Cat Museum – Minsk, Belarus - Atlas Obscura

Cat Museum

This Minsk museum has cat coffee, cat chess, cat art, and even a cat "staff," which visitors are free to take home. 

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At this museum in Minsk, visitors can enjoy anything and everything cat related. Why not drink a cup of cat coffee or cat tea while playing cat chess or cat checkers, admiring cat art? Or, if you prefer, pet one of the cats that comprise the museum’s “staff.”

The Cat Museum opened to the public in 2015. Jimmy the cat, the furry, four-legged “director” of the museum, welcomed everyone to the first exhibition. Titled Cats in the City, it showed photos, paintings, and other pieces of arts made by both Belarusian and foreign artists. Ever since, there have been cat-related exhibitions on display in the museum and visitors are also welcome to leave their own pieces of arts using the pens and papers provided.

The staff of the museum consists of cats that were previously strays. After veterinary inspection and vaccination, they become full-time employees at the Cat Museum. Of course, the director also has a few human employees to help out. And, unlike most museums, a visitor who finds a staff member they like in particular is welcome to bring him or her home if they promise to take good care of them.

Know Before You Go

The Cat Museum is only a short walk from the metro station Oktyabrskaya (Kastryčnickaja). It is open 11-21 Tuesday-Saturday, 11-4 Sunday, and closed Monday.

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