# Khatyn Memorial near Minsk > Khatyn is Belarus’s national war memorial, built where a village was burned with its people on 22 March 1943 — 149 died, 75 of them children. It lies about 60 km north-east of Minsk. The open-air memorial is free; the museum charges a small fee. Open Tuesday–Sunday 10:00–19:00, closed Mondays. Allow 1.5–2 hours on site plus about 2 hours’ round trip. Web page: https://yesgo.io/belarus/minsk/khatyn-memorial - City: [Minsk](https://yesgo.io/belarus/minsk), Belarus - YesGo score: 28/100 (Yes, if nearby) - Time on site: 1 h 30 min - Entry: Memorial free, museum ≈ 8 BYN - Opening hours: Tuesday–Sunday 10:00–19:00, last entry and ticket sales 18:30; 17:30 before public holidays; closed Mondays - With kids: Better without small kids - Open-air memorial: Free - Museum (Every Third): ≈ 8 BYN for adults — unofficial - Museum audio guide: 7 BYN; English, Russian, Belarusian, Chinese - Guided tour of the memorial: From 23 BYN, 60–75 min, group - Guided tour of the museum: From 25 BYN, 60 min, ages 12+ - Booking a guide: At least 2 days ahead, groups up to 20 - Discount: 25% off on the last Tuesday of the month - Closed: Mondays - Photos and video: Personal use after paying at the desk; no drones - Getting there: Car or taxi ≈ 1 hour on the M3; no direct bus - Address: Lahoysk District, Minsk Region: turn off the M3 at km 54, then 5 km - Coordinates: 54.33519, 27.94411 - Facts checked: 30.10.2026 ## Key facts - **22 March 1943** — a punitive unit herded Khatyn’s villagers into a barn and burned it with the village (source: English and Russian Wikipedia: Khatyn massacre, Хатынь) - **149 people** — were killed, 75 of them children under 16 (source: Russian Wikipedia; English Wikipedia: National Memorial of the Republic of Belarus (Khatyn massacre article: 70 or 75 children)) - **185 graves** — in the Cemetery of Villages — one for each burned village that was never rebuilt (source: Russian Wikipedia; English Wikipedia: Khatyn massacre) - **5 July 1969** — the memorial complex opened (source: Russian Wikipedia; English Wikipedia: National Memorial of the Republic of Belarus) - **6 metres** — the bronze Unbowed Man — blacksmith Iosif Kaminsky carrying his dying son (source: Russian Wikipedia; English Wikipedia: National Memorial of the Republic of Belarus) - **26 chimneys** — mark the houses; their bells toll together every 30 seconds (source: Russian Wikipedia; English Wikipedia: Khatyn massacre) - **433 villages** — burned and later rebuilt — named on the Trees of Life (source: Russian Wikipedia; English Wikipedia: National Memorial of the Republic of Belarus) - **260+** — death camps and mass-killing sites in Belarus listed on the Wall of Memory (source: Russian Wikipedia; English Wikipedia: National Memorial of the Republic of Belarus) - **Three birches** — and an eternal flame in place of the fourth — one in four Belarusians died in the war (source: Russian Wikipedia; English Wikipedia: National Memorial of the Republic of Belarus) - **Gradov, Zankovich, Levin** — the architects; sculptor Sergei Selikhanov (source: Russian Wikipedia; English Wikipedia: National Memorial of the Republic of Belarus) - **2023** — the Every Third (Kozhny Treci) museum opened, about 1,000 m² (source: Ministry of Communications of Belarus, press office; Nasha Niva) ## Khatyn tickets and opening hours Walking the open-air memorial costs nothing. The museum, called **Every Third** (Kozhny Treci), is paid: the complex doesn’t publish the price online, and unofficial tour-operator figures put an adult ticket at about 8 BYN. The audio guide is 7 BYN and comes in English. There’s 25% off on the last Tuesday of each month. The complex is open **Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00–19:00**; entry and ticket sales stop at 18:30, and before public holidays it closes at 17:30. It is closed on Mondays. Paying: Belarus uses the Belarusian rouble (BYN). Visa and Mastercard issued abroad generally work in Minsk, but some Western banks block Belarusian transactions, so check with yours. Out at a rural memorial, carry some BYN cash — withdraw it at a bank ATM in Minsk. > **No direct bus, and the museum is shut on Mondays** There is no scheduled bus to the gate — from the nearest stop on the highway it is a 5 km walk. Without a car, a guided tour or a taxi is far easier. Plan the trip back before you leave Minsk. ## How to get to Khatyn from Minsk 1. Easiest: a tour or a taxi — about an hour each way on the M3 towards Vitebsk. Cars stay in the car park outside the complex. 2. Via Lahoysk: from the Town Hall walk to Nyamiha or Kastrychnitskaya metro and ride the blue line to Uskhod (Vostok) — about 15 minutes. 3. At Uskhod, on the Dana Mall side, take a minibus (marshrutka) to Lahoysk and get off at the bus station (Autastancyja). 4. From Lahoysk, take a taxi to the memorial — about 20 minutes. Agree on a pick-up time: there may be no cabs waiting at Khatyn. 