Gomel (Homel): In Search Of Untouched Nature

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1.46 million people live in the Gomel region, and 73% of the population live in the towns and cities. Gomel is the main city in the region, which is divided into 4 districts. The Gomel region is divided into 21 districts and there are 18 cities, 17 towns and 2470 villages. The Gomel region has a good road infrastructure with major international motorways between Russia, Europe and the Ukraine running through the region. The place is characterised by a moderate continental climate, with warm summers and mild winters.

There are a number of archeological, historical, cultural and architectural monuments, as well as 24 museums, 6 theatres and 2 art galleries in the Gomel region. The region is home to the Pripyatsky National Park, an area of pristine nature and breathtaking landscapes of the Belarusian Polesye. The park is the only place in the world where you will find primeval floodplain oak forests. There are various festivals of arts – both regional, and republican level in the region. 

There are at least six narratives of the origin of the city’s Belarusian name. One of the more plausible is that the name is derived from the name of the stream Homeyuk, which flowed into river Sozh near the foot of the hill where the first settlement was founded. During the Soviet period, another story about the city's name was popular: raftsmen on the river Sozh supposedly warned each other about the danger of running into sandy shallows by shouting «Ho! Ho! Mel!».

Modern history of Gomel is highly oriented about the Chernobyl tragedy, since city was on major radiation blow after the accident, and most of the citizens still remember it as a turning point in their lives. City history is strongly connected with the development of Slavic culture in this region, as it was founded at the end of the 10th century on the lands of the Eastern Slavic tribal union of Radimichs and was part of Kiev Rus, later Great Duchy of Lithuania and Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Since it is positioned on the strategic way from the North toward the Black sea, Gomel was often raided by armies from east and west, but despite the raids city gain significant cultural influence from Czarist Russia, Poland, Ukraine and Western Europe, since it was on the important trade route to the Black sea.

As a result of the catastrophe at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant on 26 April 1986, Gomel suffered radioactive contamination. This significantly worsened both the ecological situation and the socio-economic crisis that had struck the USSR in the late 1980s. It caused a sharp decline in living standards and a gradual of depopulation that lasted until early 21st century. 

Today the most interesting place to visit in Gomel is its palace and park around. Situated on the hill over river Sosz, palace represents the heart of the city from where the rest of the city centre extend in the triangle shape determined with two main streets, Lenina and Sovetska. Like most of the Belarusian cities, Gomel suffered heavy damages during the Second World War, and today’s shape of the city is almost entirely built after the war. Yet still, old palace is renewed according to its pre-war look and today is standing reminder on the fact that there is no bombs and weapons that can destroy its history and significance.

Gomel is one of the oldest towns in Belarus and finds a mention in chronicles as early as the twelfth century. Bristling with water and dense forests inhabited by countless flocks of birds and many species of animals, the place offered good scope for the earliest inhabitants to indulge in agriculture and animal husbandry as their main occupations. Owing to these natural advantages and its strategic location, the town has since developed as the most significant economic hub of Belarus.

Sights of Gomel:

• Gomel Palace of the Rumyantsevs and the Paskeviches. A park with marble statues, chapel, winter garden and the Neoclassical church of Sts. Peter and Paul. 
• The Chapel and the Burial Vault of the Paskevich - this is a scenic religious site on a high cliff overlooking the river.
• Train station building (Vakzal). Beautiful neoclassical building with interior decorated in 19th-century spirit and a dominating Lenin statue on the stairs to the upper floors. It is one of the most important train centers of Belarus, as Gomel is on the main line from St. Petersburg to Kiev. There is a statue of an old passenger sitting on a big suitcase with the names of the cities where the express train stops. 
• Bauman Bridge. Very nice bridge over river Sosz with the wide views on the nearby beaches and Gomel Palace. In front of bridge is a monument to a fisherman on a boat.
• Observation Tower - perfect location for rest and relaxation. 
• Zero Kilometer.

Museums:

• Museum of Handcraft (Lenina sq., 4 ). 
• Museum of Military Glory dedicated to the military history of the city of Gomel (Pushkina str., 5).
• History Museum of Gomel (Pushkina str., 32).
• Criminalistics Museum (Pushkina str., 1),
• Art Gallery of Vaschenko (Karpovich str., 4).

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