Belarusian-Jewish Cultural Heritage Center

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Belarusian-Jewish Cultural Heritage Center Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Belarusian-Jewish Cultural Heritage Center, Ośrodek kulturalny, Anielewicza 6, 00-157, .

BJCH is a non-profit organization, which mission is to promote awareness of the rich Belarusian-Jewish cultural heritage within the national and global context, to preserve and enhance this heritage, aiming at the creation of the Belarusian Jewish Museum. Центр белорусско-еврейского культурного наследия – некоммерческое учреждение, созданное в апреле 2019 года. Миссия Центра – повышать осведомленн

ость о богатом белорусско-еврейском культурном наследии, способствовать более полному и объективному представлению еврейского наследия Беларуси в национальном и мировом контексте. Одна из основных целей – создание Еврейского музея Беларуси как полноценной и современной платформы, включающей музейную экспозицию, культурный, исследовательский и образовательный центры.

Центр проводит комплексную работу, которая включает в себя популяризацию белорусско-еврейского наследия посредством организации различных проектов и мероприятий, разработку решений для будущей экспозиции музея, а также взаимодействие и сотрудничество с местными и зарубежными специалистами и организациями.

ru 👇🏻✨🪄Coming soon 🪄✨Shtetl is a new board game about life in a Jewish small town, inspired by 19th-century shtetls from...
20/07/2026

ru 👇🏻
✨🪄Coming soon 🪄✨

Shtetl is a new board game about life in a Jewish small town, inspired by 19th-century shtetls from the region known in Jewish tradition as Raysn, now Belarus and neighbouring parts of Lithuania, Poland, and Ukraine.

In Shtetl, you’ll build your town, welcome new residents, celebrate holidays, prepare traditional dishes, and guide your community through the joys and challenges of a bygone era.

Shtetl was created by a dedicated team of historians, educators, artists, producers, and game designers. The gameplay mechanics was developed with Boris Kurochkin, founder of New Making Studio and game designer of Suffering Middle Ages, Forgotten Gods, Dogma, and other popular board games. The visual world was created by artist Vasily Grino , whose work combines contemporary graphic language, visual metaphor, and a distinctive naive-art sensibility. Historical research and review were supported by historian and ethnographer Maria Kaspina and Professor Claire Le Foll.

«Штетл» — новая настольная игра о жизни в еврейском местечке, вдохновлённая штетлами 19 века из региона, известного в еврейской традиции как Райсн, который сегодня включает территорию Беларуси и прилегающие части Литвы, Польши и Украины.

В ходе партии предстоит заселять его жителями, вместе с ними отмечать праздники, готовить традиционные блюда, строить и обучать, проводить штетл через радости и испытания эпохи.

Игра создана командой историков, специалистов по неформальному образованию, художников, продюсеров и геймдизайнеров. За механику отвечал Борис Курочкин, основатель New Making Studio, геймдизайнер игр “Страдающее Средневековье”, «Забытые боги» и “Догма”. Визуальный мир создал Василий Грино — современный художник с узнаваемым стилем, долгое время работавший для Disney и Vulica Brazil. Историческую достоверность обеспечила историк и этнограф Мария Каспина и профессор истории Клэр Ле Фолль.

03/07/2026

Shtetl – A Cultural Board Game of Strategy and Storytelling

The game was developed by a team of historians, educators, game designers, artists and creative producers. Its visual world and mechanics are based on careful work with historical sources and references – traditional townscapes, archival photographs, clothing, crafts, and
social roles of the period. At the same time reimagining it through contemporary art in a fresh, uncluttered look, free of clichés.

Light the first candle, turn over the first card and the shtetl comes to life, from the lively bustle of the market square to the calm of Sabbath evening.
Your turn!

🔗Pre-order on Kickstarter, link in bio

We are pleased to share an important milestone: the Belarusian-Jewish Cultural Heritage Center has officially become a m...
19/06/2026

We are pleased to share an important milestone: the Belarusian-Jewish Cultural Heritage Center has officially become a member of the Association of European Jewish Museums.

Last week, we took part in the AEJM annual conference in Warsaw - an insightful and valuable opportunity to exchange ideas with colleagues from across the world.

We are grateful for the warm welcome and look forward to future conversations, collaborations, and shared projects!

We are so happy to finally share Shtetl – a new board game where the world of Jewish small towns comes to life through p...
11/06/2026

We are so happy to finally share Shtetl – a new board game where the world of Jewish small towns comes to life through play.

Shtetl refers to a unique historical and cultural world that once thrived in Eastern Europe. These towns with a predominantly Jewish population were crossroads where languages, religions, and traditions intertwined.

Inspired by the historical region known in Jewish tradition as Raysn – today Belarus and neighbouring parts of Lithuania, Poland, and Ukraine – Shtetl offers a new way to reconnect with this world.

In this atmospheric, card-driven strategy, you develop your own shtetl: welcoming residents, constructing buildings, celebrating holidays, preparing traditional dishes, and guiding the community through the joys and challenges of a bygone era.
The game is designed for 2–6 players, ages 8+, and will be published in two language editions: English and Russian.

Shtetl was developed by a team of historians, educators, game designers, artists and creative producers. Its visual world and mechanics are based on careful work with historical sources and references – traditional townscapes, archival photographs, clothing, crafts, and social roles of the period – reimagined through contemporary art in a fresh, uncluttered way.