5. On foot from the highway: minibus 508 (Minsk–Pleshchenitsy) from the Karbysheva terminal to the Kozyri stop, then walk about 5 km — roughly an hour — along the side road. ## Khatyn tour from Minsk: do you need one? If you don’t have a car, yes. A tour solves the transport problem — about two hours of driving there and back — and usually adds the Mound of Glory on the same road. Expect half a day. One rule matters: only the memorial’s own staff may guide on site. A Minsk guide drives you and tells the story on the way; for a guided walk at Khatyn itself, book the complex’s English-speaking guides — from 23 BYN for the memorial, from 25 BYN for the museum — at least two days ahead. Otherwise, the 7 BYN English audio guide covers the museum; you’ll need your receipt and a passport. ## What happened at Khatyn On 22 March 1943, Schutzmannschaft Battalion 118 — a collaborationist police unit — and the SS Dirlewanger battalion surrounded Khatyn, a village north-east of Minsk. They forced the villagers into a barn and set it on fire, shooting those who broke out. **149 people died, 75 of them children.** The village was burned to the ground. The only adult survivor, blacksmith **Iosif Kaminsky**, came round among the dead and found his son Adam dying; the central statue shows them. A handful of children also survived. Khatyn became the symbol of the hundreds of Belarusian villages burned in the war — many with all their people — which is why the national memorial is here. ## What to see at the Khatyn Memorial - **The Unbowed Man** — a 6-metre bronze of Iosif Kaminsky carrying his son. The black slabs beside it stand for the roof of the barn. - **The village street**: 26 concrete log frames on the house sites and 26 chimneys with bells and the names of each household. The bells toll together every 30 seconds. - **The mass grave** with its white marble Wreath of Memory. - **The Cemetery of Villages**: 185 graves holding soil from villages burned with their people and never rebuilt. Khatyn is the 186th. - **The Trees of Life**, naming 433 villages burned and rebuilt after the war. - **The Wall of Memory**, listing more than 260 death camps and killing sites in Belarus. - **The eternal flame and three birches** — the missing fourth is the one in four Belarusians who died. - **The Every Third museum** — multimedia halls that are emotionally heavy; we wouldn’t take young children in. ## Is Khatyn worth visiting? Yes — it is the one day trip from Minsk we’d put first. Khatyn is quiet, open and deliberately simple, and the bells make it unlike any war museum indoors. It is not a light outing: give it a morning, come prepared for the subject, and leave lighter plans for the afternoon. If you can’t spare half a day, the [Museum of the Great Patriotic War](https://yesgo.io/belarus/minsk/minsk-war-museum) in the city is the alternative. ## Before you go: checklist - [ ] It isn’t Monday - [ ] I’ll reach the desk before 18:30, journey included - [ ] Car, taxi or tour sorted — or ready to walk 5 km - [ ] Return journey planned - [ ] Some BYN cash for the museum and audio guide - [ ] Comfortable shoes and a jacket — it is all outdoors - [ ] Coats go to the cloakroom; backpacks carried by hand in the halls - [ ] Under-12s stay with an adult; museum decided in advance ## Khatyn vs the war museum vs Dudutki | | Khatyn | Museum of the Great Patriotic War | Dudutki | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | What it is | Memorial on the site of a burned village | Large museum of the war | Open-air folk crafts museum | | Where | ≈ 60 km from Minsk | In Minsk | Countryside south of Minsk | | Getting there | Car, taxi or tour | Metro and a walk | Car, taxi or tour | | Time needed | 1.5–2 h + travel | 2–3 h | Half a day with travel | | With kids | School age; museum tours 12+ | School age | Yes | Khatyn is the country’s central place of remembrance and worth leaving the city for. [Dudutki](https://yesgo.io/belarus/minsk/dudutki) is the lighter countryside trip. ## Minsk history sights compared Every history sight in Minsk rated by YesGo. - [Trinity Suburb](https://yesgo.io/belarus/minsk/trinity-suburb) — YesGo score 57/100 (Yes, go) · 45 min · Free; museums extra - [Minsk Town Hall and Upper Town](https://yesgo.io/belarus/minsk/minsk-town-hall) — YesGo score 55/100 (Yes, go) · 1 h · 10 BYN, square free - [Red Church (Church of Saints Simon and Helena)](https://yesgo.io/belarus/minsk/minsk-red-church) — YesGo score 55/100 (Yes, go) · 30 min · Closed inside, outside free - [Independence Square](https://yesgo.io/belarus/minsk/minsk-independence-square) — YesGo score 54/100 (Yes, go) · 30 min · Free, open 24/7 - [Island of Tears](https://yesgo.io/belarus/minsk/island-of-tears) — YesGo score 49/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 20 min · Free - [Victory Square](https://yesgo.io/belarus/minsk/minsk-victory-square) — YesGo score 43/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 30 min · Free, open 24 hours - [Belarusian Great Patriotic War Museum](https://yesgo.io/belarus/minsk/minsk-war-museum) — YesGo score 37/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 2 h · 20 BYN; students 16, pupils 10 - [Khatyn Memorial](https://yesgo.io/belarus/minsk/khatyn-memorial) — YesGo score 28/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 30 min · Memorial free, museum ≈ 8 BYN - [Dudutki Museum Complex](https://yesgo.io/belarus/minsk/dudutki) — YesGo score 19/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 3 h · 30 BYN, schoolchildren 15 BYN ## A day of remembrance: Khatyn, then Minsk Khatyn in the morning, then the war museum and the Island of Tears by the Trinity Suburb in the afternoon. Add them to your route — YesGo fits in the timing and transfers. 