The city of Mstislav, Belarus. Mstislavl: the city of ancient history
Mstislavl (Belarusian: Mstsіslav, Amstsіslav) is a city in the Mogilev region of the Republic of Belarus. It is located on the Vikhra River, a tributary of the Sozh. It is located near the border with Russia (13 km), 95 km from Mogilev. The nearest railway station Khodosy on the Orsha-Krichev line is located 15 km to the west. Road junction.
Also, this ancient city is called "Little Vilnius", "Belarusian Suzdal".Story
Founded in 1135 by Prince Rostislav Mstislavovich of Smolensk and named after his father Mstislav the Great, the last prince of Kievan Rus. The first mention in the Ipatiev Chronicle for 1156. The territory of the Mstislav Principality included the lands not only of the current Mstislav region, but also of the Cherikovsky and Chaussky regions with the cities of Radoml and Ryasno. After the death of Prince David of Smolensk, Mstislav Romanovich's uncle, Mstislav Romanovich was recognized as Prince of Smolensk and annexed the Mstislav Principality to Smolensk. In 1359, the Lithuanian prince Olgerd captured Mstislavl and annexed it to the Lithuanian principality. Since that time, the history of Mstislavl as a separate principality begins, which, in addition to the present Mstislavshchina, included part of the Cherikovsky and most of the Chausy povets with the cities of Radomlya and Rasna. In 1386, taking advantage of the absence of the prince and other nobles, including his son Semyon (Lungvenius) Olgerdovich, due to the wedding and coronation of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Jagiello, Smolensk prince Svyatoslav laid siege to the city, but could not take it for 11 days. Lithuanian troops, led by the brothers Jagiello, princes Skirgailo and Vitovt, approached the city and after the battle on the banks of the Vihra lifted the siege. In the battle for the city, the nephew of the Smolensk prince Svyatoslav Ivan Vasilievich died. Semyon-Lugveny in the Battle of Grunwald commanded three East Slavic banners (regiments) - Smolensk, Mstislav and Starodubov - which withstood the first blow of the troops of the Teutonic Order. Semyon-Lugveny, having married an Orthodox, converted from Catholicism to Orthodoxy. He founded and began construction of the Pustynsky Monastery in the vicinity of Mstislavl, the ruins of which, now being restored, are today a place of pilgrimage. The prince became the founder of the dynasty of the Mstislav princes.
In 1514, Prince Mstislavsky Mikhail Mstislavsky annexed the principality to the Muscovite state, after the lost battle of Orsha he was forced to flee to Moscow, after which the principality became a starost.
In 1566, the Mstislav Voivodeship was formed with its center in Mstislavl.
In 1634, for loyalty, the king of the Commonwealth and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Vladislav IV, granted Magdeburg rights to the city, as well as a coat of arms. To increase income, the magistrate was allowed to build shops, grain barns, meat rows, city baths, wax slaughterhouses. Jews who had houses on urban land were equated in rights and duties with townspeople.
In 1654, after the capture of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich Smolensk by the troops, the boyar Alexei Nikitich Trubetskoy was sent to Mstislavl, who took the city by storm and carried out a cruel reprisal against the inhabitants of the city. The wooden castle on the mountain near the Carmelite Church, which is currently called the Castle, was burned.On August 30, 1708, near Mstislavl, near the village of Good, a battle took place between Russian and Swedish troops, in which the Swedes suffered their first tangible defeat. During a visit to the city, Peter I accepted a petition from city Jews who complained about the looting of soldiers.
After the accession of most of modern Belarus to Russia in 1772, as a result of the partition of the Commonwealth, the Mstislav Voivodeship was renamed into the province of the Belarusian-Mogilev Governorate, and a provincial office was established in Mstislavl.
In 1777 Mogilev province was divided into counties, Mstislavl became a county town, and the territory of the province was divided into other counties. In 1781 Mstislavl receives new coat of arms: red fox on a silver background. During Patriotic War In 1812 the city was devastated.In 1835, Thaddeus Bulgarin wrote in "Travel notes on a trip from Dorpat to Belarus and back":
After Cherikov, Chaus, Klimovichi and Krichev and all Belarusian cities in general, including Polotsk, excluding only Vitebsk and Mogilev, Mstislavl seemed to me the capital! … Many beautiful houses, especially on the square; the new cathedral is magnificent; Catholic churches of excellent and, so to speak, darling architecture, decent shops and, in general, a lot of life and movement in a city in which there are many Russian merchants. There is even a pharmacy, and a great one! This is more than amazing. The city lies on the steep bank of the Vehri River. From the river side, the view of the city is lovely. The remains of an earthen rampart that surrounded the city are still preserved.
In 1858, Mstislavl was badly damaged by fire, about 500 buildings burned down.
According to the 1897 census, there were 8514 inhabitants in the city. At the beginning of the 20th century - 1048 residential buildings, including 25 brick ones, male and female gymnasiums, 2 libraries, a publishing house, 3 monasteries, 3 churches, a church, a synagogue, a hospital, a pharmacy.
