Museums, monuments
| If you want to get up close with the poetic genius of Adam Mickiewicz and get a feel of the atmosphere of an old-fashioned gentry farm, then we invite you to visit the Mickiewicz Museum Estate in Zaosye! The museum estate in Zaosye was unveiled in 1998 to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the poet's birth. The estate, where he was born, was destroyed during Mickiewicz's lifetime. He wrote about this bitterly in his poems. Only drawings of the estate by Mickiewicz's friend Napoleon Orda and the teacher of the Novogrudok gymnasium Eduard Pavlovich have survived today. The latter sketched a Zaosye landscape in 1883, and it perfectly fits Zaosye’s poetic description made by Adam Mickiewicz in the Tukaj ballad. |
Drawing by Napoleon Orda, 1876. The annotation on the lithograph reads: "Drawing from nature by Napoleon Orda. Once the property of Adam Mickiewicz's uncle, Adam, who was born here on 24 December 1798 when his father Mikalai was managing his brother's farm." |
However, the debate about the place of Mickiewicz’s birth is still ongoing.
 Yard of the museum estate |
 Yard of the museum estate |
In the 19th century the poet and historian Vintses Korotynsky ironically remarked: “Seven Hellenic cities argued for the right to be called the birthplace of Homer, although none of them gave him shelter during his lifetime. A similar thing happened to our Mickiewicz. Praise God, he has only three birthplaces. Hopefully, in time, the list will get to seven.
Vintses Korotynsky, nicknamed the "bearded Litvin", referred to the following: Novogrudok was universally considered the place of birth of Adam Mickiewicz during his lifetime. But after his death the obituaries mentioned such a place as Zaosye. Vladislav Syrokomlya, a friend of Belarusian writer Vintsent Korotynski, believed that Adam Mickiewicz was born in Osowiec (Osovo). The same version, later completely rejected, was supported by the patriarch of Belarusian studies Adam Kirkor. According to Adam Mickiewicz’s elder brother Frantiszek, Adam was born in the roadside tavern Vygoda, not far from Zaosie. Adam's younger brother Aleksander and the poet's son Wladyslaw both pointed to Zaosie. Having compared many facts, researchers finally named Zaosie the birthplace of the great poet, though it has not been confirmed by documents until now.
 House Museum Interior |
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Archaeologists did a lot of work to pinpoint the house that gave the world the great genius. Their work was not in vain. After examining thick archive books and deep ditches they managed to find the foundation of Adam Mickiewicz’s house, restore its former appearance, and find the remains of household utensils. Tile and dishes helped recreate a typical manor house of a middle-class nobleman of that time. Some thirty similar estates have been discovered around Zaosie, but none of the them were destined to become as famous as this one. It took more than four years to restore the estate. Now Zaosie looks like it used to be in the early 19th century. Except perhaps for the dense forests and shady groves that once surrounded the farm. Today it is set within vast farming fields. The complex was opened in 1998. It is located on the site which once saw a farmstead that belonged to the Mickiewicz family and where the future great romantic poet was born on 24 December 1798. The museum complex repeats the layout of a traditional nobleman's estate from the 18th-early 19th century. The house is in the center. Opposite it is a barn, and next to it is a stable and a threshing floor. There is also a well, a cellar and a bathhouse on the bank of a small pond. |
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Unfortunately, no documents describing the interior of the estate have survived. Neither have any things that belonged to the poet. The decision was taken to simply recreate an estate of a small nobleman of the early 19th century. The description of the family nest of Pan Tadeusz, the famous hero of Adam Mickiewicz’s poem, was taken as a basis. The exposition called The Return of Pan Tadeusz boasts exhibits collected from around Belarus, and even some brought from Poland. The museum workers succeeded in recreating the unique period decor. There is a hunting rifle and the owner's trophies, including a huge boar's head and the wolf’s pelt in the hallway. The dining room features massive cupboards and crossed swords on the wall – a sign of nobility. There is also an elegant sitting room, an austere study and a kitchen with a huge stove. The Return of Pan Tadeusz exposition tells the story of the estate in Zaosie, demonstrates the restored interior, and, thanks to Adam Mickiewicz’s immortal poem Pan Tadeusz, recreates the images of the inhabitants of the old estate. |
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Adam Mickiewicz House Museum Zaosie
Address: village of Zaosie, Baranovichi District, Brest Oblast, Belarus, 225315
Baranovichi District map
Natural monuments of local importance
Yastrembelsky Park
Yastrembelsky Park, a botanical natural monument of local importance, is located in Baranovichi District, Brest Oblast, on the grounds of the Yastrembelsky estate and park (the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries).
