Dudutki Tour, Belarus

Today's Belarus adventure was a trip out to Dudutki.  Дудуткі is an open-air folk museum about 45 km (28 miles) from Minsk.

The first stop was the windmill.  It was built from 1903 to 1905 and was functional until the 1970s.  It was originally located in the village of Berezovka but when the owners were exiled to Siberia it was allocated to a local communal farm.




To the right of the windmill is the miller's house.
Actually the miller's guest house.


When people would bring grain to be ground, this is where they could have a meal and rest before their journey home.  The inside is decorated as a traditional Belarusian peasant house.

Near the entrance of the complex is the St. John the Baptist Orthodox Church which was built in 2007.  The wooden church was consecrated in 2008.

The leaves and the top part of the doors are made from straw.  Not quite sure how, but that's what I understood.

The complex has a number of craft exhibits with traditional artisans, everything from straw weaving, to pottery, beekeeping, woodworking, and masonry.

There's even an exhibit of vintage cars.

We were given samples of the homemade rye bread and cheese, plus tea.  Most people were more interested in the shot of traditional vodka we were given.

The whole tour, including the return trip from Mink, was about 4,5 hours long.  I was proud of myself for managing another day with my poor Russian.  Fortunately, I was provided a headset with English language commentary during the tour otherwise I would have been lost during the craft exhibits.