1519 BELARUS (Minsk City) - National Library of Belarus

1519 National Library of Belarus

The National Library of Belarus was founded on 15 September 1922, and houses the largest collection of Belarusian printed materials and the third largest collection of books in Russian behind the Russian State Library (Moscow) and the Russian National Library (St Petersburg). Since 2006 is located in a new 72m high building in Minsk, which can seat about 2,000 readers and features a 500-seat conference hall.

Its main architectural component has the shape of a rhombicuboctahedron. The library's new building was designed by architects Mihail Vinogradov and Viktor Kramarenko. It is situated in a park on a river bank and has an observation deck looking over Minsk. As of 2009 it is the only structure in Minsk with a public observation deck. The area in front of the library is used for many public concerts and shows.

About the stamp
The stamp is part of the 11th definitive issue Wild animals, released on December 10, 2014. The five stamps were designed by Marina Vitkovskaya, after the works of artist Alexander Mityanin:
• Raccoon dog / Nyctereutes procyonoides (Face value A)
• European Mink / Mustela lutreola (Face value N)
• Hare / Lepus eumpaeus (Face value M) - It's on the postcard 1519
• Grey Wolf / Canis Iupus (Face value H)
• European Pine Marten / Martes martes (Face value P)

References
National Library of Belarus - Wikipedia 

Sender: Yana / YanaChloe (postcrossing) BY-1581718
Sent from Babruysk (Mogilev / Belarus), on 28.03.2015
Photo: A. Kliashchuk