Well, dear travelers, we have already visited with you the castles and palaces of Belarus, the heritage of noble clans.

But, there is another Belarus, no less interesting, rustic and original, with an authentic peasant life, a leisurely life that will make you forget about time and enjoy the atmosphere of your childhood. The childhood, when you were (if you were) running on a wet from dew morning grass, teased geese at a neighboring pond, and then ran home, where your grandmother took out of the oven fresh wonderfully smelling pies.

If it touches your soul, you definitely need to visit a cozy and unique Zabrodie village, which is situated in Vileyka area. The village is fully an open-air museum.

Rebirth of Zabrodie village. Echoes of the forgotten First World War

The history of the second birth of Zabrodie began in 1974, when an educated artist, icon painter and landscape designer Boris Tsitovich that received a presidential award “For Spiritual Revival” thirty years later, and his wife moved into the village. Taking a walk around the neighborhood, he stumbled on the old infirmary cemetery from the First World War: hills are overgrown with bushes, crooked crosses. In fact, it took about 20 years to find out, who was buried in this place. During this time an enormous work has been done, the graves were cleaned and restored. After that, the cemetery of the First World War has become one of the few ennobled and well-kept memorial burials associated with that war in Belarus.

Village-Museum Zabrodie is a unique place, where the exhibits of antiquity revived the memory of the events of the past days and preserved evidence of the First World War under the open sky. Museum visitors can see the unforgettable facts of the World War history, the details of which were carefully hidden under the “Top Secret” stamp for decades.

The most beautiful and large exhibit in this unique museum is the restored chapel of Sts. Boris and Gleb. In front of the chapel, there is a small but extraordinary exhibition dedicated to the events of the First World War. Here is a collection of original objects and documents that reflect the everyday life of the military time.

Through the efforts of the creative Tsitovich family, an unusual village-museum that inspires and soothes the guests was recreated. Artists, musicians, writers, and designers from around the world come to the spiritual area to try to join the identity and find inspiration here.

Charming oldtimers

Zabrodie is famous not only for the memory of the First World War. If you have a passion for oldtimers, you can appreciate the unique collection of old cars carefully collected by Boris Tsitovich’s son, Danila. The collection has more than three dozen cars, among which there is the first Soviet jeep, German trophy equipment, the legendary M-car, the UMZ tractor, which was produced in the late 1950s and, according to rumors, there are just three of them left in former Soviet Union countries. Part of the collection is made up of motorcycles and bicycles. The oldtimers were collected and restored for many years, most copies are in a good condition and the owner of the collection takes his guests for a ride around the village. Some of the oldtimers you could see in the cinema, Danila Tsitovich provides his cars for filming.

Plunging into the atmosphere of rural life

For those who want to feel like a hero of pastoral works in the Belarusian way, it is possible to plunge completely into the atmosphere of rural life. To do this, you can rent a village house, furnished with a real furniture of the beginning of the previous century made by careful hands of the village craftsmen, an old gramophone with the music of the 20s years of the past century. You can also stay in a tent town, camping and even in a real village hayloft.
The owners of the museum in Zabrodie conduct interesting and informative excursions and master classes, organize holidays and events, various entertainment programs.

Beautiful countryside

Incredibly beautiful views of the countryside, crystal clear air, the murmur of the water, the chirping of grasshoppers, the scattering of sparkling stars that cannot be seen in a bustling city, the crowing of a rooster in the morning, the smell of a freshly cut hay – all this will not leave even the convinced townspeople indifferent. Communication with the creative Tsitovichi family that created this wonderful corner of history, traditions and calmness, will give you inspiration.

Photos taken from:
https://realt.onliner.by/2012/11/12/zabrodze
http://www.ekskursii.by/
http://zabrodje.com/ – Zabrodie website
http://tripadvisor.com/