Vilna Baroque- the scientific name of the late Baroque in the monumental religious architecture of Belarus and the Vilnius region (the unofficial name is the Uniate Baroque); created on the basis of a creative synthesis of Byzantine and Western European art a type of Baroque artistic style that spread in the second and third quarters of the 18th century. in the area of distribution of the Brest Church Union on the territory of the Vilna Roman Catholic Diocese. The Uniate Church became the soil for the growth of the artistic principles of this style. Formation of the architectonics of Uniate churches based on the traditions of local architecture, taking into account eastern and western artistic influences, liturgical requirements and confessional symbols of both the Catholic and Orthodox branches of the Christian cult, determined the vivid national identity of the Vilna Baroque.
The architectural monuments of this school are distinguished by the sophistication and verticalism of proportions, the sculptural plasticity of facades and interiors, the picturesque and slender silhouette created by multi-tiered openwork towers, figured pediments and wavy facades. From the mature Belarusian baroque of the 17th century. with its restraint, massiveness and deep internal expression, Vilnius was distinguished by dynamism, lightness, and freedom. In Catholic construction of the second half of the 18th century. artistic characteristics The Vilna Baroque found lesser embodiment, and moreover, Catholic churches of this period are characterized by more bulky monumental forms.
The Polotsk Uniate Archbishop, later Metropolitan Florian Grebnitsky, played an important role in changing the church architecture of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, who rebuilt at his own expense several of the most significant shrines on the territory of his diocese (Polotsk St. Sophia Cathedral, Cathedral and the church of St. Nicholas in Vilna). In the construction of Uniate churches according to Western architectural models, one should see not a desire to Polonize Belarusians, but the desire of the Uniate hierarchy to modernize their “old-fashioned”, simple and austere, against the backdrop of spectacular baroque architecture, shrines in accordance with the spirit of the times, to “deflate” them, to remove from them the image of the poor "cotton" church and raise the prestige of their denomination.
The flourishing of the Vilna Baroque is associated with creativity outstanding architect J.K. Glaubica, who for 30 years (1737-1767) worked in Belarus and Lithuania in religious and palace architecture. Its most significant building is the Uniate Church of St. Sophia in Polotsk (1738 - 1750, together with B. Kosinsky), erected on the site of a shrine of the 11th century, blown up by order of Alexander Menshikov, a close associate of Peter I, in 1710. With its unusual, hitherto unknown slenderness, sophistication and vertical flow, it produced vivid impression on contemporaries. The spread of the Vilna Baroque style was facilitated by the activities in Belarus of the Italian architect Fontana III and Belarusian A. Osikevich.
The features of the Vilna Baroque were most clearly manifested in Uniate religious buildings: the Basilian churches in Berezveche near Glubokoye, Vitebsk region. (1756 - 1763), Borunakh (1747 - 1757), Volno (1768), Tolochin (1769 - 1779), Epiphany and Holy Cross churches in Zhirovichi (1769), Resurrection Church in Vitebsk (1772), as well as in the Carmelite Church in Glubokoe and etc..
The pinnacle of the Vilna Baroque is the Peter and Paul Church in Berezveche. With general traditional structure- three-nave, two-tower basilica - the structure has a bold and innovative image. The building material here seems to have softened and floated in waves of convex and concave curves - the building seems to have been poured and sculpted from some kind of plastic mass. Damaged to Great Patriotic War, the temple was finally destroyed in 1960. One of the most perfect examples of Vilna baroque is the Uniate church in Boruny, erected under the leadership and design of the monk of this monastery, architect Alexei Osikevich.
A new solution for the external volume and interior, not typical of either Orthodox or Catholic religious buildings, was used in the Zhirichi Church of the Exaltation of the Cross - a calvary church that imitates the path of Christ to Calvary. The gracefulness of proportions, the effectiveness of sophisticated architectural plasticity, the slenderness of the silhouette allow us to rank it among the most harmonic works iconic architecture of this artistic style in Belarus.
The largest achievement of Vilna Baroque architecture in Belarus, with its characteristic illusion of movement, takeoff, undulation, and upward direction of the spiritual energy of matter, was the Assumption Church in Vitebsk, built in 1715 - 1743 according to the design and under the leadership of Fountain III.
Belarus has entered the history of European architecture with monuments of enduring historical and cultural significance and high artistic merit, made in the Vilna Baroque style.
Literature:
1. Architecture of Belarus: Entsyklapedychny davdnik. Mn., 1993.
2. Gabrus T. Assemblies of the architecture of the Uniyak temples of the Slonim region and the cantex of the Vilensk baroque // Our Radavod. Book 7: Materyyaly Mizhnar. navuk. Canf. “The Historic Memory of the People of the Vyalikag Principality of Lithuania and Belarus. ХІІІ-ХХ centuries. / Pad ed. D.U Karava. Grodna, 1996. pp. 361-364.
3. Gabrus T.V. The role of the Uniyak king in the farmed architecture of the Vilensk baroque // Our Radavod: Materials of the International. navuk. Canf. “The Church and the culture of the people of the Vyalikag Principality of Lithuania and Belarus in the 13th century - the beginning of the 20th century. / Pad ed. D.U.Karava. Grodna, 1992. Book. 4, parts 1 - 3. pp. 551-556.
4. Gabrus T.V. Stylish aspects of Vilensk Baroque architecture // Baroque in Belarusian culture and culture / Pad ed. V.F. Shmatava. Mn., 1998. P. 14-166.