From 1919, Mstislavl was part of the Smolensk province of the RSFSR, was the center of the county, from July 17, 1924 - part of the BSSR, the regional center of the Mogilev region.
Vladimir Korotkevich wrote the documentary book "Mstislavl" about the city.
description
City Mstislavl, often called "Little Vilnius" for its architecture and appearance, is one of the most attractive cities for those who choose recreation and tourism in Belarus. Mstislavl is located 95 kilometers from Mogilev near the Russian border on the banks of the Vihra River.
City `s history begins in 1135 - Prince of Smolensk Roman Rostislavovich founded a fortified settlement here. Soon the city became part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and was one of the most powerful fortresses of the state, despite the constant attacks of Russian troops. For loyalty in 1634, Mstislavl received from the King of the Commonwealth Vladislav the Fourth the Magdeburg Law. However, in 1772 the city became part of Russian Empire.
The city is amazing from the first minute wealth of historical places. It is best to start the tour from Maiden Mountain in Mstislav, about which there are many legends. In ancient times, there was a settlement on this natural hill. But in the 18th century, the Ostrozhsky magnates strewed the slopes of the mountain with crushed chalk in the summer and rode on a sleigh, imitating the princes Radziwills. Another attraction of Belarus - the castle hill in Mstislavl - is the former citadel of the medieval city, which has preserved elements of ditches and ramparts.
There is great interest and temples of the city. Thus, the Carmelite Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Mstislavl preserved fresco paintings of the 17th century: “The Capture of Mstislav by Moscow troops in 1654” and “The Trubetskaya massacre, or the Murder of priests”, showing the most tragic pages in the history of the city. In addition to the church itself, the service building of the Carmelite monastery has survived to this day. The church of the Jesuit monastery of St. Michael the Archangel in Mstislavl, built in the first half of the 18th century, has also been preserved. Near the temple are the buildings of the monastic collegium and pharmacies of the 18th century.
There are also Orthodox churches in the city: the Holy Cross Church (1871) and the Church of St. Alexander Nevsky in Mstislavl, built in 1870 on the site of a Catholic church. During the war, German soldiers were buried near this church.
strolling along the central streets of the city, the tourist will see residential wooden houses 19th century, the building of the noble assembly "Paris" in Mstislavl, the building of the zemstvo council, the men's gymnasium and other buildings of pre-revolutionary ordinary buildings. It is worth visiting the shopping malls in Mstislavl, built in the early 20th century. Trade rows are located on the site of the ancient market.
The fire tower in Mstislavl is also an architectural monument of the early 20th century. Firefighters and rescuers watched day and night outside the city from her height to prevent disaster. Hear stories about significant events and guests of the city can visit the local history museum of Mstislavl. It is impossible not to mention two monuments to the famous native of the city - Pyotr Mstislavets, one of the first Belarusian book printers.
Mstislavl has become a place holding jousting tournaments and festivals where a tourist who has chosen a vacation in Belarus can visit the city of craftsmen, learn about medieval crafts and try himself as a knight or a medieval lady.
Excursion to Mstislavl will leave behind unforgettable impressions. Thanks to ancient traditions and preserved historical monuments, the city never ceases to attract the attention of tourists.
Story
Ancient history
The oldest settlement on the territory of the city is the settlement (Devichya Gora) of the Dnieper-Dvina culture (before the 1st century BC). But the city directly arose on Castle Hill: in 1959, a cultural layer with wooden buildings and objects of the 12th century was found here. Ancient city consisted of a princely castle with a rampart and a moat and a nearby settlement. In 1980, a fragment of a birch bark letter from the early 13th century was found in Mstislavl. In 2014, in the layer of the first half of the 12th century on the territory of the castle, another birch-bark letter and a blank of a letter were found containing two letters and the princely trident sign.
After the war, a small obelisk was erected in the Kagalny ditch with an inscription about the "brutal execution of the Jewish population of the city of Mstislavl." After a short time, it was demolished and only in 2005 a new memorial sign was installed (this time the word Jews was not on it). In 2011, on the 70th anniversary of the tragedy, the monument was updated and an inscription was added on it: “On this place, the fascist executioners brutally killed 1300 Jews on October 15, 1941, and later in 1941-1943. - 168 Belarusians and 35 Gypsies, mostly women, children and the elderly.”
General plan
In the Mstislav Church of the Carmelites, frescoes (mid-18th century) in the Baroque style have been preserved, of which “The Capture of Mstislavl by Moscow troops in 1654” and “The Beating of Priests” stand out.
Not far from Mstislavl was the Tupichevsky Holy Spirit Monastery, where the Church of the Descent of St. Spirit with paintings on a wooden cobblestone wall.
About the city, Vladimir Korotkevich wrote a documentary book "Mstislavl".
Economy
By industry
Attractions
On the territory of the city there are two archaeological monuments - Devichya Gora (fortification of the 1st century BC) and Castle Hill (medieval town).
There are two monuments to Pyotr Mstislavets in the city, as well as a monument to the first county commissar and chairman of the executive committee of the Mstislav Council of Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Deputies A. L. Yurchenko.
