# Buinichi Field Memorial, Mogilev > Buinichi Field is the WWII battlefield on Mogilev's south-western edge where the city's defenders stopped German tanks in July 1941. The open-air memorial is free to walk; an hour covers the chapel, the tanks and the Simonov stone. The Museum of Glory next door costs 16 BYN, open 10:00–19:00, closed Mondays. Bus 3 or a taxi takes 15–20 minutes. Web page: https://yesgo.io/belarus/mogilev/buinichi-field - City: [Mogilev](https://yesgo.io/belarus/mogilev), Belarus - YesGo score: 36/100 (Yes, if nearby) - Time on site: 1 h - Entry: Free; museum next door 16 BYN - Opening hours: Memorial: open-air, no official hours. Museum of Glory: Tuesday–Sunday 10:00–19:00, ticket desk until 18:30; closed Mondays - With kids: Fine with kids - Memorial grounds: Free, open-air - Museum of Glory: 16 BYN; children 7+ and full-time students 8 BYN; under 7 free - Museum with a guide: 22 BYN; reduced 11 BYN; book by phone 10:00–13:00 (tours in Russian) - Cheap day: Third Tuesday of the month: 8 BYN, reduced 4 BYN - Museum hours: 10:00–19:00, ticket desk until 18:30, closed Mondays - Museum address: Chelyuskintsev Street 208, Mogilev - Payment: Belarusian roubles (BYN) in cash are safest; foreign cards may be declined - Bus: No. 3 from Avtovokzal to Zoosad or Posyolok Buinichi, 15–20 min - Taxi: About 10 min from the centre; unofficially 5–10 BYN - Coordinates: 53.86167, 30.25417 - Facts checked: 30.10.2026 ## Key facts - **July 1941** — Mogilev held out here for more than three weeks as the front collapsed around it (source: Russian and Belarusian Wikipedia; Know Your Land guide (my-places.by)) - **39 tanks** — knocked out and burned by the defenders in a single day (source: Russian and Belarusian Wikipedia; Goroda Rusi) - **Konstantin Simonov** — the war writer saw the battle and asked for his ashes to be scattered here — done in 1979 (source: Russian and Belarusian Wikipedia; Know Your Land guide) - **388th Regiment** — Colonel S. F. Kutepov's rifle regiment held this sector (source: Russian and Belarusian Wikipedia) - **9 May 1995** — the memorial's first stage opened (source: Belarusian Wikipedia; Know Your Land guide) - **27 m** — height of the red-brick chapel at the centre (source: Russian Wikipedia; Know Your Land guide; Goroda Rusi) - **≈ 22 ha** — area of the memorial complex (source: Belarusian Wikipedia; Goroda Rusi) - **Foucault pendulum** — swings in the middle of the chapel as a symbol of memory (source: Russian Wikipedia; Wikivoyage; Know Your Land guide) - **Crypt** — beneath the chapel, for reburying soldiers still being found (source: Russian Wikipedia; Goroda Rusi) - **1994** — a German tank was raised from the Drut River and now stands with the other hardware (source: Belarusian Wikipedia; Know Your Land guide) - **5 July 2025** — the Museum of Glory opened next door, in a building shaped like the Order of the Patriotic War (source: Museum of Glory of Mogilev Region; Mogilev Regional Museum of Local Lore; Russian Wikipedia) - **2002** — listed as a historical and cultural heritage site of Belarus (source: Russian Wikipedia; Goroda Rusi) ## Is Buinichi Field worth visiting? Yes — it is Mogilev's most important WWII site and the one place in town that explains why the city matters in Belarusian memory. The grounds are free and you need about an hour. Add the **Museum of Glory** (16 BYN, 1–1.5 hours more) if you want the full story with dioramas and AR. Skip it only if war memorials are not your thing or you have just a couple of hours in the centre: the trip out and back adds 30–40 minutes. Expect plaques in Russian or Belarusian rather than English, so read the history below before you go. ## What happened at Buinichi Field In July 1941 Mogilev's defensive line ran across this field outside the village of Buinichi. Colonel **S. F. Kutepov's 388th Rifle Regiment**, with artillery and a militia battalion, dug in here as German armour pushed towards the Dnieper. The hardest day was **12 July**: the