The game is now fully developed and ready for print. We are launching a Kickstarter pre-order campaign to make the first print run possible.
We invite you to support the campaign, pre-order the game, and share it with someone who would love to bring this story to the table.

Pre-order on Kickstarter [https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/shtetl/shtetl-a-cultural-strategy-board-game]

Your turn!

These Shabbes candlesticks come from Slonim, Belarus – once one of the most important Jewish centers in the region. In t...
14/02/2026

These Shabbes candlesticks come from Slonim, Belarus – once one of the most important Jewish centers in the region. In the 19th century, such objects were part of a familiar weekly ritual: on Friday evening, women lit the candles, recited a blessing, and with a gentle movement of their hands welcomed the peace and sanctity of Shabbes into the home.

Today, the candlesticks are part of the permanent collection and exhibition of the Lost Shtetl Museum in Lithuania Dingęs Štetlas.Their digital copy has been included in the Digital Collection of the Virtual Belarusian Jewish Museum, bringing together fragments of a heritage scattered across the world.

🕯 Shabbes candlesticks, Slonim, Belarus, 19th century
📍 Physical object: Lost Shtetl Museum (Lithuania)
💻 Digital copy: Virtual Belarusian Jewish Museum
____________________________________________

Эти шаббатные подсвечники происходят из Слонима – города, который в XIX веке был одним из важных еврейских центров региона. Подобные предметы были частью еженедельного домашнего ритуала: в пятничный вечер женщины зажигали свечи, произносили благословение и жестом рук как бы «впускали» в дом покой и святость Шаббата.

Сегодня подсвечники можно увидеть в постоянной экспозиции музея Lost Shtetl в Литве. А их цифровая копия стала частью Цифровой коллекции Виртуального Еврейского музея Беларуси, по фрагментам складывая картину рассеянного по миру наследия.

🕯 Шаббатные подсвечники, Слоним, Беларусь, XIX век
📍 Оригинал: Музей Lost Shtetl (Литва)
💻 Цифровая копия: Виртуальный Еврейский музей Беларуси

This architectural drawing, created in 1929 by students of the Warsaw University of Technology, is one of the earliest r...
29/01/2026

This architectural drawing, created in 1929 by students of the Warsaw University of Technology, is one of the earliest recorded depictions of the Ashmyany Great Synagogue.

A rare example of early 20th-century brick-and-wood architecture, its faсade was once crowned with two carved lions, a unique masterpiece of Jewish folk woodcarving. Today, only one lion and a small section of the ornament have survived. On the drawing both figures are still present, though parts of the carving had already disappeared by then.

A newspaper note from 1902 describing the synagogue’s ceremonial opening (accompanied by the local Jewish community’s volunteer fire brigade orchestra) confirms that the building was completed earlier.

Using archival sources and the remaining physical fragments, all architectural details were carefully reconstructed for the VR experience, restoring the synagogue’s original historical appearance.

© 1929 architectural drawing: Warsaw University of Technology
© Photograph of the pediment: Vladimir Levin, 2007, Index of Jewish Art
Included in the Digital Collection of the Virtual Belarusian Jewish Museum
___________________________________________
Чертеж, выполненный студентами Варшавского технологического университета в 1929 году, – один из первых зафиксированных видов Ошмянской синагоги.

Это редкий пример кирпично-деревянной архитектуры начала XX века, а ее фронтон, украшенный двумя резными львами – уникальный образец еврейской резьбы по дереву.

Сегодня сохранилась лишь часть этого декора. На чертеже видны еще оба льва, хотя часть орнамента была утрачена уже тогда.

О более ранней дате строительства сообщает газетная заметка 1902 года о торжественном открытии синагоги, в котором участвовал оркестр пожарной дружины, состоявший из добровольцев местной еврейской общины.

На основе чертежей, архивных источников и сохранившихся фрагментов для VR-реконструкции все архитектурные детали были восстановлены в их историческом виде.

29/01/2026

Slonim, 1915, the market street.
An everyday moment from the lost world of shtetl. This image appears in our AI video reconstruction of Jewish Slonim and is now featured in the Digital Collection of the Virtual Belarusian Jewish Museum.
Watch the video by the link: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=O3U9uNLbM3Y

🎞 Jewish Slonim, Belarus, 1915
📍 Source: Leo Baeck Institute
💻 Digital collection: Virtual Belarusian Jewish Museum
__________________________________________
Слоним, 1915. Рыночная улица.
Кадр из исчезнувшего мира штетла. Эта фотография вошла в AI видео-реконструкцию еврейского Слонима и теперь представлена в Цифровой коллекции Виртуального еврейского музея Беларуси.
Смотреть видео по ссылке https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=O3U9uNLbM3Y

🎞 Еврейский Слоним, Беларусь, 1915 – Рыночная площадь
📍 Источник: Leo Baeck Institute
💻 Цифровая коллекция: Виртуальный Еврейский музей Беларуси

15/01/2026

What if you could walk inside a synagogue that no longer exists?
In this curator’s talk, Grigoriy Kheifets takes you inside the process of reconstructing the Great Synagogue of Wolpa - a wooden masterpiece destroyed in WWII and now reborn in VR.
From archival fragments and rare inscriptions to hand-painted murals and layered 3D models - this is not just a digital replica, but a new way to experience what was almost forgotten.
You can now experience the VR tour at the Musée d'art et d'histoire du Judaïsme.
The project is part of the Virtual Belarusian Jewish Museum initiative.
📺Watch the full version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/WxooQfUI3jg

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