Architecture
The buildings of the Carmelite (1637, rebuilt 1746-50) and Jesuit churches (1730-38, rebuilt in 1836) are of architectural interest.
Famous natives and residents of the Mstislavsky district
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An excerpt characterizing Mstislavl
Bon, je vous laisse dans votre petit coin. Je vois, que vous y etes tres bien, [Okay, I'll leave you in your corner. I see you feel good there,] - said the voice of Anna Pavlovna.And Pierre, recalling with fear whether he had done something reprehensible, blushing, looked around him. It seemed to him that everyone knew, as well as he, about what had happened to him.
After a while, when he approached the large mug, Anna Pavlovna said to him:
- On dit que vous embellissez votre maison de Petersbourg. [They say you are finishing your St. Petersburg house.]
(It was true: the architect said that he needed it, and Pierre, not knowing why, was finishing his huge house in St. Petersburg.)
- C "est bien, mais ne demenagez pas de chez le prince Basile. Il est bon d" avoir un ami comme le prince, she said, smiling at Prince Vasily. - J "en sais quelque chose. N" est ce pas? [That's good, but don't move away from Prince Vasily. It's good to have such a friend. I know something about it. Isn't it?] And you're still so young. You need advice. You are not angry with me that I use the rights of old women. - She fell silent, as women are always silent, waiting for something after they say about their years. - If you marry, then another matter. And she put them together in one look. Pierre did not look at Helen, and she at him. But she was still terribly close to him. He mumbled something and blushed.
Returning home, Pierre could not sleep for a long time, thinking about what had happened to him. What happened to him? Nothing. He only realized that the woman he knew as a child, about whom he absentmindedly said: “Yes, good,” when he was told that Helen was beautiful, he realized that this woman could belong to him.
“But she is stupid, I myself said she was stupid,” he thought. - There is something nasty in the feeling that she aroused in me, something forbidden. I was told that her brother Anatole was in love with her, and she was in love with him, that there was a whole story, and that Anatole was expelled from this. Her brother is Ippolit... Her father is Prince Vasily... This is not good, he thought; and at the same time as he was reasoning like this (these reasonings were still unfinished), he forced himself to smile and realized that another series of reasonings had surfaced because of the first ones, that at the same time he was thinking about her insignificance and dreaming about how she would be his wife, how she could love him, how she could be completely different, and how everything he thought and heard about her could be untrue. And he again saw her not as some kind of daughter of Prince Vasily, but saw her whole body, only covered with a gray dress. “But no, why didn’t this thought occur to me before?” And again he told himself that it was impossible; that something nasty, unnatural, as it seemed to him, dishonest would be in this marriage. He remembered her former words, looks, and the words and looks of those who had seen them together. He remembered the words and looks of Anna Pavlovna when she told him about the house, remembered thousands of such hints from Prince Vasily and others, and he was horrified that he had not bound himself in any way in the performance of such a thing, which, obviously, was not good. and which he must not do. But at the same time as he was expressing this decision to himself, from the other side of his soul her image surfaced with all its feminine beauty.
In November 1805, Prince Vasily had to go to four provinces for an audit. He arranged this appointment for himself in order to visit his ruined estates at the same time, and taking with him (at the location of his regiment) his son Anatole, together with him to call on Prince Nikolai Andreevich Bolkonsky in order to marry his son to the daughter of this rich old man. But before leaving and these new affairs, Prince Vasily had to resolve matters with Pierre, who, it is true, had spent whole days at home, that is, with Prince Vasily, with whom he lived, he was ridiculous, agitated and stupid (as he should being in love) in Helen's presence, but still not proposing.
“Tout ca est bel et bon, mais il faut que ca finisse”, [All this is good, but it must be ended] - Prince Vasily said to himself once in the morning with a sigh of sadness, realizing that Pierre, who owed so much to him (well, yes Christ be with him!), does not do very well in this matter. “Youth ... frivolity ... well, God bless him,” thought Prince Vasily, feeling his kindness with pleasure: “mais il faut, que ca finisse. After Lelyna's name day tomorrow, I will call someone, and if he does not understand what he must do, then this will be my business. Yes, my business. I am the father!”
Pierre, a month and a half after Anna Pavlovna's evening and the sleepless, agitated night that followed, in which he decided that marrying Helen would be a misfortune, and that he needed to avoid her and leave, Pierre after this decision did not move from Prince Vasily and with horror felt that every day he was more and more connected with her in the eyes of people, that he could not return to his former view of her, that he could not tear himself away from her, that it would be terrible, but that he would have to connect with her own destiny. Perhaps he could have abstained, but not a day passed that Prince Vasily (who rarely had a reception) would not have an evening at which Pierre was supposed to be, if he did not want to upset the general pleasure and deceive everyone's expectations. Prince Vasily, in those rare moments when he was at home, passing Pierre, pulled his hand down, absently offered him a shaved, wrinkled cheek for a kiss and said either “see you tomorrow” or “for dinner, otherwise I won’t see you” , or “I stay for you,” etc. But despite the fact that when Prince Vasily remained for Pierre (as he said it), he did not say a few words to him, Pierre did not feel able to deceive his expectations . Every day he said to himself one and the same thing: “We must, finally, understand her and give ourselves an account: who is she? Was I wrong before or am I wrong now? No, she is not stupid; No, she's a beautiful girl! he said to himself sometimes. “She is never wrong about anything, she has never said anything stupid. She doesn't say much, but what she says is always simple and clear. So she's not stupid. She has never been embarrassed and never is embarrassed. So she's not a bad woman!" Often it happened to her to begin to reason, to think aloud, and each time she answered him either with a short, but incidentally said remark, showing that she was not interested in it, or with a silent smile and look, which most palpably showed Pierre her superiority. She was right to dismiss all reasoning as nonsense compared to that smile.
