Minsk. Museum of the History of the Belarusian Railway.

In the very center of Minsk, in the immediate vicinity of the Forecourt, after a large-scale renovation, the Museum of the History of the Belarusian Railway welcomes visitors again. Located on the ground floor of the building at 4 Bobruiskaya Street, it is not just a collection of exhibits, but a real time machine that allows you to trace more than a century and a half of the country's steel highways.

The museum, which traces its history back to 1971 (when it was established on a voluntary basis, and received departmental status in 1987), has been presented to guests in an updated form since October 2025. After the reconstruction, a new permanent exhibition was created here, which preserves the rich heritage and presents it using modern museum technologies.

Today, the museum's collections number more than 13 thousand items. These are not just dry documents and photographs - they are living evidence of the epochs. The exhibition covers the period from the 19th century to the present day, telling about the construction of the first railway lines on the territory of Belarus, the development of the road as part of the Russian Empire, the tragic and heroic pages of the Great Patriotic War, the restoration and modernization in Soviet times and the current stage of development of the Belarusian highway.

Visitors are particularly interested in unique technical artifacts. Among the exhibits, you can see ancient travel tools, communications equipment of the past, composters and even arithmometers - witnesses of the first steps of automation of calculations. The value of the collection is also emphasized by the fact that many items were donated by the families of railway workers, which makes the story more personal and touching. Special attention should be paid to printed publications from the collections of the Scientific and Technical Library of the Central Research Institute of Physics and Technology - some of them date back to the middle of the 19th century. The abundance of documents, photographs, maps and technical drawings allows us to get a complete picture of how the railway industry has changed over the centuries.

The Museum of the History of the Belarusian Railway today is not only a repository of rarities, but also an active platform for cultural and professional communication. The staff of the museum, which is part of the Center for Scientific and Technical Information (CSTI), constantly study history themselves, learning from their colleagues. For visitors, the museum offers guided tours conducted by experienced guides. Moreover, what is especially pleasant is that the tour service is provided free of charge. For those who prefer independent acquaintance, individual audio guides are available.

Important information for planning a visit:

The museum is open by appointment only from Monday to Friday from 8:00 to 17:00 (with a lunch break from 12:00 to 13:00). Saturday and Sunday are days off.

You can book a tour by phone +375 (17) 225-54-79 or by e-mail mi@cnti.rw.by

Visiting this museum will be an exciting journey not only for specialists and veterans of the steel highway, but also for anyone interested in the history of technology and the development of the transport system of Belarus. This is a unique opportunity to touch the past and see how the country's industrial might was forged.