Brest used to be called Brest-Litovsk, Brest-on-the-Bug and Berestia. It was first mentioned in the Primary Chronicle in 1019, making it one of the oldest cities in Belarus. During the Middle Ages, borders in the region often shifted. Brest has been part of Poland, the principalities of Kievan Rus' and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In 1795, it was incorporated into the Russian Empire. After the Polish-Soviet War, Brest became Polish again. In 1939, the Nazis captured the city and then transferred it to the Soviet Union.

In 1941, the Germans invaded the Soviet Union and took over again. There are numerous monuments in Brest that commemorate the fact that the city held out for a month, when German troops invaded in June 1941, making it one of 11 'Hero Cities' of the former Soviet Union.

In 1944, the Soviets retook the city and it remained part of the Byelorussian SSR until the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. Brest has been part of Belarus since then.

Brest is located on the border with Poland and is one of the busiest border-crossing points in the region. The city is very lively and especially the area around the border crossing is a bustling place, with people trying to get goods both ways across the border. The city on the Polish side of the border is Terespol.

• The center of the city stretches southeast of the railway station, all the way to the Mukhavets River.
• Brest's main drag is Vulitsa Savetskaja (Sovetskaya Street). It was reconstructed from 2007 to 2009.
• The main sight in Brest is the Brest Fortress, on the confluence of the Bug and Mukhavets rivers. In order to built the massive fort, the entire town of Brest was moved eastwards between 1838 and 1842, to make way for the fort's construction. During the German invasion of 1941 it was totally ruined and the remains of the fort are now a memorial to the defenders of the city. At the site you will see numerous Soviet-style statues, while mournful music is played, as well as the sounds of gunfire.
• Brest City Park was beautifully renovated from 2004 to 2006 for the park's centennial celebration.
• The Millennium Monument was erected in 2009.

• Not far west of the fortress is the Nikolaivsky Church, the oldest one in Brest. It was originally part of a monastery and in 1941 it was partially ruined.
• The Sankt Nikolaiv Church dates from the 18th century and boasts traditional Orthodox aesthetics.
• The Sankt Simon Orthodox Cathedral dates from the 17th century and is richly gilded.

• The Bereste Archaeological Museum was constructed on top of the excavated ruins of a 13th-century artisans' quarter on the southern island of the Hero-Fortress. The original ruins can be seen in the museum's basement. The museum has a collection of objects and huts dating from the 11th to the 13th centuries. Most of the items were unearthed during the 1970s.
• The Museum of Rescued Art Treasures is home to a large collection of paintings and icons.
• Denver Art Museum is a striking building with a star-shaped entrance.
• The Brest Railway Museum.

There are numerous hotels and restaurants in Brest. The city is in the southwest of Belarus, at the confluence of the Bug and Mukhavets rivers, 330 southwest of Minsk and has excellent rail and road connections with the capital, as well as with Warsaw in Poland, which is only 190 km to the west.

Denver Art Museum ©Deny Hill

Monument at Brest Fortress ©Deny Hill

Monument at Brest Fortress ©Deny Hill

Brest ©Polina Lukianets

Church of St. Joseph ©Deny Hill

Monument at Brest Fortress ©Jayde Keroi