She always turned to him with a joyful, trusting smile that applied to him alone, in which there was something more significant than what was in the general smile that always adorned her face. Pierre knew that everyone was only waiting for him to finally say one word, to step over a certain line, and he knew that sooner or later he would step over it; but some kind of incomprehensible horror seized him at the mere thought of this terrible step. A thousand times during this month and a half, during which he felt himself drawn further and further into that abyss that terrified him, Pierre said to himself: “But what is this? It takes determination! Don't I have it?"
He wanted to make up his mind, but he felt with horror that in this case he did not have that determination that he knew in himself and which really was in him. Pierre was one of those people who are strong only when they feel completely pure. And from the day that he was possessed by that feeling of desire that he experienced over Anna Pavlovna's snuffbox, an unconscious sense of the guilt of this desire paralyzed his resolve.
On Helen's name day, Prince Vasily had dinner with a small community of people closest to him, as the princess said, relatives and friends. All these relatives and friends were given to feel that on this day the fate of the birthday girl should be decided.
The guests were at dinner. Princess Kuragina, a massive, once beautiful, imposing woman, was sitting in the master's seat. On both sides of it sat the most honored guests - the old general, his wife, Anna Pavlovna Sherer; at the end of the table sat the less elderly and honored guests, and there sat the family, Pierre and Helen, side by side. Prince Vasily did not have supper: he walked around the table, in a cheerful mood, sitting down first to one or another of the guests. To each he spoke carelessly and nice word, except for Pierre and Helen, whose presence he did not notice, it seemed. Prince Vasily revived everyone. Wax candles burned brightly, silver and crystal of dishes, ladies' dresses and gold and silver epaulets shone; servants in red caftans scurried around the table; there were the sounds of knives, glasses, plates, and the sounds of the lively conversation of several conversations around this table. At one end the old chamberlain could be heard assuring the old baroness of his fiery love for her and her laughter; on the other hand, a story about the failure of some kind of Marya Viktorovna. At the middle of the table, Prince Vasily gathered listeners around him. He told the ladies, with a playful smile on his lips, the last - on Wednesday - meeting of the State Council, at which Sergey Kuzmich Vyazmitinov, the new St. Sergei Kuzmich, he said that from all sides he receives statements about the loyalty of the people, and that the statement of St. Petersburg is especially pleasant to him, that he is proud of the honor of being the head of such a nation and will try to be worthy of it. This rescript began with the words: Sergey Kuzmich! Rumors reach me from all sides, etc.
- So it didn’t go further than “Sergei Kuzmich”? one lady asked.
“Yes, yes, not a hair,” replied Prince Vasily, laughing. - Sergei Kuzmich ... from all sides. From all sides, Sergei Kuzmich... Poor Vyazmitinov could not go any further. Several times he began to write again, but Sergey would just say ... sobbing ... Ku ... zmi ... ch - tears ... and from all sides they were drowned out by sobs, and he could not go any further. And again a handkerchief, and again “Sergei Kuzmich, from all sides,” and tears ... so that they already asked to read another.
- Kuzmich ... from all sides ... and tears ... - repeated someone laughing.
“Don’t be angry,” Anna Pavlovna said, shaking her finger from the other end of the table, “c "est un si brave et excellent homme notre bon Viasmitinoff ... [This is such a wonderful person, our good Vyazmitinov ...]
Everyone laughed a lot. At the upper honorable end of the table, everyone seemed to be cheerful and under the influence of the most varied lively moods; only Pierre and Helene sat silently side by side almost at the lower end of the table; a radiant smile, independent of Sergei Kuzmich, was restrained on the faces of both - a smile of shame in front of their feelings. No matter what they said and no matter how others laughed and joked, no matter how appetizing they ate rhine wine, and sauté, and ice cream, no matter how they avoided this couple with their eyes, no matter how indifferent, inattentive to her, it was felt for some reason, by occasionally thrown at them glances that the joke about Sergei Kuzmich, and laughter, and food - everything was feigned, and all the forces of the attention of this whole society were directed only to this couple - Pierre and Helen. Prince Vasily imagined the sobs of Sergei Kuzmich and at the same time looked around his daughter; and while he was laughing, his expression said: “Well, well, everything is going well; Everything will be decided today." Anna Pavlovna threatened him for notre bon Viasmitinoff, and in her eyes, which flashed briefly at Pierre at that moment, Prince Vasily read congratulations on the future son-in-law and the happiness of his daughter. The old princess, offering wine to her neighbor with a sad sigh and looking angrily at her daughter, with this sigh seemed to be saying: “Yes, now there is nothing left for you and me but to drink sweet wine, my dear; now is the time for this youth to be so defiantly defiantly happy.” “And what nonsense is all that I tell, as if it interests me,” the diplomat thought, looking at the happy faces of his lovers, “this is happiness!”
