Minsk. The "tram" house.

In the very heart of Minsk, among the bustling thoroughfares and modern architecture of the Central District, an amazing witness of the epochs lurks. Officially, it is listed under a modest number, but it has been affectionately and accurately called the "Tram House" by the people for more than a century.

Built at the end of the 19th century, this mansion became one of the first architectural symbols of the coming technological revolution in the city. At the beginning of the 20th century, its walls assumed the functions of the tram commission, the body that was supposed to give Minsk modern electric transport. The first tram park was laid next to the house, and active preparations were underway. It was planned that as early as 1914, the carriages would run along Cathedral Square and Zakharyevskaya Street with a merry jingle.

But history has made its own adjustments. Instead of tram horns, the city heard the roar of the guns of the First World War. The dreams of the Minsk tram had to be postponed.

With the advent of Soviet power, the building did not empty, but changed its profile. A police school was temporarily housed in the same building with the tramway workers (who did start moving in 1929, but from another depot). It's hard to imagine, but the first Minsk police officers once learned science in these rooms, side by side with railway engineers.

The most terrible page in the life of the "Tram House" occurred during the Great Patriotic War. Minsk lay in ruins, and after the liberation, many old buildings, which, according to the authorities, did not represent architectural value, were demolished. A bulldozer was also being prepared for this building. But the "Tram house" miraculously survived. It was as if he had closed his eyes and waited out the storm, remaining one of the few pre-war buildings in this quarter.

Today, looking at this neat, slightly toy-like building, it's hard to believe what he had to go through. It saw imperial ambitions, revolutionary turmoil, the hard times of war and post-war reconstruction. The Tram House in Minsk is not just an old building. It's a time capsule, a reminder that even the hustle and bustle of the city has its own quiet and deep memory.