1. [Khatyn Memorial](https://yesgo.io/belarus/minsk/khatyn-memorial) — YesGo score 28/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 30 min · Memorial free, museum ≈ 8 BYN 2. [Belarusian Great Patriotic War Museum](https://yesgo.io/belarus/minsk/minsk-war-museum) — YesGo score 37/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 2 h · 20 BYN; students 16, pupils 10 3. [Island of Tears](https://yesgo.io/belarus/minsk/island-of-tears) — YesGo score 49/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 20 min · Free 4. [Trinity Suburb](https://yesgo.io/belarus/minsk/trinity-suburb) — YesGo score 57/100 (Yes, go) · 45 min · Free; museums extra > **Museum first if you’re new to the story** The museum gives context that makes the village street and the bells hit differently. Short on time? Skip it — the open-air memorial matters more. ## Khatyn is not Katyn Khatyn is a Belarusian village burned in 1943. Katyn is a forest near Smolensk in Russia where Polish officers were shot in 1940. The names sound alike; the tragedies and memorials are different. ## Tips - Arrive at 10:00 to fit in the museum and the Mound of Glory, which is open Tuesday–Saturday until 17:00. - Pair Khatyn with the Mound of Glory, closer to Minsk on the same highway — half a day by car. - A seasonal café opens in summer, but bring a snack: there is nothing else nearby. - Behave as you would in a cemetery — no cheerful posing for photos. - Back in town, the Museum of the Great Patriotic War gives the full picture of the war. - Travelling with children? Decide on the museum beforehand: its guided tours are for ages 12 and up. ## Questions ### How far is Khatyn from Minsk? About 60 km by road, north-east of the city: turn off the M3 Minsk–Vitebsk highway at km 54 and drive 5 km. Around an hour by car. ### How do I get to Khatyn by public transport? Minibus from Uskhod (Vostok) metro to Lahoysk, then a 20-minute taxi. Or minibus 508 to the Kozyri stop and a 5 km walk. There’s no direct bus. ### Is the Khatyn Memorial free? The open-air memorial is free. The museum charges a fee (unofficially about 8 BYN), the audio guide is 7 BYN, and staff-led tours start at 23 BYN. ### What are Khatyn’s opening hours? Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00–19:00, last entry 18:30 (17:30 before holidays). Closed on Mondays. ### Is there an English guide or audio guide at Khatyn? Yes. The museum audio guide is available in English for 7 BYN, and the complex’s own guided tours can be booked in English at least two days ahead. ### Is Khatyn worth the trip from Minsk? Yes, if you can spare half a day. It is the country’s main war memorial and unlike any indoor museum — but emotionally heavy, so plan something calm afterwards. ### How long do you need at Khatyn? 1.5–2 hours on site, plus about an hour’s drive each way. Add the Mound of Glory and it becomes a half-day trip. ### Who destroyed Khatyn? Schutzmannschaft Battalion 118, a collaborationist police unit, with the SS Dirlewanger battalion, on 22 March 1943. ### Is Khatyn the same as Katyn? No. Khatyn is a Belarusian village burned in 1943; Katyn, near Smolensk in Russia, is where Polish officers were executed in 1940. ## How we checked Opening hours, closures, visitor rules, guided-tour and audio-guide prices come from the complex’s official website. The museum ticket price isn’t published there: about 8 BYN for adults is unofficial tour-operator data, marked “checking”. Some operators still list 10:00–17:00, but the official site gives 10:00–19:00 as of 30.10.2026, so we show that. Free access to the open-air memorial comes from an older official visitor page and tour operators, so it is also marked “checking”. The English Khatyn massacre article gives 70 or 75 children killed; Russian Wikipedia and the English article on the memorial say 75, which we show. Card acceptance for foreign cards varies by issuing bank. Other facts are checked against at least two sources; minibus timetables are left out because they change. ## Sources - State Memorial Complex Khatyn, official website: opening hours, visitor rules, guided tours, audio guide, getting there, 30.10.2026 - Russian Wikipedia: Хатынь (мемориальный комплекс), Хатынь; Wikidata Q50024555 - English Wikipedia: Khatyn massacre; National Memorial of the Republic of Belarus - Ministry of Communications and Informatization of Belarus, press office, March 2023 — opening of the Every Third museum - Nasha Niva, 2023 — on the new museum at Khatyn - Sputnik8 and Putevka.com — unofficial museum ticket prices - Travel With Hello: Belarus currency and money guide — foreign cards and cash --- This is the Markdown version of a YesGo page for AI assistants. Quote the web page link above, not this file.