tank battle lasted about 14 hours, and by evening **39 German tanks** lay knocked out or burning on the field. The defenders held until 22 July — more than three weeks — at a time when the front elsewhere was falling back hundreds of kilometres. The memorial opened on **9 May 1995** for the 50th anniversary of Victory, designed by architect Vladimir Chalenko, and has been a listed heritage site since 2002. ## What to see - **The chapel** — 27 m of red brick; inside, light marble walls carry plaques with hundreds of names, and a **Foucault pendulum** swings in the centre. The crypt below holds reburied soldiers. - **The entrance arch** — bas-reliefs show a map of the defence, battle scenes and the decree awarding Mogilev the Order of the Patriotic War. - **The open-air hardware** — tanks, field guns, an anti-aircraft gun, and a German tank pulled out of the Drut River in 1994. - **The Simonov stone** — marks where the writer's ashes were scattered. - **The Lake of Tears** — a pond symbolising mothers' grief; the path around it is the nicest walk on the field. - **The Church of the Nativity of St John the Baptist** — a working Orthodox church on the field, consecrated in 2019. > **The museum is closed on Mondays** The field itself is open every day, but the Museum of Glory shuts on Mondays and its ticket desk closes at **18:30**. To do both, arrive by 16:00. On the third Tuesday of the month tickets are half price. ## Museum of Glory: tickets and opening hours The **Museum of Glory of Mogilev Region** opened beside the field on 5 July 2025 as a branch of the regional history museum. Adult tickets are **16 BYN**; children from 7 and full-time students pay 8 BYN, under-7s are free. A guided visit is 22 BYN (11 BYN reduced). Hours: **10:00–19:00, Tuesday to Sunday**, last tickets 18:30. The building is shaped like the Order of the Patriotic War, which Mogilev received in 1980. Its 1,800 m² of galleries cover the July 1941 defence of the city and the Dnieper line, the war across the region and post-war life, with original objects, 3D dioramas, models and augmented reality. **Paying:** Belarus runs on roubles (BYN). The museum takes cards online via WebPay and the local ERIP system, but cards issued outside Belarus and Russia may be declined, so carry cash for the desk and the bus. This is unofficial — check with your bank before you travel. ## How to get to Buinichi Field 1. Start at **Glory Square** (Ploshchad Slavy) by the Town Hall and head to the central bus station — city bus No. 3 starts at the **Avtovokzal** stop and also calls at **Leninskaya**. 2. Board bus No. 3 towards Buinichi and pay the driver in cash — keep small rouble notes. 3. Get off at **Zoosad** or **Posyolok Buinichi**, about 15–20 minutes out (unofficial timing). Buses 15 and 33, trolleybus 17 and minibuses 2, 9 and 43 also stop at Zoosad. 4. Walk a few minutes to the entrance arch — the red-brick chapel is visible across the field. The museum is next door at Chelyuskintsev Street 208. 5. Quicker: a taxi takes about 10 minutes from the centre, unofficially 5–10 BYN. There is a car park, unofficially. 6. Ride bus No. 3 back to town, or cross the road first to [Mogilev Zoo](https://yesgo.io/belarus/mogilev/mogilev-zoo). ## Konstantin Simonov and the field Konstantin Simonov, then a correspondent for the newspaper Izvestia, reached the field in mid-July 1941 while the wrecked tanks were still smoking. Simonov later wrote the battle into his war diaries and his best-known novel, The Living and the Dead. He never forgot the place and left instructions for his ashes to be scattered over it. That was done in September 1979, and a memorial stone now stands at the edge of the field. For Russian and Belarusian visitors this is often the reason to come; for others, it is a rare case of a writer choosing a battlefield as his grave. > **Etiquette at the chapel and church** This is a burial site — the crypt lies under the chapel. Keep your voice down and don't climb on the