Walk on the Napoleonic places

Minsk - Borisov Museum - Studenka - "Brilevskoe Pole" - Minsk

The length of the route: 190 km
Duration: 7 hours

History of Belarus  is a history of continuous wars. Through our earth has passed a lot of armies. There were Ivan the Terrible, and Charles XII, Napoleon. In Belarus, near Borisov on the Berezina river Emperor of France suffered huge losses. We invite you to go on the excursion route "Walk on the Napoleonic places." The route consists of three stopping points.

• Stopping point 1: Borisov Museum - approximate duration 60 minutes.
  

In Borisov Museum has a theme of Napoleonic war, you can see a copy of a unique panorama of Polish artists and a library dedicated to the history of World War II.
The museum is notable for the fact that next to it is a monument of military engineering of 1812 - "Batarei". These earthworks were built before the war with Napoleon. In 1926 it was decided to recognize the "Battery" as historical monument. Now there is a memorial sign. "Batarei" became a continuation of the museum exhibition. 
The museum exhibition consists of six rooms, which tell the important periods of Borisov history . The basis of it is a theme of the War of 1812.
Annually Borisov Museum is visited by about 28 thousand people. Over the years the museum has collected more than 53 thousand exhibits. Collections of photos, documents, glass, ceramics, coins, which are stored in the museum, are the basis for the organization of different exhibitions and museum events.
Each year, the museum develops new tours designed for different categories of students, traveling exhibitions and museum events are held. Many of them are oriented on students, which are one of the main visitors of the museum.

• Stopping point 2: Studenka, the Berezina river - approximate duration 1,5 hours

During Napoleon retreat they had to re-cross the Berezina river. The conditions were not very comfortable. In the army hunger and diseases dominated and a severe frost was on the street.
To the Berezina the French emperor came with an army of fifty thousand people.The width of the river near Studenka is about 500 meters, depth is 1.5 - 2 meters. But even so the river was very difficult to navigate.
In twenty degrees below zero soldiers were building a bridge. They took off their clothes and, being in the water, were building a river crossing. Death from hypothermia came in fifteen minutes. This hell lasted for three days. During this time,  to the other side only 9000 soldiers crossed the Berezina. And there  the Russian army were had been waiting for them. Total losses of the French army during the Berezina crossing reached 35 thousand people. Other Napoleon's troops retreated to Vilnius. Until now, there is an expression in French «Bérézina» , which means a complete failure.
Today, in Studenka, where the crossing of the French emperor carried out, there is nothing left, related to those events. Only scenic banks of the Berezina river and a memorial plaque remind about those bloody events.

• Stopping point 3. "Brilevskoe Pole" - approximate duration 45 minutes
  

There were set monuments in memory of Napoleon the Berezina river crossing already after 24 years. In 1836, here came the representative of the General Staff of the Russian Army Colonel Yakovlev, in order to personally supervise the work of installing a memorial monument at the site of former French bridge, which were completely destroyed. Two commemorative pillar had been established with a notch of the Latin «N» - Napoleon. But over time, they were destroyed and no one at the end of the nineteenth century  did not know exactly where the bridges  Eble and Chasselas were.
In 1901, by money of borisov landowner Ivan Colodeev and voluntary donations from individuals two commemorative signs had been installed on the site of Napoleon's old bridges at a distance of approximately 170 meters from each other. Each memorial sign had a plaque with an inscription that here in 1812 was the bridge for the artillery (in the second - the bridge for the infantry), built by the French with the purpose of the crossing the Berezina, and that this sign is placed on voluntary donations of Borisov and county inhabitants. On each monument also were bas-reliefs of Napoleon I and Alexander I. But after two decades these signs had been destroyed.
To the 150th anniversary of the War of 1812 in Studenka in the place where there was a bridge for the artillery a 15-ton boulder with a memorial plaque with an inscription was installed.
In November 16, 1997 one more memorial monument was installed on "Brilevskoe Pole". It is dedicated to the French, who died here, near Studenka and "Brilevskoe Pole", dedicated to the events that took place here in November 1812. A huge block of granite mounted plaque with an inscriprion on French and Belarusian languages.
Today on "Brilevskoe Pole" annually in November costumed reconstruction of fights and river crossing are hold on, with the participation of  Poland's historical clubs, France, Russia and Germany representatives.

Дополнительно оплачивается

• certified guide services - from 100 €;
• entrance tickets to Borisov Museum - 0,5 € per person;
• excursion - 6 € per group of 20-25 person;
• guide services (Studenka + "Brilevskoe Pole") - 30 €;
• organization of transfer on a shuttle bus / car if necessary; 
  
• catering;
• souvenirs.