The former residence of the Kotlubai noble family, the estate embraces the features of the Eclecticism architectural style and is of historical and cultural value.
The park has 143 species of plants, of which 32 are species of trees and 9 are shrubs. The plants, exotic for Belarus’ climatic conditions, include the Eastern white pine, the blue spruce, the Eastern white-cedar (all are natives to North America), the European larch and the Polish larch (mountains of Central Europe), the Sawara cypress (Japan), the Simon's poplar (Asia), and others.
Natural monument protection and use regime Prohibited activities:
illegal destruction, including felling, or damage to trees or any shrub vegetation, changing its species composition;
construction of buildings or new roads, works related to land disturbance, changes in the hydrological regime of the territory;
livestock driving and grazing, lighting fires, driving, parking and washing of cars, motorcycles and other motor vehicles, setting up tents, holding mass events outside the designated areas, polluting and littering the territory or causing any other damage to the natural state.
Placement of recreation zones and facilities, construction of buildings and structures, power lines, roads, pipelines and other utilities on the grounds of the natural monument shall be carried out in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Belarus in agreement with the Baranovichi City and District Inspectorate of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection.
Verkhne-Chernikhovsky Landscape Park
Verkhne-Chernikhovsky Landscape Park, a natural monument of local importance, is located in Baranovichi District, Brest Oblast, on the grounds of the former Verkhne-Chernikhovo estate, once the residence of the Rdultowski noble family (second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries).
The conservation area includes a 6.5ha landscape park. It has 180 species of plants, of which 24 are species of trees and 24 are species of shrubs. Rare species include the European larch and the Polish larch (native to mountains of Central Europe), the Eastern white pine, the tilia americana, the green ash (all native to North America), and the Chinese crab apple (China). Among the shrubs there are the common snowberry, the mountain currant, the cherry plum, etc. To arrange flower beds, the estate owners used perennials like the orange day-lily, the catnip, the sweet violet, etc.
The park is home to the small balsam, a rare species of adventitious plants, and to the giant puffball, the only place of this mushroom species in Baranovichi District.
Volnovsky Landscape Park
Volnovsky Landscape Park, a natural monument of local importance, is located in Baranovichi District, Brest Oblast, on the grounds of the former Volno estate, once the residence of the Slizien noble family (19th - early 20th centuries).
The conservation area includes a 6.7ha landscape park where you can see 153 plant species, of which 24 are trees and 19 are shrubs. The most notable plant species include the Polish larch (mountains of Central Europe) and the Siberian larch (West and East Siberia). Local shrub species include the euonymus verrucosus, the bird cherry, the salix fragilis, etc. To arrange flower beds, the estate owners used perennials like the common columbine, the alcea rosea, the sweet violet, the goldencreeper, etc. Goldencreeper is native to the Far East. The species was listed on the Red Book of the USSR and is under protection in Belarus.
Tuganovichsky Landscape Park
A natural monument of local importance, Tuganovichsky Landscape Park is located in Baranovichi District, Brest Oblast, on the grounds of a former estate where the Tuganovsky, Vereshchako and Mickiewicz families lived and worked in the 19th - early 20th centuries.