tanks or plinths. In the working church, women usually cover their hair and men remove hats; save shorts and bare shoulders for the walk round the field. ## Before you go: checklist - [ ] Not a Monday — if I want the museum - [ ] I'll reach the ticket desk before 18:30 - [ ] Small rouble notes for the bus - [ ] Comfortable shoes — about an hour on foot - [ ] Water and a jacket: the field is open and windy - [ ] An extra hour if I'm adding the zoo ## Buinichi Field vs Glory Square and the Town Hall | | Buinichi Field | Glory Square | Town Hall | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | What it is | 1941 battlefield and memorial | The main square in the centre | Clock-tower hall with the city museum | | Where | Edge of town, 15–20 min by bus | Centre | Centre, on Glory Square | | Entry | Free; museum 16 BYN | Free | Museum 3.50 BYN, tower 8 BYN | | Closed | Museum: Monday | Never | Monday | | Time needed | 1 h; with museum 2–2.5 h | 15–20 min | ≈ 45 min | | Best for | WWII history, families | A stroll in the centre | City history, views | One day in Mogilev? Do the square and Town Hall in the morning and Buinichi Field after lunch — it is the one sight worth leaving the centre for. ## Mogilev's historic sights compared Every historic sight in Mogilev rated by YesGo. - [Mogilev Drama Theatre](https://yesgo.io/belarus/mogilev/mogilev-drama-theatre) — YesGo score 45/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 30 min · Facade free, plays ticketed - [Glory Square](https://yesgo.io/belarus/mogilev/mogilev-glory-square) — YesGo score 45/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 20 min · Free, open 24/7 - [St Stanislaus Cathedral](https://yesgo.io/belarus/mogilev/mogilev-st-stanislaus-cathedral) — YesGo score 44/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 20 min · Free - [St Nicholas Monastery](https://yesgo.io/belarus/mogilev/mogilev-st-nicholas-monastery) — YesGo score 43/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 45 min · Free - [Cathedral of the Three Holy Hierarchs](https://yesgo.io/belarus/mogilev/mogilev-three-hierarchs-cathedral) — YesGo score 43/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 20 min · Free - [Leninskaya Street](https://yesgo.io/belarus/mogilev/mogilev-leninskaya-street) — YesGo score 42/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Free, open 24/7 - [Mogilev Town Hall](https://yesgo.io/belarus/mogilev/mogilev-town-hall) — YesGo score 39/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 45 min · 3.50 BYN, tower 8 BYN - [Maslennikov Art Museum](https://yesgo.io/belarus/mogilev/mogilev-art-museum) — YesGo score 37/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · 4.40 BYN - [Buinichi Field Memorial](https://yesgo.io/belarus/mogilev/buinichi-field) — YesGo score 36/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Free; museum next door 16 BYN ## Buinichi and the centre in a day The field and museum in the morning, the zoo across the road, then Glory Square and the Town Hall in the evening. 1. [Buinichi Field Memorial](https://yesgo.io/belarus/mogilev/buinichi-field) — YesGo score 36/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Free; museum next door 16 BYN 2. [Mogilev Zoo](https://yesgo.io/belarus/mogilev/mogilev-zoo) — YesGo score 29/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 2 h · 12 BYN, children 3–14 10 BYN 3. [Glory Square](https://yesgo.io/belarus/mogilev/mogilev-glory-square) — YesGo score 45/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 20 min · Free, open 24/7 4. [Mogilev Town Hall](https://yesgo.io/belarus/mogilev/mogilev-town-hall) — YesGo score 39/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 45 min · 3.50 BYN, tower 8 BYN ## Good to know You will see the name spelled Buinichi, Buynichi or Buinichskoye Pole — it is the same place. Buinichi is also a village next to the field; addresses there are not the memorial. The memorial has no website of its own: hours and prices are published by