5. History of Belarusian history. T. 2. Mn., 1988.
6. Kulagin A.N. Rococo architecture and art in Belarus: In the context of pan-European culture. Mn., 1989.
7. Kulagin A.M. Catalic churches in Belarus: Entsyklapedichny davednik. Mn., 2001.
8. Kulagin A.M. Orthodox churches in Belarus: Entsyklapedychny davednik. Mn., 2001.
9. Kulagin A. Shadeurs of rakko architecture: Gistarychna-architectural levels. - Mn., 1991.
baroque architecture painting sculptural
In the field of baroque architecture, Belarus is represented mainly by churches, monasteries, and palace complexes. Nesvizh Jesuit Church, Grodno Church and Jesuit Monastery, Golshansky Palace also belong to this architectural style. Art system Late Baroque in monumental, religious architecture was called the “Vilna Baroque”. IN fine arts Baroque features began to appear in the first half of the 17th century. First of all, in the sculptural design and painting of churches and monasteries. In the second half of the 18th century, the Baroque style became dominant in icon painting, where its features were combined with the traditions of Byzantine and Old Russian art. TO the best monuments architecture of this period belongs to: Bernardine and Jesuit churches in Grodno, the town hall and Epiphany Cathedral in Mogilev, the church in Pinsk, etc. One of the first Baroque monuments on the territory of Belarus was the Church of Corpus Christi in Nesvizh (XVI century), designed by the famous Italian architect Bernardoni modeled after the church of Il Gesu in Rome. The church was called farny, because it pointed out and illuminated the path to God, like a lighthouse for sailors on the island of Pharos. Under the church there is a family tomb of the Radziwill family. Here, in Nesvizh, Bernardoni also built a palace and castle complex with a park and an irrigation system. The castle was surrounded by a rampart (height 20 m) and a deep moat with drawbridges. The palace itself (the residence of the Radziwill magnates) was a three-story building with octagonal corner towers. It consisted of 12 halls, decorated with carvings, paintings, fireplaces, and tiles. It housed the famous Nesvizh Gallery and a rich library.
Gradually in architecture, the early Baroque is replaced by the later, which in Belarus and Lithuania acquired national features and clearly manifested itself in the so-called “Vilna Baroque”. The most famous representative the latter was the European master Jan Kristof Glaubitz - the author of the projects for the Church of John the Baptist in Stalovichi (1740-1746), the Carmelite Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary with a monastery in Glubokoe, Vitebsk region (1735) and the reconstruction of the famous Sophia of Polotsk - at that time a Uniate church (1738--1750). An outstanding monument of Baroque architecture is also the Church of St. Andrei in Slonim, Grodno region, which stands out for its dynamism, picturesqueness, and sophistication of volumes and forms. The Franciscan Church in Golshany, the Church of the Exaltation of the Cross in Zhirovichi, Grodno Region, the Church in Budslav, Minsk Region, the Jesuit Collegium and the Varvara Church in Pinsk and others were built in the same style.
In the middle of the 18th century, later Baroque began to be supplemented with features of a new style - Rococo. This organic combination of two styles manifested itself in the work of architect M.D. Pepelman, who worked in Grodno. It was built according to his design New castle(1737-1744), residence of the Polish king.
At the same time, the magnificent magnate residences of the Sapiehas in Ruzhany, the Oginskys in Slonim, and the Tizengauzs in Grodno were erected. The palace of P. Rumyantsev was built in Gomel (1785) in the style of classicism, which organically combined with the park area located on the banks of the Sozh River. Such palaces were most often built in open areas, decorated with landscape gardening ensembles, architectural modeling, wood and stone carvings, and wall paintings.
Such estates have become real centers cultural life Belarus and Lithuania. Belarusian tycoons surrounded themselves with luxury. They imported the best architects, artists, and musicians from abroad.
The main style of Belarusian artistic culture XVII-XVIII centuries - Baroque - revealed itself in two varieties: East Slavic (formed on the basis of the synthesis of local culture and Western European influences) and Western European, the bearers of which in Belarus were Catholic and Uniate orders. Both directions manifested themselves in architecture in an original way. In the 17th century Intensive development of secular philosophy began in Belarus, school education, printing, theatrical art, book graphics And portrait painting, wooden sculpture in folk style, church and secular poetry, music.
In the last quarter of the 16th century. In the monumental architecture of Belarus, the first building in the Baroque style appears - the Jesuit Church in Nesvizh (1587-1593), repeating general outline Temple of Il Gesu in Rome. Architectural forms borrowed from Italy were combined for a long time in local architecture with elements of Gothic and Renaissance.
The intensification of the religious and political struggle in the first half of the 17th century, the rivalry between Uniates, Catholics and Orthodox Christians led in the sphere of religious construction to the use of the most expressive architectural means of the Baroque and their synthesis with local construction techniques. As a result, throughout the XVII-XVIII centuries. A unique architectural and artistic system of the Belarusian Baroque was formed, the main basis for the development of which was religious architecture.
During the early Baroque period (first half of the 17th century), the architecture of the facades of religious buildings had a small set of decorative elements. In the era of mature and late Baroque (second half of the 17th - 80s of the 18th century), the division of facades, the introduction of stucco, and architectural details became light and elegant. One of the religious buildings of this period is, for example, the St. Nicholas Cathedral in Vitebsk (1716). Widely used in the mid-18th century. decorative Rococo motifs. The architectural and artistic system of the late Baroque in the monumental architecture of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (the main part of which was the Belarusian lands) received the name “Vilna Baroque” in art history. Its features were most clearly expressed in the religious buildings of the Uniates. For example, St. Sophia Cathedral in Polotsk (1738 - 1760, built on the foundation of an Orthodox church destroyed at the beginning of the 18th century), churches and monasteries of the Basilians in Berezveche, Glubokoye district, Vitebsk region (1756 - 1779), Borunakh, Oshmyany district, Grodno region ( 1747 - 1754), Tolochin, Vitebsk region (1769 - 1779), Epiphany and Holy Cross churches in Zhirovichi, Slonim district, Grodno region (1769), Resurrection Church in Vitebsk (1772) and others.