The 12ha park is a bright example of park design of the Romanticism period. The park is widely known abroad thanks to poet Adam Mickiewicz who visited the estate owner about two hundred years ago and was in love with his daughter Maryla.
The park has survived within its original boundaries, but has undergone significant changes. Its linden forest was badly damaged during the First World War. Twin oaks have survived since the Mickiewicz times. Younger single trees growing in the park include the oak, the linden, the maple, and the hornbeam.
Kroshinsky Landscape Park
Kroshinsky Landscape Park is a natural monument of local importance located in Baranovichi District, Brest Oblast, on the grounds of the former residence of the Svyatopolk-Zavadsky family.
The protected area represents a small park redesigned in 1905-1907 in the spirit of landscape eclectic design (5.5ha). The northern part of the park is occupied by a century-old forest dominated by the elms and the zelkovas.
Tartaki Spring
This natural monument of local importance is located 2 km south of the village of Tartaki, Baranovichi District, Brest Oblast. The Tartaki Spring is a unique hydrological and geological monument, a source of water for the Lokhozva River. This is one of the region’s few undisturbed springs. The spring has a high water quality and mineralization of 122 mg/l. According to local residents, the increased concentration of copper ions of this water produces a rejuvenating effect.
Yasenets Spring
This natural monument of local importance is located near the village of Yasenets, Baranovichi District, Brest Oblast, along the left bank of the Servech River. The spring consists of five small groundwater springs that come to the surface and form a small lake of 2.6x3.3m. The water is colorless, soft, and smells of hydrogen sulfide. The spring has a high water quality. Chemical analysis has established an increased concentration of copper and iron.
Natural monument protection and use regime Prohibited activities:
works related to changing the hydrological conditions of the area, altering water course, destructing banks and bank-protective vegetation;
extraction of minerals, land plowing, works that contribute to soil erosion,
disturbance of the natural state of soils, demolition works, bonfires, car parking, camping, mass events outside the established places, pollution and littering.
Leisure area arrangement, construction of buildings and premises, power lines, roads, laying of pipelines and other
engineering communications within the natural monument can be carried out in accordance with the legislation of the
Republic of Belarus in coordination with the Baranovichi City and District Inspectorate of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection.
The Philarets’ Stone
The natural monument is located in the Kut woodland in the village of Grechikhi, Baranovichi District, Brest Oblast.
Locals call the monument The Philarets’ Stone. During the years of study at the University of Vilna (1817-1823) Adam Mickiewicz, Tamash Zan, Yan Chachot, Ignatius Dameika, their friends and like-minded people - natives of Novogrudok District - were members of the secret societies of Philarets and Philomaths, which preached the ideas of enlightenment. When they visited their homeland, they gathered near the stone. The stone lay at a distance, in the forest, near a slope. This was the ideal place to have fun and talk about anything. Perhaps it was here where Adam Mickiewicz recited his Song of the Philarets for the first time.
It is believed that this place was described in Adam Mickiewicz’s poem Pan Tadeusz.
Natural monument protection and use regime Prohibited activities:
moving the boulder, making scratches, potholes, inscriptions on it;
extraction of minerals, land plowing, works that contribute to soil erosion,
disturbance of the natural state of soils, demolition works, pollution and littering.
Molchadskoe planting of European larch
Some 3km to the north-east of the village of Molchad there is an area planted to European larch which is native to coniferous mixed forests of Western and Central Europe. Within its natural range, European larch occupies mainly mountainous habitats in the Alps and Carpathians, mainly at altitudes between 1,000 and 2,500m above sea level. European larch is light-demanding and does not tolerate waterlogging. These trees are durable and live up to 500 years or more. Individual specimens reach a height of 50m (trees in Molchadskoye - 34m) with a trunk diameter of 80-100cm (45cm).
Tuganovichskiye twin oaks
This natural monument of national significance (since 1963) is located in Tuganovichsky Park, 0.5km away from the village of Karchevo, Baranovichi District, Brest Oblast.
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