the wide square. The Polish architects Tomasz Pajzderski and Wladyslaw Marconi designed it in the neo-Romanesque style. The first stone was laid in 1905 and it was finished in 1910. Its bricks came from Czestochowa and its roof tiles from Wloclawek. Edward Woynillowicz paid for it and named it after his two late children, Simon and Helena. It has been closed to the public since a small fire in 2022. From outside you see a red brick church with a tall square bell tower and two smaller towers with dark pointed roofs topped by crosses. The front has a large round rose window, small arches and brick decoration, and the red looks bright under a blue sky. It is less than a kilometre from central Minsk in a straight line and can be seen from the square without a ticket. The UK Foreign Office advises against all travel to Belarus, so read the current advice before any planning.
Tall and square.
On the front.
Bright red.
Independence Square, Minsk, Belarus
Upper TownUpper Town is the historic centre of Minsk, the capital of Belarus, on a small h11 minutes walk
Holy Spirit CathedralThe Holy Spirit Cathedral is the mother church of the Belarusian Orthodox Church14 minutes walk
Trinity SuburbTrinity Suburb is a small historic quarter of Minsk, the capital of Belarus, on 17 minutes walkThe two late children of its donor, Simon and Helena.
Yes, the UK Foreign Office advises against all travel to Belarus.