Orthodox churches of the 17th-18th centuries. are very diverse in their architecture, while both stone and wooden samples are characterized by common planning and compositional solutions. Cross-domed stone churches were the main type of monumental Orthodox churches Belarus XVII-XVIII centuries. Along with them, domeless churches were also built, representing a basilica. The earliest of this type of buildings is the Peter and Paul or Catherine Church in Minsk, built in 1612.
A large group of religious buildings in Belarus are synagogues, built mainly in the 17th-18th centuries. There were stone synagogues in Old Bykhov (early 17th century), Pinsk (1640), Slonim (1642), Novogrudok (1648), Stolin (late 17th century), Kletsk (late 18th century), Ivye (XIX century), etc. The construction of wooden synagogues was especially developed (for example, in Vysokoye, Kamenets district, Kozhan-Gorodok, Luninets district, Brest region, Grodno, Volpa, Volkovysk region, Sopotskine, Grodno district, Grodno region, Narovlya, Gomel region, and others).
Main building material in the development of cities and towns of Belarus to late XIX V. there was a tree. For the development of monumental cult wooden architecture, starting from the 17th century. provided significant influence art styles, which dominated stone architecture (for example, during the construction of a belfry in Shereshev, Pruzhany district, Brest region). In wooden religious architecture, two main development trends have been identified: conservative, associated with sustainable preservation local traditions, and innovative, reflecting the process of rooting aesthetic concepts of official styles. The process of developing forms in wooden architecture was more complex than in stone, because it involved not only renewal, but also an appeal to heritage. This is also associated with the asynchronous development of stone and wooden architecture, the lag in the latter of those trends that determined the official religious art of its time.
Castle (fortress) architecture in Belarus has gone through a difficult path of development. On Belarusian soil, the concept of “castle” did not always have the same meaning. In cities, a castle was often called a fortified place that was a fortress in ancient times and served to protect residents from the enemy. All types of fortifications or residences of noble people were also called castles. For Belarus, the most accurate idea is that castles are the fortifications of feudal lords in the 16th-17th centuries. Often these were palace and castle ensembles.
The combination of a powerful system of defensive fortifications (earthen ramparts with bastions, deep ditches, fortress walls and towers) with a palace standing inside became typical in the castle architecture of Belarus in the 16th-17th centuries.
Palace and castle ensembles of the 16th-17th centuries. represent a wide variety of architectural, planning and volumetric compositions. An outstanding work of Belarusian architecture is the castle in Mir (Grodno region). The castle is located in an open and low area. On three sides it was surrounded by ditches and earthen ramparts with bastions, and on the fourth, southern side, it was covered by a reservoir. The construction of the palace and castle complex took place in several stages. Initially, fortress walls and towers were built. Later, at the beginning of the 17th century, under Nicholas Radziwill the Orphan, a three-story palace was built along the eastern and northern walls. The walls of the castle initially had a height of about 13 m, their thickness at the base reaches 3 m. The towers are the attraction of the castle. They rise above the walls and have a rich variety of decor in the form of niches and ornamental belts. Nowadays, only the main, entrance, and southwestern towers have retained their original character traits Gothic. Other towers, like the palace, received the forms and decoration of Renaissance architecture. In the XVII-XVIII centuries. Mir Castle was a luxurious palace and castle complex, which surprisingly successfully combined the features of a military fortification structure and the softness, splendor and majesty of a palace building. To this day, the castle has remained in a dilapidated state; restoration work is currently underway.
A masterpiece of architecture is the Nesvizh palace and castle complex (Minsk region). In its architecture one can detect a mixture different styles, which indicates multi-stage construction and use artistic achievements different historical eras. The stone castle in place of the wooden one in Nesvizh was founded by N. Radziwill Sirotka in 1583. Its construction at the first stage was led by the Italian architect Jan Maria Bernardoni. The castle was located away from the city, on a hill. It was possible to get here only via a collapsible wooden bridge. A rampart up to 20 meters high and other fortification devices and water barriers turned the castle into an impregnable fortress. Behind the castle fortifications stood three separate stone buildings forming a courtyard. The central building, built opposite entrance gate, occupied by Radziwill himself. It was a three-story building with small octagonal towers at the corners. In subsequent years, the separated buildings were rebuilt and united by architectural inserts, forming a closed front courtyard. In 1706 the castle was destroyed by the Swedes. Restored and rebuilt in the Baroque style by the architect Kazimir Zhdanovich after 1726. During the 18th century. The castle was completed and rebuilt.
Nesvizh Castle, the residence of the local Radziwills, was also rich in its time cultural center, the center of medieval art. There was a library with 20 thousand volumes, which also housed rare manuscripts and early printed publications, portraits and art gallery, numbering more than a thousand paintings, a rich collection of European, Arab, Japanese and Chinese weapons, as well as the famous Slutsk belts, Korelichi and Nesvizh tapestries, large collection coins and medals, luxury furniture, etc.
At the beginning of the 17th century. in Lyubcha (Grodno region), on the banks of the Neman, the palace and castle complex of the Radziwills was built. Its territory was surrounded on three sides by a defensive ditch, and on the fourth by river waters. According to documents of the 17th century. the Lyubcha Castle had four towers (two have survived) and a palace (not preserved). In the main tower, the entrance one, only the top of the four floors was adapted for defense and had loopholes. The remaining floors with spacious windows were used for housing and auxiliary premises. Only through the entrance arch in the tower was it possible to enter the courtyard. This technique of closed spatial composition was typical for many palace and castle ensembles of the 16th-17th centuries.
