ベラルーシの天然記念物・トップ20

August 2025, everything is in its place, the area around the stone is clean and tidy. Judging by the tracks, people like to come here on quad bikes and dirt bikes.

It's just a beautiful place. There's a whole cluster of these springs with waterfalls and they're all made differently. They all flow into the Svisloch and you can walk along their bed to the river.

The holy spring in Rakov, known since the 15th century, is located at the entrance to the city. According to legend, a sick and blind man lived in Rakov at that time. One day, the Virgin Mary appeared to him, who ordered him to go to the outskirts of the village. Being weak, he got lost in the forest, but came to the spring, where he washed himself and drank water. Miraculously, his illnesses retreated, he regained his sight and saw a brightly shining icon, which was called the Rakov Icon of the Holy Mother of God. The icon was kept for a long time in the church, which was built on the site of the miraculous appearance of the Mother of God. However, during the First World War, it was taken to Russia. Now a copy of it is kept in the church. The spring itself has been ennobled, there is a chapel near it, built in 1993. It is believed that the water from the spring helps with eye diseases. Interestingly, the spring does not flow anywhere. It comes out of the ground and after 150 m goes back into the ground.

Yutskovsky springs are a hydrological natural monument, representing a mountain stream flowing in a narrow canyon. The springs are located in a narrow and deep ravine, the slopes of which are overgrown with bushes and trees. Water flows from a hill in the forest and runs down the slopes, forming small natural waterfalls along the way. The hilly landscape gives the springs a resemblance to a mountain river flowing in a crevice, which is somewhat uncharacteristic of the local terrain. A great place near Minsk for a quiet walk and unity with nature.

A wooden cross located at the entrance to the Yutskov Springs eco-trail. Further steps lead down to the springs and directly to the eco-trail.

A memorial boulder on the site of a former settlement on the Menka River. The settlement consisted of a large and a small one. The small settlement (80 by 16 m) at the confluence of the Danube and Menka, according to scientists, was founded in the 10th century. This date can be conditionally taken as the age of Minsk. The large one (110 by 80 m) was probably built in the 11th century, at which time the castle was surrounded by a moat with water.

In the village of Karpilovka you can see a 600-year-old oak tree, which is not just a tree, but a real “literary hero”. Anton Levitsky lived in this place at the beginning of the 20th century, who even then wrote in Belarusian under the pseudonym Yadvigin Sh. One of his stories, “Dzyadulya Oak,” describes an ancient tree. The oak is notable not only for its size, but also for its energy. People who come leave colored and national ribbons on the branches.

Beautiful springs. Fresh water source