Among those insignificantly petty, artificial interests that bound this society, there was a simple feeling of striving of a beautiful and healthy young man and woman for each other. And this human feeling overwhelmed everything and hovered above all their artificial babble. The jokes were not funny, the news was uninteresting, the animation obviously fake. Not only they, but the lackeys who served at the table seemed to feel the same and forgot the order of the service, looking at the beautiful Helene with her beaming face and at the red, fat, happy and restless face of Pierre. It seemed that the lights of the candles were focused only on these two happy faces.
Pierre felt that he was the center of everything, and this position both pleased and embarrassed him. He was in the state of a man deep in some kind of occupation. He didn't see anything clearly, didn't understand, and didn't hear anything. Only occasionally, unexpectedly, fragmentary thoughts and impressions from reality flickered in his soul.
“It's all over! he thought. – And how did it all happen? So fast! Now I know that not for her alone, not for myself alone, but for all this must inevitably come to pass. They are all so looking forward to it, so sure it will be, that I can't, I can't deceive them. But how will it be? Don't know; but it will be, it will certainly be!” thought Pierre, looking at those shoulders that glittered right next to his eyes.
Then suddenly he felt ashamed of something. He was embarrassed that he alone occupied the attention of everyone, that he was a lucky man in the eyes of others, that he, with his ugly face, was some kind of Paris possessing Elena. “But, it’s true, it always happens like that and it’s necessary,” he consoled himself. “And, by the way, what did I do for this?” When did it start? From Moscow, I went with Prince Vasily. There was nothing here yet. Then why didn't I stop at his place? Then I played cards with her and picked up her purse and went skating with her. When did it start, when did it all happen? And here he sits beside her as a bridegroom; hears, sees, feels her closeness, her breath, her movements, her beauty. Then suddenly it seems to him that it is not she, but he himself is so extraordinarily beautiful that that is why they look at him like that, and he, happy with the general surprise, straightens his chest, raises his head and rejoices at his happiness. Suddenly a voice, someone's familiar voice, is heard and says something to him another time. But Pierre is so busy that he does not understand what they say to him. “I ask you when you received a letter from Bolkonsky,” Prince Vasily repeats for the third time. “How distracted you are, my dear.
Prince Vasily smiles, and Pierre sees that everyone, everyone is smiling at him and Helen. “Well, well, if you know everything,” Pierre said to himself. "Well? it’s true,” and he himself smiled his meek, childish smile, and Helen smiles.
– When did you receive it? From Olmutz? - repeats Prince Vasily, who supposedly needs to know this in order to resolve the dispute.
“And is it possible to talk and think about such trifles?” thinks Pierre.
“Yes, from Olmutz,” he replies with a sigh.
From dinner, Pierre led his lady after the others into the living room. The guests began to leave, and some left without saying goodbye to Helen. As if not wanting to interrupt her from her serious occupation, some of them came up for a minute and quickly left, forbidding her to see them off. The diplomat was sadly silent as he left the living room. He imagined all the futility of his diplomatic career in comparison with Pierre's happiness. The old general grumbled angrily at his wife when she asked him about the condition of his leg. Eka, you old fool, he thought. “Here is Elena Vasilievna, so she will be a beauty even at 50.”
“It seems that I can congratulate you,” Anna Pavlovna whispered to the princess and kissed her warmly. “If it weren’t for a migraine, I would have stayed.
The princess did not answer; she was tormented by envy of her daughter's happiness.
Pierre, during the farewell of the guests, remained for a long time alone with Helen in the small drawing room, where they sat down. He had often before, in the last month and a half, been left alone with Helen, but he had never spoken to her of love. Now he felt it was necessary, but he couldn't bring himself to take that last step. He was ashamed; it seemed to him that here, beside Helene, he was occupying someone else's place. This happiness is not for you, some inner voice told him. - This is happiness for those who do not have what you have. But he had to say something, and he spoke. He asked her if she was satisfied with this evening? She, as always, with her simplicity answered that the current name day was one of the most pleasant for her.
Some of the closest relatives still remained. They sat in a large living room. Prince Vasily walked up to Pierre with lazy steps. Pierre got up and said that it was already late. Prince Vasily looked at him sternly inquiringly, as if what he said was so strange that it was impossible to hear. But after that, the expression of severity changed, and Prince Vasily pulled Pierre down by the arm, sat him down and smiled affectionately.
- Well, Lelya? - he immediately turned to his daughter with that careless tone of habitual tenderness, which is acquired by parents who caress their children from childhood, but which Prince Vasily was only guessed by imitating other parents.
