State Literary Museum of Yanka Kupala

One of the oldest literary museums in Belarus, the Yanka Kupala State Literary Museum was founded on 25 May 1944, and opened for visitors on 20 September 1945. The museum collects, preserves, researches and interprets the heritage of Yanka Kupala (1882-1942). The exposition presents the life and works of Yanka Kupala and his role in the historical and cultural development at the national and European context. Significant projects of recent years are: the setting up of a new permanent exhibition, the publication of the catalog "Autographs of the 1st national poet of Belarus - Yanka Kupala", the socio-cultural action "Reading Kupala together" the exhibition to the 100th anniversary of the play "Paulinka" and the 120th anniversary of U. Lutsevich. The total number of fund items is 51,823 (2012). The most valuable are: the autographs, portraits and lifetime editions of Yanka Kupala, photographs and personal things of the poet and his family. The presentation of Kupala’s heritage is carried out in traditional and new forms of cultural and educational activities: overview and thematic excursions, lectures, evenings, and interactive projects for different categories of visitors. In partnership with the museums of Europe and the CIS countries, there were the exhibitional, cultural and educational projects in Russia, Lithuania, Latvia, Armenia, and Bulgaria. The museum includes branches the «Trenches» (Logoysk District), «Yakhimoushchyna» (Molodzechno District), the Kupala memorial preserves «Viazynka», which annually hosts the Republican festival of poetry, songs and folk crafts, and «Liauki» (Orsha District).