Legend about foundation of Mensk (Minsk)

Once upon a time between Tatar end and Perespenski bridge just by the side of Vilenski postal road the famous strong man and sorcerer whose name was Menesk (or Menski) settled and built a big stone mill with seven wheels on Svisloch river. Nobody had seen Menesk, nevertheless the most fantastic stories about his strength were told in the surrounding lands near Svisloch .

They said that the flour at that mill was made from stones and not from rye and that in nights some strange cries, halloos, songs, music, songs and dances were heard, that in midnight he rode his mill over villages and recruited brave courageous and strong people for is retinue, who later composed a nation which settled close to the mill. The town was founded and named Mensk after him.

Well-known Byelorussian archeologist G.V. Shtykhov considers that name Mensk originates from river Menka which flows into Ptitch 12 km north from modern city Dzerzhinsk. Archeologists found there an ancient settlement. By scientist's opinion its inhabitants relocated because of some reason from coasts of Menka to Nemiga and founded there a new settlement having saved its old name Mensk.

The leading geographers of BSSR V.A. Zhukevich adheres a similar opinion. Moreover he supposed that up to that time an independent settlement Nemiga existed already on coasts of river Svisloch. Though, Professor E.M. Zagorulski denies possibility of the transfer. By his hypothesis a disappeared small river, which flew into Svisloch had a similar name with root "men". Pristine Mensk was distorted in XIX. Tzar's clerks mechanically assimilated Polish form Minsk having made it a common one. Since 1916 in the circles of Belarus cultured people name Mensk-Belarusski gained a foot-hold.  It remained during German and Polish occupation, was used in documents of emigrated Belarus governments.

After foundation of Soviet Power a historical form Mensk became a property of Belarus language only but it was changed for Minsk at the end of thirties because of strengthening of repressions against nationally oriented personnel of the republic. Curious, that before it the place of an edition was mentioned in Belarus books as Mensk and in Russian ones as Minsk.

Translated by Ekaterina Ludvigovna Prokopovich, Odessa