The most ancient architectural monuments of our country date back to the first millennium A.D. and represent ancient Slavs' culture. In the 10th – 13th centuries Belarus as part of Kievan Rus' became one of the centres ancient Russian culture. The history of Belarusian architecture proper which distinctively integrated artistic experience both of Kievan Rus' and Western Europe begins in the 14th century. Medieval Belarusian architecture is represented mainly by defensive installations. At that time towns were usually situated around a fortified castle or nearby. The castles in Lida (14th century), Novogrudok (14th–16th centuries), Mir (14th–16th centuries) and Nesvizh (16th century) still exist. In the 16th – beginning of 17th centuries a new special type appeared: churches–fortresses (Maloye Mozheykovo, Synkovichi) and houses–fortresses (Gaytunishki).

In the 17th–18th centuries the baroque tendencies were developed in Belarusian architecture. Different Catholic orders were promoters of this style. The best baroque monuments on the territory of the Republic of Belarus are Jesuit Roman–Catholic Churches in Nesvizh (laid down in 1584, architect J.M. Bernardoni from Gomo) and Grodno (consecrated in 1667), Roman–Catholic Church of Carmelites in Glubokoye (1735), St. Sophia Cathedral (Sophiisky Sobor) in Polotsk (11th century, rebuilt in 1750).

Belarusian culture occupies a special place in the world cultural heritage since it managed to preserve and restore many of its invaluable pearls despite wars, revolutions and social shocks.