Victory Square
Victory Square
Prior to 1958 the circus was called "Kruglaya" (Round). Builders led by architect R. Stoler started constructing two round buildings around the circus. During the Great Patriotic War the buildings were partially destroyed. R. Stoler returned to Minsk in 1957 to help rebuild these buildings.
In 1946 the BSSR government opened a competition for design of a Victory Memorial. Initially the site was planned in the vicinity of the current "Kastrychnitskaya" (October) circus. Selected design provided for a 48-metre monument made of white pink marble. To open the memorial by the 10th anniversary of liberation of Belarus, the design was adjusted to use gray granite and make the column 10 metres shorter.
Ukrainian quarries near Dnepropetrovsk and Zhytomyr provided the granite for construction. Leningrad Academy of Arts crafted the mosaic for the Order of Victory. Ukrainian carvers indented the granite reliefs. Leningrad factory "Monumentskulptura" cast bronze reliefs, sward and wreaths. 3 July 1961, colonel-general Alexei Burdeinei lit the Eternal Flame at the foundation of the obelisk. In 1984 architects B. Larchenko, B. Shkolnikov, K.Vyazgin re-designed the circus from round into oval to fit the exits from metro station. On 1 July 1984 granite blocks were mounted with capsules containing soil from Soviet Hero Cities: Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Volgograd, Kiev, Odessa, Sevastopol, Kerch, Novorossiysk, Tula and Brest. In 1985 capsules with soil from Hero Cities Smolensk and Murmansk were added.
8 May 1985 in commemoration of 40th anniversary of Victory in Great Patriotic War a Memorial Hall opened in the pedestrian underpass under the Victory Circus. The Hall honours the Heroes of Soviet Union who gave their lives to liberate Belarus from Nazi occupation. A circular gallery under the circus connects the underpass with the Memorial Hall. Artist V. Pozhyak crafted a highlighted glass wreath in the center of the Hall. A bronze star of Hero of Soviet Union is embedded in the hall's wall. 566 names of natives from Belarus and other Soviet republics are listed on the wall. Those are the people who fought to liberate Belarusian soil and were awarded the title of Hero of Soviet Union for their heroic deeds.
In 2003 the circus was slightly updated to improve the monument stability due to damage from metro trains running under it, as well as to replace the grown-up firs with grass lawns.
In 1946 the BSSR government opened a competition for design of a Victory Memorial. Initially the site was planned in the vicinity of the current "Kastrychnitskaya" (October) circus. Selected design provided for a 48-metre monument made of white pink marble. To open the memorial by the 10th anniversary of liberation of Belarus, the design was adjusted to use gray granite and make the column 10 metres shorter.
Ukrainian quarries near Dnepropetrovsk and Zhytomyr provided the granite for construction. Leningrad Academy of Arts crafted the mosaic for the Order of Victory. Ukrainian carvers indented the granite reliefs. Leningrad factory "Monumentskulptura" cast bronze reliefs, sward and wreaths. 3 July 1961, colonel-general Alexei Burdeinei lit the Eternal Flame at the foundation of the obelisk. In 1984 architects B. Larchenko, B. Shkolnikov, K.Vyazgin re-designed the circus from round into oval to fit the exits from metro station. On 1 July 1984 granite blocks were mounted with capsules containing soil from Soviet Hero Cities: Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Volgograd, Kiev, Odessa, Sevastopol, Kerch, Novorossiysk, Tula and Brest. In 1985 capsules with soil from Hero Cities Smolensk and Murmansk were added.
8 May 1985 in commemoration of 40th anniversary of Victory in Great Patriotic War a Memorial Hall opened in the pedestrian underpass under the Victory Circus. The Hall honours the Heroes of Soviet Union who gave their lives to liberate Belarus from Nazi occupation. A circular gallery under the circus connects the underpass with the Memorial Hall. Artist V. Pozhyak crafted a highlighted glass wreath in the center of the Hall. A bronze star of Hero of Soviet Union is embedded in the hall's wall. 566 names of natives from Belarus and other Soviet republics are listed on the wall. Those are the people who fought to liberate Belarusian soil and were awarded the title of Hero of Soviet Union for their heroic deeds.
In 2003 the circus was slightly updated to improve the monument stability due to damage from metro trains running under it, as well as to replace the grown-up firs with grass lawns.