In the 18th century is being formed in Belarus new type palace building in the form of an open composition linked to the surrounding nature. Usually the palace was located between the front courtyard and a large garden-park. From the entrance gate the main axis architectural composition The entire palace complex was continued by a tree-lined road, and on the park side there was a wide alley. When creating magnificent magnate residences, the architects of that time used artistic and compositional means of late Baroque or Rococo architecture. In the 2nd half of the 18th century. In palace construction, baroque was replaced by classicism, which was finally established at the end of the century.
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Topic 23. Culture of Belarus at the end of the 16th - 18th centuries
1. Education system and development of literary genres in Belarus: historical-memoir, polemical,satirical
In the XVI-XVIII centuries. Education in Belarus developed in the context of a struggle between Orthodoxy, Catholicism and the reform movement. With the support of the authorities, the Jesuits opened schools that helped strengthen the position of the Catholic Church and destroy the reform movement in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In 1579, they founded the Vilna Academy - the first higher educational institution in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The first rector of the academy was counter-reformist ideologist Peter Skarga. Among its most famous graduates are Miletiy Smotritsky, Simeon Polotsky, Albert Kayalovich.
In the most significant cities of Belarus (Polotsk, Nesvizh, Orsha, Brest, Pinsk, Grodno, Novogrudok, Vitebsk, Minsk, Slutsk, Slonim, etc.) the Jesuits opened their collegiums - educational establishments middle stage, which had an anti-Protestant and then anti-Orthodox character. The colleges taught grammar, rhetoric, ethics, theology, physics, and mathematics. In addition to the Jesuits, Bernardines, Franciscans and other Catholic monastic orders began to open their schools.
The response of the Orthodox Church to Catholic expansion in the last third of the 16th century. there was the opening of fraternal schools in Vilna, Brest, Mogilev, Shklov and other cities. They taught grammar, rhetoric, mathematics, geography, astronomy, languages: Belarusian, Polish, Greek, Latin. Famous teachers worked as teachers in fraternal schools: Vasily Tyapinsky, the Zizaniya brothers, Miletiy Smotritsky, Leonty Karpovich.
After the conclusion of the Brest Church Union of 1596. Uniate schools began to open. The first such schools arose in Baruny, Zhirovichi, Minsk, Novogrudok. Representatives of different religions studied there, mainly of noble origin and children of the clergy. In the years Northern War a significant number of Uniate schools were destroyed.
If we talk about the culture of the 16th-18th centuries as a whole, we can say that the ideas of such directions of socio-political thought as the Renaissance, Reformation and Enlightenment had a huge impact on it.
The representative of the Renaissance culture in Belarus was the pioneer printer, humanist and educator Francis Skaryna (about 1490 - about 1551). The focus of his attention was the problem of society and man. He considered questions of the meaning of life, the spirituality of the world, the improvement of society, etc. In 1521 in Prague, F. Skorina published 23 biblical books of the Old Testament. In Vilno, he organized the first printing house in Belarus and published the “Small Travel Book” and “Apostle”.
The traditions of F. Skaryna were developed by the humanist poet Nikolai Gusovsky (circa 1470 - 1533), who became famous for his work “Song of the Bison,” in which nature was glorified from patriotic and high moral and political positions home country, calls for the strengthening of the state, for the unity of European peoples, wars and civil strife are condemned.
A major contribution to the culture of Belarus was the activity of Symon Budny (around 1530 - 1593). He was the first to publish “Catechism”, “On the Justification of Sinful Man before God”, “On Secular Power”, and “The New Testament” printed in Belarusian.
The views of S. Budny were supported and developed by Vasily Tyapinsky (year of birth unknown - died around 1599). He published in Church Slavonic and Belarusian languages Gospel. In the preface to it he addressed Belarusian nobility asking for spiritual and material support Belarusian culture.
The 18th century is the era of Enlightenment. Intellectual elite European countries believed that the “kingdom of reason”, the era of freedom, equality, and civil justice, was approaching.
The most significant result of the influence of the Enlightenment on the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was the school reform carried out by the Educational Commission - an organization for the management of public education, founded by the Sejm of 1773-1775. This was the first such organization in Europe. Its first leader was I. Masalsky.
The Educational Commission carried out reforms of schools and universities in the spirit of Enlightenment ideas. The reform was also facilitated by the dissolution in 1773 by the Pope of the Jesuit Order, in whose hands during the XVII-XVIII centuries. In fact, there was a monopoly on education in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The order's schools and property were transferred to the Educational Commission.
In 1783, the Commission approved the charter for academies and schools of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Subordinate to it was the Main School of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (as the Vilna Jesuit Academy was called since 1781), which was the highest level and the main scientific center in the principality. The commission appointed the Belarusian mathematician and astronomer Martin Poczobut-Odlenicki as its rector, who held this post for about 20 years, carried out a reform at the school and gave it an almost secular character.
The secondary level of education consisted of district and subdistrict schools. On the territory of central and western Belarus (the eastern part was already part of Russia), the commission opened such schools in Brest, Grodno, Novogrudok, Zhirovichi, Pinsk, Barunakh, Volkovysk, Postavy, Bobruisk, Mozyr, Minsk, Nesvizh, Slutsk, Lida, Shchuchin.
The lower level of education was to be local and city schools.
The result of the reform was an increase in the number of primary and secondary schools in Belarus, and education acquired an increasingly secular character.
IN early XIX century in Belarus there were about 130 primary, 33 secondary and junior high schools, a significant number of Jewish religious schools, about 40 schools of various Catholic orders. School education was available to the children of the gentry, clergy, and wealthy citizens.
