10 Interesting Facts About Brest, Belarus

Facts About Brest

• The Brest Fortress was recognized by the Soviet Union as the Hero Fortress in honour of the defence of Brest Fortress in June 1941.
• The city was part of the Belarusian SSR until the breakup of the USSR in 1991. Brest is now a part of independent Belarus.
• Brest is home to two Universities: A.S. Pushkin Brest State University and Brest State Technical University.
• The name could also originate from the Slavic root brest meaning “elm”. Or it could have come from the Lithuanian word brasta meaning “ford”.
• King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania first granted Brest a coat of arms in 1554.
• Brest has a city partnership with Ashdod, Israel; Botoșani, Romania; Brest, France; Ludza, Latvia; Maldon, United Kingdom & Pleven, Bulgaria.
• Brest is twinned with Astrakhan, Russia; Dorogomilovo District, Russia; Izhevsk, Russia; Kaliningrad, Russia; Kovrov, Russia; Malgobek, Russia; Nevsky District, Russia; Nizhny Tagil, Russia; Novorossiysk, Russia; Oryol, Russia; Petrozavodsk, Russia; Ryazan, Russia; Tyumen, Russia; Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine; Lutsk, Ukraine; Odessa, Ukraine; Biała Podlaska, Poland; Lublin, Poland; Siedlce County, Poland; Terespol, Poland; Baienfurt, Germany; Baindt, Germany; Berg, Germany; Ravensburg, Germany; Weingarten, Germany; Baiyin, China; Xiaogan, China; Batumi, Georgia; Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan; Coevorden, Netherlands; Port-sur-Saône, France & Subotica, Serbia.
• Brest borders with Poland, Opposite the city of Terespol.
• Brest is a major point of rail entry to Belarus and Russia and is a river port with light industries.