In order to preserve the traditional culture of the Belarusian region of Polesia, the Pripyatski National Park hosts the international ethnocultural festival „Call of Polesia”.
This year the festival will be held on August 15.
The “Call of Polesia” Festival is held every year to preserve and transmit folk rituals, folklore and crafts of the locals.
The highlight of the festival is a concert of various folklore groups.
The festival is visited not only by Belarusians, but also by guests from Ukraine, Russia, Poland and Moldova. The organizers expect about 30,000 visitors this year despite Corona.
Part of the festival is the beauty contest “Beauties of Polesia”, a military historical reconstruction “Battle of Epochs” and a photo exhibition “From the history of the festival”. The festival ends with an evening show programme and festive fireworks.
If you do not have the opportunity to visit the festival this year, you can discover the unique and wonderful world of Belarusian Polesia during an excursion to the city of Turau (Turow). You can find more about our travel offers to the region here.
The history of Belarus is closely linked to the history of its neighbouring countries.
Over the centuries, the territory has been part of various state formations, including the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Polish-Lithuanian Kingdom, and the Russian Empire.
Therefore, in our genealogical researches we often find that necessary documents are kept in the archives of Vilnius (Lithuania), Warsaw (Poland), St. Petersburg (Russia), or Kiev (Ukraine).
This has encouraged us to look for partners in these countries, people who are not indifferent to history and the human destinies interwoven with it and who are very specifically engaged in the often small-scale research in archives.
So, we are pleased that we can now offer you genealogical research in Ukraine. Our historian Pjotr researches for you on site in Ukrainian archives and works closely with our historians in Belarus. You can find out more about our genealogy experts here. Join us in the search for your ancestors in Eastern Europe!
Belarus is the country of 1000 blue lakes and rivers, dense forests and lush meadows, rich flora and fauna. The preservation of natural wealth is given great attention in Belarus at the legislative level.
One of the specially protected areas is the Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve. It is located about 120 kilometers northeast of Minsk and covers an area of 85 192 hectares. This year, the reserve celebrates its 95th anniversary.
The Berezina Biosphere Reserve combines forests, meadows and swamps, unique riparian landscapes of the Berezina River, many large and small rivers and clear lakes. In addition to a unique flora, the reserve is home to the five large European mammals – elk, bison, bear, wolf and lynx.
Numerous ecological paths have been created locally and great attention is paid to the protection of the diversity of plant and animal species.
Tourists are always welcome in the Berezinsky Reserve, and there are numerous guided tours and activities available locally.
You can learn more about the Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve on our website.
On the night of 6-7 July, the Ivan Kupala (Kupalye) festival is celebrated in Belarus.
Kupalye is a pagan festival in honour of the summer solstice. Its counterparts can be found in almost all countries of the world.
On this day already in the morning women and girls went singing into fields and meadows to collect medicinal herbs.
The fire was given an important meaning. According to legend, Kupalye fire had a protective, magical and purifying power.
In the evening boys and girls danced and jumped over the fire. Young women made wreaths, let them down into the river and after moving the wreath they tried to tell their future destiny.
An amazing legend about the fern flower is connected with the Kupalye festival: Exactly at midnight the fern blooms for a few moments in fiery colors. People tried to find this fern flower, which promised that all wishes would come true.
To this day people in Belarus celebrate Kupalye and remember the old customs and traditions. You can read more about Belarusian holidays on our website.
Polotsk is one of the most beautiful cities in Belarus. It is situated in a picturesque place where the river Polota flows into the river Dvina.
The first documentary mention dates back to 862, when the town was the centre of the Polotsk Principality. It is the oldest city in Belarus and the oldest city of the Kiev Rus.
Polotsk became one of the centers of Christianity in the East Slavic countries. Euphrosyne of Polotsk was born here, the first woman in Belarus to be canonized.
Above the city rises the beautiful St. Sophia Cathedral, built between 1044 and 1066. Its construction underlined the strength and independence of the Principality of Polotsk. Similar buildings existed only in Kiev and Novgorod, the centres of the strongest Russian principalities.
The 1150th anniversary of Polotsk was part of the UNESCO calendar of historically memorable dates.
You can learn more about Polotsk on our website. We will be happy to take you to Polotsk on one of our trips to the most exciting regions of Belarus.
Today we would like to introduce you to the heart of g4 tours, our employees. Together we will explore new terrain for you, especially in these Corona times, to show you all facets of Belarus, online and offline. Our German and English speaking tour guides live all over the country. They are experts in history, nature, genealogy, religion, art and much more. From Minsk, Sveta and Tanja coordinate our tour offerings, Paul our founder is based in Cham, Switzerland. One thing unites us all, and that is the passion to explore Belarus off the beaten track together with you. Here you can learn more about our team and our personal travel highlights in Belarus.
Our guide Vania recently joined g4 tours. He has an extraordinary life story. He was a successful manager in a pharmaceutical company in Minsk for over a decade until he decided to renounce civilization and live in a remote estate in the wild part of the Nalibokski National Park. There he dedicated himself to zeidlery, a very old form of beekeeping. He is also a very precise observer and expert of the local flora and fauna. He has documented some of his most recent animal observations here.
Belarus has lifted the 14-day quarantine for travellers from many countries. The list of countries was announced today by the Ministry of Health on its own Telegram channel.
The quarantine has been lifted for the following countries:
Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Northern Macedonia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and China.
People coming from these countries are not obliged to go into self-isolation within 14 days from the day of arrival in Belarus. Until yesterday, this was compulsory and had been strictly enforced.
However, foreigners coming to Belarus must have a negative corona-test when crossing the border. The test must not be older than two days. If you have further questions, we will be happy to help you.
All developments regarding the corona situation in the country can be found in our daily news here.
Did you know that Europe’s largest marshlands are located in Belarus? The vast swamps cover more than a tenth of the country’s surface. It is therefore not surprising that they are called the lungs of Europe.
Marshes are particularly important in the fight against the climate change, as they are able to store large quantities of carbon dioxide.
Untouched landscapes, a rich flora and fauna and deserted expanses… Join us on a journey to Belarusian Polesia and experience the warm hospitality on site.
You can find out more about the exciting region of Polesia here.
We at g4 tours never get bored, even now during the corona time we get daily requests for information on various topics and questions. We took one of the very amusing inquiries as an opportunity to introduce you to the specialties of Belarusian cuisine.
A young man from Switzerland contacted us with the question how he could prepare a culinary delight from homeland of his brother’s Belarusian wife, who came to Switzerland for the first time.
Our tip for “Babka”, a simple but delicious potato dish, was very appealing to his sister-in-law, as he told us later. You can find more about the Belarusian cuisine and some selected dishes here.
Belarus has become the first country in the world where birds have personal phone numbers. Public organization “Protection of birds of the Motherland” offers people to get in touch with nature.
To hear the birds singing, it’s enough just to call special numbers.
The first own phone numbers have received the most widespread and most recognizable birds in Belarus, which can be seen in parks, and sometimes right from the window of the apartment. Many have heard these voices before, but not everyone knew who they belonged to.
Before you hear the bird’s voice on the phone, you will be greeted by “bird secretaries”. Their roles were performed by actors of the Janka Kupala National Theatre.
To hear the voices of birds, now it is enough to call on one of the numbers:
+375445006610 Tawny Owl
+375445006611 Blackbird
+375445006612 Nightingale
+375445006613 Wood Pigeon
+375445006614 Bullfinch
+375445006615 Blue Tit
+375445006616 Goldfinch
+375445006617 Robin
+375445006618 Chaffinch
+375445006619 Wren
Stay in touch with nature!