The ideals of the Enlightenment influenced public sentiment in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which led to reforms and the adoption of the Constitution on May 3, 1791. However, the intervention of neighboring countries and the internal reaction of part of the magnates led to defeat revolutionary movement and division of the state.
Development of Belarusian literature in the period of the 16th - 18th centuries. happened in difficult historical conditions. The strengthening of social and national oppression of the Belarusian people, devastating wars, the further advance of the Counter-Reformation and other factors caused the decline of Belarusian culture and significantly delayed the overall progress of the country. Conservative forces became more active, primarily the church, which tried to restore its shaky dominant position in the spiritual life of society. Once again the spirit of the Middle Ages with its religious fanaticism was breathed in.
The development of Belarusian literature at this time was complicated and hampered by the general crisis of the medieval system of ancient Belarusian literature. Its last significant rise was polemical literature, the decline of which began in the 30s of the 17th century. The polemics between supporters and opponents of the union have practically exhausted themselves. Due to the nature of its content, polemical literature lagged behind life, lost its topicality and, naturally, could not satisfy the spiritual needs of the time. It is no coincidence that the attempt to resume polemics and revive polemical literature, undertaken in the 40s by some church writers, for example K. Sakovich, failed.
The last representative of a large galaxy of polemical writers in Belarus was Afanasy Filippovich (1597-1648). How public figure and as a writer A. Filippovich was formed in the spirit of the traditions of polemical literature and the fraternal movement. He felt a deep spiritual connection with his predecessors, fighters against the union, and considered himself a direct successor of their just cause. Decisive and energetic in his actions, unyielding and uncompromising in his ideological convictions, A. Filippovich fought against the bloody imposition of the “damned” union in Belarus and Ukraine and even went to the Tsar of Moscow to ask for intercession for the Orthodox faith.
A. Filippovich entered the history of Belarusian literature as the author of “Diariush” (diary), which is a unique combination of polemical anti-Union journalism with an autobiographical narrative. “Diariush” is still in the mainstream of polemical literature, but in terms of genre it is in many ways close to works of a historical and memoir nature, in which the story of events is usually connected with the facts of the author’s personal biography or is mainly based on his personal impressions. Unlike the polemical writers of the late 16th and early 17th centuries. A. Filippovich almost does not touch upon dogmatic issues of theology at all. Directing his accusatory pathos against the ruling elite of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, he focuses his main attention on revealing the powerless situation of the Belarusian and Ukrainian peoples, on describing the history of their struggle for the traditional faith.
The author spoke from a broader and more advanced position satirical works“Meleshka’s Speech” (second quarter of the 17th century) and “Message to Obukhovich” (1655). “Meleszka’s Speech” was written in the form of a speech given at the Warsaw Sejm by the real-life Jan Meleszka, who was in 1615-1622. Smolensk castellan, and is literary hoax. The work is directed against the dominance of foreigners (Poles, Germans) in Belarus, who felt themselves to be absolute masters here. Consciously posing as a person with little knowledge of matters of big politics, pretending to be such a simpleton, the author skillfully and wittily parodies their morals and etiquette, caustically, with his characteristic wit, ridicules the blind admiration for everything foreign, characteristic of the Belarusian nobility, which has renounced its national traditions and customs. He boldly accuses the ruling elite of Poland of an aggressive, colonial policy in the Belarusian and Ukrainian lands and mercilessly condemns the anti-people, loyal position of the local feudal lords. The writer sees the salvation of his homeland in the expulsion of all foreigners, “who came before us against our right.”
“Meleshka’s Speech” and the “Message to Obukhovich”, which was similar in its ideological orientation and figurative and stylistic structure, were a significant step forward in the development of Belarusian literature along the path of strengthening the critical direction and further democratization, which was manifested not only in the popular view of their authors on some of the most important problems socio-political life of the country, but also in the widespread use of folk phraseology, humor, and satire. Moreover, if in the second half of the 16th - early 17th centuries. there is a process of literaryization of historical, business records, then here we are dealing with a phenomenon of a different kind: before us literary work-- product artistic creativity, deliberately presented by the author as an official speech or a business message. “Meleshka’s Speech” and “Message to Obukhovich” should be considered as landmark phenomena in the history of old Belarusian literature.
It experienced its real flourishing in the 17th century. in Belarus, a historical-memoir genre, brought to life by the growth of individual self-awareness, the strengthening of the personal principle in literature. Dozens of people, mostly representatives of the gentry, write diaries, memoirs, and travel notes. Events of the Russian-Polish war at the beginning of the 17th century. reflected in the “diariush” of J. Sapieha, I. Budilla, S. Maskevich; the era of the national liberation war of the Belarusian and Ukrainian peoples ( mid-17th century c.) dedicated to the memoirs of B. Maskevich, F. and M. Obukhovich; description of your travels different countries left A. Kamensky-Dluzhik (for Siberia) and J. Tsedrovsky (for Western Europe); vivid pictures of the life, way of life and customs of the second Belarusian gentry half XVII V. drawn in the memoirs of K. Zawisha and S. Nezabitovsky. Diverse in content and literary and artistic level, these works as a whole recreate a motley picture of their time, built from individual life stories of specific individuals.
2.
The formation of the Baroque artistic style in the architecture of Belarus
The main style of Belarusian artistic culture of the 17th-18th centuries. - Baroque - revealed itself in two varieties: East Slavic (formed on the basis of a synthesis of local culture and Western European influences) and Western European, the bearers of which in Belarus were Catholic and Uniate orders. Both directions manifested themselves in architecture in an original way. In the 17th century In Belarus, the intensive development of secular philosophy, school education, printing, theatrical art, book graphics and portrait painting, wooden sculpture in folk style, church and secular poetry, and music began.
