 |
 |
About Belarus
|
|
| National flag | National emblem |
On this page you will find the following information:
About Belarus
About Gomel
Telephone and Post office
Languages
Money
Health Services
Police
Population
Ethnic Composition
Climate
National Holidays
Useful Phone Numbers
Local time
Religion
About Belarus
The Republic of Belarus is situated in the heart of Europe, in the
crossroads of trade routes from West to East and from North to South. It is
crossed be shortest transport communications linking the CIS member-states
with the countries of Western Europe. Belarus is contiguous with Poland,
Lithuania, Latvia, Russia and the Ukraine.
The territory of the Republic is 207 thousand square kilometers population
by 10 million citizens, 70% of them are urban. About one sixth of the
population lives in the city of Minsk - the capital of Belarus.
Administratively, the Republic is divided into six regions.
About Gomel
Being at first a feudal estate, then a trade and craft town, Gomel became
the chief town of a district in 1852. At the end of the 18th century
Catherine II granted the city to the famous general - count P. Roumiantsev-
Zadunaisky. In the 30th of the 19th century his successors sold it to prince
Paskevich. Many times city inhabitants protested against the feudal
proprietors, upheld their liberty and independence. And many times during
it's nine-century history the city rose from the ruins and ashes.
During acquaintance with Gomel visitors will see monuments to architecture, a magnificent
park (1785) on the high bank of the river Sozh. There are about 80 species
of various trees, including rather rare ones.
In the park center, among century trees, on a precipitous bank of the Sozh
there is a palace constructed at the end of the 18th - in the beginning of
the 19th centuries. It is an outstanding monument to the architecture of
Russian classicism that is of great art and historical value. A high dome
hall with 16 columns of white marble forms a basis of palace composition.
Its construction began by the order of P. Roumiantsev-Zadunaiski. Now there
are expositions of Ethnography museum in this building.
The building of the former Petropavlovskiy cathedral is a part of the
architectural complex on the park territory. It is one of the best monuments
to the classicism of the 19th century in Belarus. A chapel, burial vault of
princes Paskevich, is also worth to be seen. The drama theatre, constructed
in 1954, is well blend with the city ensemble.
Telephone and Post office
Each region in Belarus has its own area code. The code for Gomel is 0232,
but if you are calling within the city you don't need to dial the code. In
order to call Gomel from other cities in Belarus, you must dial
8, wait for a dial tone, and then dial city code and the telephone number.
When calling from other countries of the world or the CIS, dial 375 (code for Belarus),
232 (without a zero) and the phone number. You can call abroad from Gomel
from a private telephone or from a blue pay phone Urmet, or you can order a
phone call at the post office. In order to call another Belarussian city from Gomel,
you must dial 8, wait for a dial tone, dial city code
and the telephone number. To call other countries of the world or the
CIS: 8 - dial tone, 10 - country code - city code - telephone number.
Postal service is very slow and very often unreliable; airmail to and
Western Europe may take from 10 days to 1 month. But you can send mail by
DHL or other express postal services.
Languages
The official languages are Russian and Belarussian. Most of the people speak
Russian but many show-windows and street manes are written in Belarussian.
Money
The national currency of Belarus, the Belarussian ruble, appeared in 1992.
No coins are in circulation in Belarus.
US dollars, German marks and Russian rubles can be exchanged for Belarussian
rubles at exchange offices situated in hotels, banks, big shops and numerous
kiosks. Other currencies can be exchanged, as rule, at banks only.
The majority of hotels, big shops and restaurants accept main credit cards.
There are many Automatic Telling Machines in the country.
Health Services
You are advised to take any medicine you need with you. You should be
insured against medical expenses, although free medical service exists along
with service requiring payment. The medical insurance police can be bought in
the "Minsk-2" airport or any insurance company you can find in each town. Most
hotels provide guests with emergency
medical service. You can also call an ambulance - 03 (free of charge).
Emergency rooms in hospitals provide with first aid free of charge.
Police
Being compared to the majority of in Russia and CIS countries Gomel is a
rather quiet and safe city. However you should be careful in peripheral
areas, especially at night. In case of emergency dial the police number 02
(free of charge).
- Belarus: 10037000 (1999)
- Gomel: 567000 (1999)
- Belarussians 77,9%
- Russians13,2%
- Poles 4,1%
- Ukrainians 2,9%
- Jews 1,1%
Climate
Average Temperature:
-10 -15 degrees in winter
+22 +24 degrees in summer
- New Year Day - January, 1
- Orthodox Christmas - January, 7
- Women`s Day - March, 8
- Catholic Easter - the first Sunday of April
- Orthodox Easter - the second Sunday of April
- Labor Day - May, 1
- Victory Day - May, 9
- Independence Day - July, 3
- October Revolution Day - November, 7
- Catholic Christmas - December, 25
- 01 Fire fighters
- 02 Police
- 03 Ambulance
- 04 Gas leakage
- 09 Directory Assistance in Gomel
- 080 International inquires
- 066 Telegrams by phone
GMT: +2 hours
When it is noon in Gomel, it is:
- 02:00AM in Los-Angeles
- 05:00AM in New York
- 10:00AM in London
- 11:00AM in Paris, Munich, Rome
- 12:00PM in Kiev, Minsk
- 01:00PM in Moscow
- Orthodoxy
- Catholicism
- Judaism