And he again turned to Pierre.
“Sergey Kuzmich, from all sides,” he said, unbuttoning the top button of his waistcoat.
Pierre smiled, but it was evident from his smile that he understood that it was not the anecdote of Sergei Kuzmich that interested Prince Vasily at that time; and Prince Vasily realized that Pierre understood this. Prince Vasily suddenly murmured something and left. It seemed to Pierre that even Prince Vasily was embarrassed. The sight of the embarrassment of this old man of the world touched Pierre; he looked back at Helen - and she seemed to be embarrassed and said with a look: "well, you yourself are to blame."
“I must inevitably step over, but I can’t, I can’t,” thought Pierre, and spoke again about an outsider, about Sergei Kuzmich, asking what this anecdote consisted of, since he did not catch it. Helen replied with a smile that she didn't know either.
When Prince Vasily entered the drawing room, the princess spoke quietly to the elderly lady about Pierre.
- Of course, c "est un parti tres brillant, mais le bonheur, ma chere ... - Les Marieiages se font dans les cieux, [Of course, this is a very brilliant party, but happiness, my dear ... - Marriages are made in heaven,] - answered elderly lady.
Prince Vasily, as if not listening to the ladies, went to a far corner and sat down on the sofa. He closed his eyes and seemed to be dozing. His head was about to fall, and he woke up.
Little Vilnius, Belarusian Suzdal, Danish Linnholm-Hoje - as soon as they do not call 880-year-old Mstislavl. A small regional center almost on the border of the Mogilev and Smolensk regions is just right to be turned into an open-air museum.
TUT.BY found 5 reasons for you to visit Mstislavl.
On the ancient streets of Mstislavl, majestic centuries-old buildings have been preserved. However, a lot of the wealth of the city is hidden underground - archaeologists are looking for them, competing in speed with black diggers: the Mstislav land is literally strewn with the bones of warriors, armor, and the remains of household items. What they find is given to museums: local, Mogilev or Minsk.
Reason one. Face of Christ, healing spring and temple-ruins
About Holy Dormition monastery a rare Belarusian does not know. The holy place is also popular with Russians: we have not yet seen that in the parking lot in front of the territory of the monastery there were no cars with a tricolor on the number. Believers claim that they almost physically feel grace here. Suggestible people claim to feel someone's invisible presence.
The Pustynsky Monastery is located 10 km from the center of Mstislavl, but it is worth a visit. It is considered the oldest Orthodox monastery in the Mogilev region and is only 2.5 centuries younger than Mstislavl.
It was founded by one of the founders of the Mstislav princes Lugven or Lugven, the tenth son of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Olgerd. According to legend, after a serious illness, the prince began to lose his sight. He was practically blind when he once had a dream in which an old man appeared and said: “Go to the desert [monastic settlement], wash yourself from the source and you will receive healing.”
The prince began to look for that desert and came to the spring not far from Mstislavl. Lugven washed himself with spring water and was healed - his sight returned to him. In the branches of a linden tree that grew near the source, he allegedly saw the image of the Mother of God. Accepting his healing as her grace, the grateful prince decided to build a monastery on the site of the miraculous spring.
In 1801-1808 the stone Assumption Cathedral was built. In 1864, right on the source, the Church of the Nativity was built and consecrated. Holy Mother of God. The multi-tiered hipped bell tower with a height of 58.67 m is already a century and a half, like the Church of the Intercession.
In the pre-revolutionary years, there was an Orthodox brotherhood, a church peasant school, a library of 656 books, which were distributed and sent out for free. After the October Revolution, in 1925, the monks were evicted from the monastery. Orphaned children were placed in monastic cells, forming Pustynsky Orphanage. The property of the Pustynsky monastery, including icons, was confiscated.
For all the years of the Great Patriotic War, not a single building was destroyed in Pustynki, not a single child died here, although the orphanage was not evacuated. In 1942, during the three summer months, a German military unit was based on the territory of the monastery.
In the post-war period, the monastery walls again sheltered orphans, the number of which reached 350 people. Largely due to this, the monastery buildings have survived to this day.
In Soviet times, the monastery complex was seriously damaged. Windows were taken out of buildings, roofs were dismantled, floors were blown up, stoves were taken away. They tried to break the walls of the Assumption Cathedral with tractors, the fence around the monastery was plundered. Civil defense exercises began to be held on the territory of the monastery. They burned and destroyed what was left of the survivors. By 2000, the territory of the monastery was overgrown with weeds.
Work on the restoration of the monastery began in 2003. During the repair of one of the buildings where the school used to be, a face was found on the wall, which, according to believers, is surprisingly similar to the face of Christ on the Shroud of Turin. They say that there used to be a school board. Since 2005, monks have again settled in the monastery.
The second reason. Castle Hill
Perhaps one of the main places where you can feel the flow of time is Castle Hill. Once it was surrounded by deep ditches, and behind them - a high rampart. Behind the fortifications on the upper platform of the mountain there was a citadel of medieval Mstislavl. From the south, the so-called Okolny city adjoined it, also surrounded by ramparts and a moat.