In the last quarter of the 16th century. In the monumental architecture of Belarus, the first building in the Baroque style appears - the Jesuit Church in Nesvizh (1587-1593), repeating in general terms the Temple of Il Gesu in Rome. Architectural forms borrowed from Italy were combined for a long time in local architecture with elements of Gothic and Renaissance.
The intensification of the religious and political struggle in the first half of the 17th century, the rivalry between Uniates, Catholics and Orthodox Christians led in the sphere of religious construction to the use of the most expressive architectural means of the Baroque and their synthesis with local construction techniques. As a result, throughout the XVII-XVIII centuries. A unique architectural and artistic system of the Belarusian Baroque was formed, the main basis for the development of which was religious architecture.
During the early Baroque period (first half of the 17th century), the architecture of the facades of religious buildings had a small set of decorative elements. In the era of mature and late Baroque (second half of the 17th - 80s of the 18th century), the division of facades, the introduction of stucco, and architectural details became light and elegant. One of the religious buildings of this period is, for example, the St. Nicholas Cathedral in Vitebsk (1716). Widely used in the mid-18th century. decorative Rococo motifs. The architectural and artistic system of the late Baroque in the monumental architecture of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (the main part of which was the Belarusian lands) received the name “Vilna Baroque” in art history. Its features were most clearly expressed in the religious buildings of the Uniates. For example, St. Sophia Cathedral in Polotsk (1738 - 1760, built on the foundation of an Orthodox church destroyed at the beginning of the 18th century), churches and monasteries of the Basilians in Berezveche, Glubokoye district, Vitebsk region (1756 - 1779), Borunakh, Oshmyany district, Grodno region ( 1747 - 1754), Tolochin, Vitebsk region (1769 - 1779), Epiphany and Holy Cross churches in Zhirovichi, Slonim district, Grodno region (1769), Resurrection Church in Vitebsk (1772) and others.
Orthodox churches of the 17th-18th centuries. are very diverse in their architecture, while both stone and wooden samples are characterized by common planning and compositional solutions. Cross-domed stone churches were the main type of monumental Orthodox churches in Belarus in the 17th and 18th centuries. Along with them, domeless churches were also built, representing a basilica. The earliest of this type of buildings is the Peter and Paul or Catherine Church in Minsk, built in 1612.
A large group of religious buildings in Belarus are synagogues, built mainly in the 17th-18th centuries. There were stone synagogues in Old Bykhov (early 17th century), Pinsk (1640), Slonim (1642), Novogrudok (1648), Stolin (late 17th century), Kletsk (late 18th century), Ivye (XIX century), etc. The construction of wooden synagogues was especially developed (for example, in Vysokoye, Kamenets district, Kozhan-Gorodok, Luninets district, Brest region, Grodno, Volpa, Volkovysk region, Sopotskine, Grodno district, Grodno region, Narovlya, Gomel region, and others).
The main building material in the development of cities and towns in Belarus until the end of the 19th century. there was a tree. On the development of monumental religious wooden architecture, starting from the 17th century. the artistic styles that dominated stone architecture had a significant influence (for example, during the construction of a belfry in Shereshev, Pruzhany district, Brest region). In wooden religious architecture, two main development trends were identified: conservative, associated with the sustainable preservation of local traditions, and innovative, reflecting the process of rooting the aesthetic concepts of official styles. The process of developing forms in wooden architecture was more complex than in stone, because it involved not only renewal, but also an appeal to heritage. This is also associated with the asynchronous development of stone and wooden architecture, the lag in the latter of those trends that determined the official religious art of its time.
Castle (fortress) architecture in Belarus has gone through a difficult path of development. On Belarusian soil, the concept of “castle” did not always have the same meaning. In cities, a castle was often called a fortified place, which in ancient times was a fortress and served for, etc.................
1. “Baroque architecture in Belarus at the end XVI – per. floor. XVII V."
In the middle of the 16th century. With the spread of the Reformation, active construction of Protestant churches began (Reformed churches, or “Calvin congregations”), which were also adapted to defense needs. An indicative example of such a temple was the Transfiguration Church in Zaslavl, Minsk region, built in the middle of the 16th century. like the Calvin collection. Reformed churches are unique in architecture. They do not look like churches and differ significantly from Orthodox churches. They are similar to the latter by certain features of the plans and the general defensive nature.
Trinity Church in the Brest region
In the second half of the 16th century. In Belarusian architecture, features of the Renaissance are increasingly beginning to appear. An example of a combination of Gothic and Renaissance architecture is the Trinity Church in the Brest region.
In the last quarter of the 16th century. In the monumental architecture of Belarus, the first building in the Baroque style appears - the Jesuit Church in Nesvizh (1587-1593), repeating in general terms the Temple of Il Gesu in Rome. Architectural forms borrowed from Italy were combined for a long time in local architecture with elements of Gothic and Renaissance.
The intensification of the religious and political struggle in the first half of the 17th century, the rivalry between Uniates, Catholics and Orthodox Christians led in the sphere of religious construction to the use of the most expressive architectural means of the Baroque and their synthesis with local construction techniques. As a result, throughout the XVII-XVIII centuries. A unique architectural and artistic system of the Belarusian Baroque was formed, the main basis for the development of which was religious architecture.
