The 1st floor area
The exposition of the “The Museum of War – the territory of Peace” is presented in the South-East part of the citadel’s defense barracks. This casern is a component of the whole Brest Fortress construction facility – a perfect example of the war fortification art from the first half of the 19th century. The casern is located on the left bank of the river Mukhavets’ arm. The building is 2 storeys high and has a basement floor. The outside walls are about 1,8 meter thick, while the thickness of the inner ones varies from 0,85 till 1,1 meter.
In June of 1941, this part of the casern was used as a secondary accommodation for the 84th rifle regiment of the 6th rifle division of the 4th army of the special West military district. Sauna, stable, canteen and storage room were on the 1st floor, while the 2nd floor was occupied by the 1st and the 2nd rifle battalions of the 84th rifle regiment, radio communication troop and communication company.
With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the casemates of this part of the casern became a battlefield. After the liberation of Brest from Nazi-German invaders, the remaining parts of the casern served as an accommodation for the Brest garrison military units from 1944 till 1956. The South-East casern barracks, as well as the other citadel facilities of the Kobryn fortification of the Brest Fortress became a part of the “Brest Hero Fortress” memorial complex, after its opening in 1971. The major renewal of the South-East casern started in 2012. The new exposition of the “The Museum of War – the territory of Peace” was sponsored by the OJSC “Gazprom”. The opening of the exposition took place in the year of the 70th anniversary of Belarus liberation from Nazi-German invaders, particularly on the day when the Great Patriotic War and the defense of the Brest Fortress began – June 22, 2014 – the day of memory and mourning
The entrance of the museum tells the story about the war tragedy with the example of the fortress defenders’ fates and the battles in the Brest region. The new exposition is a logical continuation of the one that exists in the Brest Fortress defense museum since 1956.
On the first floor, left from the entrance, visitors can get all necessary information about the costs of museum attendance. The video display on the wall in the lobby helps to discover the elements of the “Brest Hero Fortress” memorial complex: The Brest Fortress defense museum, monuments and sculptures, the exposition of “The Museum of War – the territory of Peace”, the branch of the “Fort V Museum”.
On one of the walls in the lobby, you can find the words “Brest Fortress” written in 27 different languages. These words highlight the worldwide recognition of the Brest Fortress and the geography of its attendance history. Since 1956, it was visited by more than 23 million people from around 140 different countries. These words also symbolize the internationality of the fortress’ garrison warriors, for whom the Brest Fortress became a small motherland during tough days of its defense.