The entrance to the castle passed through a wooden drawbridge thrown over a moat. In the center of the fortress stood an octagonal donjon tower, built at the end of the 15th - 16th centuries. In the castle were the prince and the prince's squad. Along the narrow circle stood the houses of the inhabitants, on the south side a wooden church was built, in the center stood the prince's house.
Castle Hill and its surroundings is the Mecca of archaeologists. Here, during the excavations, the remains of fortifications, mansions with tiled stoves, etc. were found. Below the citadel (castle), the settlement of Mstislavl was discovered with the remains of wooden buildings, streets, paved logs, and numerous household items of the 12th-13th centuries.
Now there is an excavation on the mountain, which was turned into a small museum thanks to the efforts of students of Moscow State University. A. Kuleshov, headed by Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor Igor Marzalyuk. According to Igor Aleksandrovich, for the sake of this, 600 cubic meters were literally sorted out by hand. m of land. Stone millstones of the 18th century were found in the excavation; the name of the spindle whorl of the 12th century - the name of the girl who left the inscription on it - has not yet been deciphered. The materials found here, including samples of the wood from which the pavement was made, give reason to say that Mstislavl is at least 80 years older.
For most of the year, Castle Hill is empty. And only in it are hundreds of knights in armor and spectators filled.
By the way, next to the mountain, a monument was opened to that same Lugven, the ancestor of the princes Mstislavsky, the hero of the Battle of Grunwald.
Reason three. Mstislavsky "Paris" and architecture of the XIX - XX centuries
Not far from the Central Square stands a well-preserved three-story red brick building. Previously, the noble assembly and the hotel "Paris" were located here. The name remains - it is worn by a hairdresser, which is located on the ground floor. Now it houses the educational building of the Mstislavsky Construction College. By the way, in Mstislavl there were also hotels with the names "Berlin" and "Eagle", but they have not been preserved.
The building of the zemstvo council has also been perfectly preserved, as well as the county school, the 20-meter fire tower, the buildings of the men's gymnasium, and the treasury.
The shopping malls in Mstislavl are a monument of architecture and history. They were built at the beginning of the 20th century on the site of an ancient market that existed there from the Middle Ages until the 19th century.
Mstislavl has always been a trading city. The fame of his merchant traditions spread far beyond the borders of the Belarusian lands: merchants came to Mstislavl from all over the world, and you could find almost anything on the market - the rows stood in the center of Mstislavl, to the right of the building of the local executive committee and the monument to Peter Mstislavets.
These squat houses are now home to modern shops.
Reason four. Carmelite Church and Jesuit Collegium
The Carmelite Church is the most valuable architectural monument of Mstislavl. It began to be built in 1637. The plan of the temple is close to a square, which fundamentally distinguishes it from traditional basilica churches.
The interior of the church is decorated with moldings and frescoes with religious scenes. Two central frescoes are dedicated to the capture of the city in 1654 by Troubetzkoy's troops (one depicts the Mstislav Castle, the other depicts the massacre of priests). The fresco painting dates back to the second half of the 17th century. True, scaffolding has been standing inside the temple for 20 years, but you can see something through them.
The stone Jesuit church of St. Michael the Archangel is one of the dominant features of Mstislavl, a baroque monument. The Ensemble of the Collegium is included in state list historical and cultural values of Belarus.
The construction of the Jesuit church began in 1730 with the support of King Sigismund III. The work progressed slowly: only in 1748, under the leadership of Benedict Mezmer, the church was finally completed.
After the suppression of the gentry uprising of 1830-1831. the buildings of the former monastery were transferred to the Orthodox, the church was closed. In 1842, the Jesuit church was reconstructed and converted into the Orthodox St. Nicholas Cathedral.
At the moment, from the ensemble of the Jesuit collegium, the church of St. Michael the Archangel, the building of the collegium, pharmacies, service buildings, as well as a fence and chapels have been preserved. There is a kind of hostel in the collegium, and on its territory during the days of the knight's festival they set up a tent city.
Reason five. Selfie with a knight and Peter Mstislavets
Two monuments to Peter Mstislavets, a book printer and associate of Ivan Fedorov, have been erected in the city. Together with him, Mstislavets printed in Moscow the first accurately dated Russian printed book, The Apostle (1564), and in 1565, two editions of The Clockworker.
The first monument to Peter Mstislavets stands near the Jesuit Collegium. The second one is on the Central Square opposite the building of the district executive committee: it was installed on September 2, 2001.
Near the bistro Old city- also in the center of Mstislavl - there are two knights, on their shields - the coat of arms of Mstislavl. According to locals, the knights were made by college students.
Tourists
Despite the small size of the city, it has where
Mstislavl(Belarusian Mstsіslav, Amstsіslav) is a city in the Mogilev region of Belarus. It is located on the Vikhra River, a tributary of the Sozh. It is located near the border with Russia (13 km), 95 km from Mogilev. The population is only 11 thousand people.