Church in the village of Synkovichi, Zelvensky district
During the early Baroque period (first half of the 17th century), the architecture of the facades of religious buildings had a small set of decorative elements. In the era of mature and late Baroque (second half of the 17th - 80s of the 18th century), the division of facades, the introduction of stucco, and architectural details became light and elegant. One of the religious buildings of this period is, for example, the St. Nicholas Cathedral in Vitebsk (1716). Widely used in the mid-18th century. decorative Rococo motifs. The architectural and artistic system of the late Baroque in the monumental architecture of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (the main part of which was the Belarusian lands) received the name “Vilna Baroque” in art history. Its features were most clearly expressed in the religious buildings of the Uniates. For example, St. Sophia Cathedral in Polotsk (1738 - 1760, built on the foundation of an Orthodox church destroyed at the beginning of the 18th century), churches and monasteries of the Basilians in Berezveche, Glubokoye district, Vitebsk region (1756 - 1779), Borunakh, Oshmyany district, Grodno region ( 1747 - 1754), Tolochin, Vitebsk region (1769 - 1779), Epiphany and Holy Cross churches in Zhirovichi, Slonim district, Grodno region (1769), Resurrection Church in Vitebsk (1772) and others. 
Orthodox churches of the 17th-18th centuries. are very diverse in their architecture, while both stone and wooden samples are characterized by common planning and compositional solutions. Cross-domed stone churches were the main type of monumental Orthodox churches in Belarus in the 17th and 18th centuries. Along with them, domeless churches were also built, representing a basilica. The earliest of this type of buildings is the Peter and Paul or Catherine Church in Minsk, built in 1612.
A large group of religious buildings in Belarus are synagogues, built mainly in the 17th-18th centuries. There were stone synagogues in Old Bykhov (early 17th century), Pinsk (1640), Slonim (1642), Novogrudok (1648), Stolin (late 17th century), Kletsk (late 18th century), Ivye (XIX century), etc. The construction of wooden synagogues was especially developed (for example, in Vysokoye, Kamenets district, Kozhan-Gorodok, Luninets district, Brest region, Grodno, Volpa, Volkovysk region, Sopotskine, Grodno district, Grodno region, Narovlya, Gomel region, and others).
In many places in the central and northwestern regions of Belarus, among the places of worship there were also Tatar mosques. Until 1795, there were 23 of them on the territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In addition, there were another 65 Tatar prayer houses. Mosques built at the end of the 18th - beginning of the 20th centuries are known. in Lyakhovichi, Brest region, Vidzy, Braslav district, Vitebsk region, Mira, Korelichi region, Novogrudok, Slonim, Ivye, Grodno region, Myadel, Kletsk, Smilovichi, Uzda, Kopyl, Minsk region, in Minsk and others.
The main building material in the development of cities and towns in Belarus until the end of the 19th century. there was a tree. On the development of monumental religious wooden architecture, starting from the 17th century. the artistic styles that dominated stone architecture had a significant influence (for example, during the construction of a belfry in Shereshev, Pruzhany district, Brest region). In wooden religious architecture, two main development trends were identified: conservative, associated with the sustainable preservation of local traditions, and innovative, reflecting the process of rooting the aesthetic concepts of official styles. The process of developing forms in wooden architecture was more complex than in stone, because it involved not only renewal, but also an appeal to heritage. This is also associated with the asynchronous development of stone and wooden architecture, the lag in the latter of those trends that determined the official religious art of its time.
From the end of the 18th century. The development of classicism architecture begins in the religious architecture of Belarus. The earliest significant building of this era was the Church of Joseph in Mogilev, built in 1780-1798. and in 1802, by decree of the Synod, renamed the cathedral. Joseph's Cathedral, which is an example of a rotunda temple that became widespread in Belarus, gained fame as one of the best examples of classicism of the 18th century. Another significant monument of this trend is the Peter and Paul Cathedral in Gomel (1809 - 1819). Some buildings of previous eras were remodeled in the style of classicism or supplemented with its elements, such as the Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Holy Virgin Mary in the village of Udelo, Glubokoe district, Vitebsk region. In the 1830s-1840s. The process of gradual decline of the classical architectural school began, which sharply intensified in the middle of the century. An architectural monument of late classicism is the Church of the Exaltation of the Cross in Brest (*) (1856). Since that time, many different ideological and artistic trends can be traced in the architecture of Belarus. First of all, it is eclecticism and later modernism, a more rationalistic style. At the same time, Art Nouveau coexisted with retrospective, restorationist trends in architecture. Restorationism in general promoted the architectural and artistic forms of past centuries. Temples built in a pseudo-Russian style, eclectic in nature, can be found in many localities of Belarus (Vladimir Church in Chizhevshchina, Zhabinkovsky district, Brest region, churches in Kuleshovka and Miloslavichy, Klimovichi district, Mogilev region).
Borisoglebskaya (Kalozhskaya) Church in Grodno
In the 1870s Synod of Russian Orthodox Church Several groups of architects were sent to Belarus to design and build Orthodox churches, but mainly to rebuild a number of Catholic churches into Orthodox churches. During this “reconstruction” of churches, not all experts treated the existing architectural and artistic works with due understanding. As a result, many monuments of Belarusian religious architecture of the 17th-18th centuries. significant artistic damage was caused
In the religious architecture of the late XIX - early XX centuries. in artistic and stylistic terms, historical medieval styles were resumed: Gothic, Romanesque, “Russian” style. Thus, when designing churches, preference was mainly given to the neo-Gothic style, as, for example, during the construction of the Church of Saints Simeon and Helen (Red Church) in Minsk (1908-1910). In Orthodox religious architecture, a special place was occupied by the so-called Byzantine style, its characteristic examples being the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross of the Spaso-Ephrosyne Monastery (1893-1897) in Polotsk and the St. Nicholas Church (2nd half of the 19th century) in Petrikov, Gomel region.
Spaso-Efrosyne Church of the Polotsk Spaso-Efrosyne Monastery
In recent years, the state has been returning many religious buildings to believers in Belarus, which are being actively restored. In addition, new Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant churches, as well as mosques, are being built.
