This guest post describes a short visit to Nowogrodek in Belarus made by Andy Jarosz, a writer and the author of 501 Places, a travel blog with stories from his travels around the world.

“Belarus may not be on the top of most people’s holiday lists. The need for a visa and its reputation as Europe’s last dictatorship has meant the growth in tourism in its neighbours Lithuania and Poland has completely passed it by. Yet this small landlocked nation in the heart of eastern Europe actually has quite a lot to offer the interested visitor.

Nowogrodek Castle, Belarus

We didn’t go to the capital Minsk, although I hear it is a clean, attractive city with wide boulevards and impressive buildings. The west and centre of the country, where we had arrived, is home to a number of old castles and fortresses from the early part of the last Millennium. The town of (Navahradak), once an important Polish town and now a one-horse town where little seemingly happens (we were the first British visitors there since 1995, we were told) prides itself on its old ruin and a museum dedicated to Mickiewicz, the famous Polish poet.

We had arrived in Nowogrodek on a Sunday morning, having caught the night train from Warsaw and met our driver at the station in Baranavichy. No-one had been expecting us despite our booking, but true to form within minutes we had a meal laid out in front of us and we were being taken care of.

Our welcome was warm and understated everywhere we went. Food and drink were very cheap, and our accommodation was basic yet adequate. It was noticeable that no-one would answer any questions around how life is for them, or any other topic that could be vaguely inviting to a criticism of the state. And when out walking early in the morning, I don’t think it was a coincidence that on almost every corner I passed a man sitting alone in a car reading a newspaper and surreptitiously observing, in case our family group was stoking the flames of revolution.

The town’s focus was the old castle, which although a ruin is the scene of regular re-enactments. We managed to see one in the afternoon, despite the heavy rain. Nowogrodek also boasts a large central square, a mosque, a catholic church and numerous orthodox churches. There is certainly enough here to make a pleasant day’s stop, and those with an interest in the history of this region will appreciate the many ghosts of a bloody past that lurk here (the book Defiance, which was made into a movie starring Daniel Craig, was set in this area although filmed across the border in Lithuania).

Re-enactment of a coronation, Nowogrodek Castle

The people in this part of Belarus are not well-off, and it is reminiscent of how I recall visiting Poland as a child in the 1970s. If you make it here, be prepared for a friendly welcome: service is polite but will leave you scratching your head in bewilderment, and people appear genuinely pleased that we had made the journey to their country.

It’s common to end a travel article by saying “get there before the secret gets out and the place is ruined by tourists”. Not the case here; I am fairly confident if you come to this part of Belarus in 20 years time, very little will have changed. But do see it in any case. It’s an insight into another world; one that disappeared elsewhere a long time ago.”