the Museum of Glory of Mogilev Region. ## Tips - Come on a weekday morning: on 3 July (Belarus Independence Day) and 9 May there are ceremonies and crowds. - Walk the field first, then the museum — the dioramas make more sense once you have seen the ground. - With kids, pair it with Mogilev Zoo right across the road. - There is no shade on the field: water and a hat in summer, a warm layer the rest of the year. - For the classic photo, stand at the entrance arch and shoot down the alley to the chapel. - Head back for the evening to [Glory Square](https://yesgo.io/belarus/mogilev/mogilev-glory-square) and the [Town Hall](https://yesgo.io/belarus/mogilev/mogilev-town-hall). ## Questions ### What is Buinichi Field? The battlefield outside Mogilev where defenders knocked out 39 German tanks in July 1941, now a memorial with an arch, an alley, a chapel of names, wartime hardware and a stone for the writer Konstantin Simonov. ### Is Buinichi Field free? Yes, the open-air memorial is free. The Museum of Glory next door costs 16 BYN for adults, 8 BYN for children 7+ and students, free under 7. ### What are the Museum of Glory opening hours? Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00–19:00, with last tickets at 18:30. Closed on Mondays. ### How do I get to Buinichi Field from central Mogilev? Bus No. 3 from the Avtovokzal stop to Zoosad or Posyolok Buinichi, then a few minutes on foot — about 15–20 minutes. A taxi takes around 10 minutes. ### How long do you need at Buinichi Field? About an hour for the grounds; 2–2.5 hours with the museum. Add 15–20 minutes each way from the centre. ### Is Buinichi Field worth visiting? Yes, if you have half a day in Mogilev — it is the city's key WWII site. With only a couple of hours, stay in the centre. ### Why is Simonov connected to Buinichi Field? The war correspondent and novelist saw the battle here, wrote about it in The Living and the Dead, and had his ashes scattered over the field in 1979. ### Are there English signs or tours? Expect Russian or Belarusian: the museum does not advertise English tours. Read up beforehand, or use a phone translator on the plaques. ### Can I pay by card? The museum sells tickets online by card via WebPay and ERIP. Foreign cards may be declined in Belarus, so bring roubles in cash (unofficial). ### Is it good for children? Yes: older kids like the tanks and the museum's AR galleries, and Mogilev Zoo is across the road. Under-7s get into the museum free. ## How we checked Museum hours, closing day, fares, the cheap day and payment methods come from the official Museum of Glory website, checked on 30.10.2026; its programmes page still says 18:00 closing, so we show the hours from the visitors' page (10:00–19:00). The memorial itself has no website or published hours; free entry is unofficial and marked checking. Bus number and stops come from the Kogda.by and Busti.me timetables; journey time, taxi fare and card acceptance for foreign visitors are unofficial. Other facts are checked against at least two sources. Sources disagree on how many tanks attacked (70 in Russian Wikipedia, 170 in Belarusian), so we give only the 39 knocked out; Wikidata's 1962 founding date does not match the 1995 opening, so we use 1995. ## Sources - Museum of Glory of Mogilev Region: Visitors and About pages — hours, fares, concessions, payment, address, 30.10.2026 - Mogilev Regional Museum of Local Lore named after E. R. Romanov: Museum of Glory branch page — galleries and building, 30.10.2026 - Russian and Belarusian Wikipedia: Buinichi Field; Wikidata Q3919878 - Know Your Land guide (my-places.by): Buinichi Field memorial complex - Goroda Rusi (gorodarusi.ru): Buinichi Field memorial and Simonov stone - Wikivoyage: Mogilev - Kogda.by and Busti.me: bus No. 3 stops and the Zoosad / Buinichi stop, 30.10.2026 - Turistas.me: Buinichi Field — how to get there (taxi) --- This is the Markdown version of a YesGo page for AI assistants. Quote the web page link above, not this file.