Church in the village of Murovanka, Shchuchinsky district, Grodno region
Church of Saints Simeon and Helen (Red Church) in Minsk
Architecture of the Brest region
Brest Fortress, built in the 30s. XIX century, is the main architectural landmark of Brest. In addition, the city has many interesting architectural monuments, including:
Simeon Church, an architectural monument of pseudo-Russian style (1865)
Holy Cross Church, architectural monument of late classicism (1856)
Train Station, an architectural monument of pseudo-Russian style (1886)
Among the architectural monuments preserved in the Brest region:
Kamenets Tower (White Tower), a monument of defensive architecture (XIII)
Church of Charles Barameusz in Pinsk, a monument of Baroque architecture (XVIII)
Butrimovich Palace in Pinsk, a monument of late Baroque architecture (1784–90)
Palace complex in the town Ruzhany (XVII – XVIII)
Kossovo Palace, an architectural monument with elements of classicism (XIX)
Architecture of the Gomel region
The main attraction of the city of Gomel is the palace and park ensemble, the center of which is the Rumyantsev-Paskevich Palace, a monument of classical architecture (1799–1819).
Among the surviving architectural sights of the Gomel region:
Mozyr Bernardine Church and Monastery, a monument of Baroque architecture (1648)
Mozyr Cistercian Monastery (1743-45)
Petrikovskaya St. Nicholas Church, an architectural monument of the pseudo-Byzantine style (2nd half of the 19th century)
Chechersk Town Hall, a monument of classical architecture (2nd half of the 18th century)
Architecture of the Grodno region
Among the unique architectural monuments of Grodno:
Borisoglebskaya (Kolozhskaya) Church, a monument of ancient Russian architecture (2nd half of the 12th century)
Royal Palace, a monument of Rococo architecture (1734–51)
Church of St. Francis Xavier, a monument of Baroque architecture (late XVII – XVIII)
Franciscan monastery, a monument of Baroque architecture (XVIII)
Ancient castles have been preserved in the Grodno region. The most famous of them:
Mir Castle included in the List world heritage UNESCO – one of the most famous castles in Belarus, an outstanding example of defensive architecture (XVI)
Lida Castle(XIV – XV)
Among the religious monuments:
St. Michael's Church in the village of Synkovichi (Zelvensky district), a monument of defensive architecture with Gothic features (XV - early XVI)
Church-fortress in the village of Murovanka (Shchuchinsky district), a monument of defensive architecture (early XVI)
Holy Dormition Zhirovichi Monastery (XVII – XVIII)
Architecture of Minsk and Minsk region
The city of Minsk was almost completely destroyed during the Second World War. But even here, interesting architectural monuments were preserved and restored in the post-war period, including:
Peter and Paul Church, an architectural monument with Renaissance and Baroque elements (1612–1620)
Archcathedral Church Holy Virgin Mary (2nd half of XVII – beginning of XVIII)
Church of Alexander Nevsky, an architectural monument of the retrospective Russian style (1898)
Calvary Church, a monument of neo-Gothic architecture (XIX)
Church of Saints Simeon and Helen (Red Church), a monument of neo-Gothic architecture with Art Nouveau features (1908–1910)
The main attractions of the Minsk region are the architectural monuments of Nesvizh, including:
Nesvizh palace and park complex(XVI – XIX)
Nesvizh Corpus Christi Church, a monument of Baroque architecture (1584-93)
Slutsk Gate, a monument of Baroque architecture (XVII – XVIII)
Among the famous architectural monuments of the region:
Bernardine Church in Budslav (Myadel district), a monument of Baroque architecture (XVIII)
Resurrection Cathedral in Borisov, an architectural monument of the pseudo-Russian style (1874)
Transfiguration Church in Zaslavl (2nd half of the 16th century - beginning of the 17th century)
Architecture of the Mogilev region
Among the surviving architectural monuments of the ancient Belarusian city Mogilev:
Nicholas Church, a monument of Baroque architecture (1669–72)
Stanislavsky Church, a monument of Baroque architecture (1738–52)
Archbishop's Palace, a monument of classical architecture (1780s)
Mogilev Town Hall (XVII – XX)
Mogilev region:
Shklov Town Hall, a monument of classical architecture (late XVIII)
Church of the Transfiguration in Shklov, an architectural monument of the neo-Russian style (early 20th century)
Holy Trinity Church in Bykhov, a monument of wooden architecture (mid-19th century)
Synagogue in Bykhov, an architectural monument of the late Renaissance (mid-17th century)
Bobruisk Fortress, a monument of defensive architecture (1st half of the 19th century)
Bykhov Castle, a monument of palace and castle architecture (late XVI – early XVII)
Palace in Zhilichi (Kirovsky district), a monument of classical architecture (1830s)
Architecture of the Vitebsk region
Churches and churches in the Vitebsk region represent different styles of temple architecture. The following have been preserved in Vitebsk:
Annunciation Church, a monument of ancient Russian architecture (mid-XII)
Kazan Church, an architectural monument with elements of Baroque and early classicism (1760)
Barbarian Church, an architectural monument of the neo-Romanesque style (1785)
In a Belarusian city Polotsk The most ancient architectural landmarks have been preserved:
St. Sophia Cathedral, an architectural monument of the 11th – 18th centuries. It is one of three ancient Russian temples dedicated to Hagia Sophia
, – the other two are located in Kyiv and Novgorod Spaso-Evfrosinevskaya Church , monument (1152–61). ancient Russian architecture
Unique ancient frescoes have been preserved on its walls and columns.
Original monuments of temple architecture of the Vitebsk region:
Church of St. John the Baptist in the village of Kamai (Postavy district), a monument combining techniques and forms of defensive architecture, Gothic and Renaissance architecture (1603-06)