Not a town, but a dream - quiet, small, clean and beautiful. There are no high-rise buildings in the center, and it (the city center) is just tiny: a house of deputies, a registry office, a recreation center, a restaurant, a hotel, a department store, a couple of cafeterias and a number of various shops, a bank, a couple of cellular communication points, a pharmacy, a construction college. The Alexander Nevsky Church, the Jesuit Monastery, the Exaltation of the Cross Church - there are many historical and architectural monuments in Mstislavl. You can get around all this in half an hour - an hour (external examination, of course). Further from the center there is a library and a music school. If in the center of the street, as if drawn by a ruler, then towards the outskirts they begin to wag and “jump” over the hills. Low-rise buildings adjacent to private wooden houses and vegetable gardens. There are few cars, enough parking lots, wonderful roads, greenery all around. You can describe for a long time and with pleasure.
I mean, this time we had a wonderful rest!
Perhaps we were not too lucky with the weather (although it was warm, but it was raining), but we also managed to ride bicycles (issued by my uncle) through the fields and hills. Go to the bath a couple of times ... Breathe fresh air and enjoy the peace and tranquility.
And this is Deserts - Pustynsky Monastery founded in the 14th century. (8 km east of the city).
In January 2002, he looked like this
Now it's different
Bell tower The Pustynsky monastery is being restored with might and main (the movement is noticeable - we were there a month ago).
And now it's 2009
School almost completely restored in the monastery (see right).
According to the monks, after they settled in this abandoned monastery, the face of Christ appeared on one of the inner walls of the school - we saw him, admission is free.
Church of the Nativity of the Virgin completely restored and functioning, rebuilt bath on the key. This temple was built over the spring, where, according to legend, in 1380, Lugven, the son of Grand Duke Olgerd, regained his sight. After that, he founded a monastery.
Residential and utility buildings have been completely restored, a garden and a vegetable garden have been planted.
Huge ruins Assumption Cathedral(1801-08), to be honest, magnificent! I would not restore them, but mothballed them (so that they would not be destroyed further) - an impressive sight!
The Church of the Intercession and the private building (1860s) are not being restored, but they are quite well preserved, I think it will come to that.
The beauty!!!
Mstislavl- (the regional center of the region) was first mentioned in the Ipatiev Chronicle under 1156 as a fortress on the western border of the Smolensk principality. Historians have an opinion that the settlement arose half a century earlier and its name is associated with Prince Mstislav Vladimirovich, the son of Vladimir Monomakh, who ruled Smolensk at the beginning of the 12th century. (L. Alekseev).
The economic and cultural development of Mstislavl was facilitated by its location on the Vihra River (the Sozh and Dnieper basins) and the crossroads of overland roads from the western lands to Smolensk and Moscow. In 1569, Mstislavl became the center of the vast Mstislav province, which included the cities of Mogilev, Orsha, and Krichev.
Being a border city between Lithuania and Russia, Mstislavl was often subjected to sieges. In 1648, an uprising began in the province, which was supported by Russian troops. In 1654 Mstislavl was taken by Prince Trubetskoy and its fortifications were razed to the ground.
In Mstislavl, two historical and archaeological monument: Devichya Gora and Zamkovaya Gora. Both mountains are now under state protection as archeological monuments.
An idea of the old layout of Mstislavl, which has grown near the ancient castle, is given by a schematic background on the design plan of the city in 1778. It can be seen from it that the two main street directions originated from the citadel and passed into the roads to Mogilev and Cherikov. These streets were not distinguished by a clear tracing, they had breaks. The irregularity can be traced in the entire network of streets, alleys and dead ends of the city, which is explained by the rugged relief, on the one hand, and the norms and way of life of a medieval city, on the other. The saturation of the territory with a street network is noted near the citadel.
Project of the city of Mstislavl 1778 was completed without taking into account the historical layout. In essence, a completely new, strictly regular (geometrically "correct") design plan was developed, in which, however, all monuments of architecture and archeology were preserved. Rectangular layout late XVIII in. with an axial composition, on which the squares were strung, has survived with minor changes to our time and more reflects the urban planning policy of the period of reorganization of the cities of the Russian Empire than the layout of the old Mstislavl (until the 18th century).
The monumental architectural monuments of Mstislavl appear to be a former Jesuit church with a monastery - now Nikolaevsky Cathedral, the Carmelite church and the church of Alexander Nevsky, built in 1877 on the basis of the Bernardine church.
Other religious buildings of Mstislavl, such as the wooden churches of the Orthodox brotherhood or the Dominican church, burned down or were dismantled in the 18th-19th centuries. The prefabricated church of Alexander Nevsky, towering over the entire building of the city (it was mentioned above), has more historical value than artistic value.
Not far from Mstislavl, interesting historical and architectural monuments have also been preserved: the Pustynsky Monastery, founded in the 14th century. (8 km east of the city), Mozolovsky Monastery, built in the 17th century. (12 km towards Mogilev), and the Onufriev Monastery, founded in the 15th century. (16 km towards Krichev). They, like the monuments of Mstislavl, say a lot about the culture of this corner of the Belarusian land.