Brest is a city in south-western Belarus on the border with Poland, opposite the Polish town of Terespol, where the Bug and Mukhavets rivers meet. It was known as Brest-Litovsk from the 1600s to 1923 and as Brest-on-the-Bug from 1923 to 1939, and it is the administrative centre of Brest Region and Brest District. Its population in 2026 is 347,138. It is one of the oldest cities in Belarus and hosted the Union of Brest and the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. The Brest Fortress was named a Hero Fortress by the Soviet Union for the defence of June 1941. In the High Middle Ages the city passed between Poland, the principalities of Kievan Rus and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, then belonged to Lithuania and from 1569 the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. It joined the Russian Empire in 1795, was part of the Second Polish Republic, was taken by Germany and the Soviet Union in 1939, and has been in independent Belarus since 1991.
Facts
Founding Year Elevation Band Climate Zone Connections
Capital Of
Source Brest Region (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Brest, Belarus (Wikipedia)
Lead paragraph, population
As of 2026, it has a population of 347,138
History section, first mention
first mentioned in the Primary Chronicle in 1019
Infobox: elevation_m
280.4
On Continent: Europe, Lead paragraph, location
is a city in south-western Belarus
Part Of: Belarus, Lead paragraph, location
is a city in south-western Belarus
In Group: Cities of Eastern Europe (World), Lead
is a city in south-western Belarus
View the Source2. Koeppen-Geiger map (Kottek et al., University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna): World Map of the Koeppen-Geiger Climate Classification, present climate data
Koeppen-Geiger map (Kottek et al., University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna)Koeppen-Geiger-ASCII.txt grid cell 52.25, 23.75Quote, Koeppen-Geiger-ASCII.txt grid cell 52.25, 23.75
52.25 23.75 Dfb
View the Source 3. GeoNames: Brest - GeoNames
GeoNamescities500 record 629634, place matched by name within the country (only place of that name in the country)Quote, cities500 record 629634, place matched by name within the country (only place of that name in the country)
52.10894 23.71749 P PPLA BY 01 347138 144 Europe/Minsk
View the Source Brest Region (Wikipedia)
Capital Of: Brest Region, LeadQuote, Capital Of: Brest Region, Lead
Its administrative center is Brest.
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