Sovetskaya Square (Grodno)

After in 1376, Grodno became the property of Prince Vitovt , the city was in economic prosperity. In 1389 Vytautas laid a wooden church on the western side of the square, and the square itself is connected with Zamkova street and the market is located on it. The market becomes the center of the city and the merchant life of the city, has a square shape. After the city received Magdeburg Law in 1496 , in 1513 the Town Hall was built on the town square, which has a clock tower, as well as shopping arcades. In 1540, at the beginning of Zamkova Street (on the site of the modern Tekstilshchikov Culture Palace), the Castle Courtyard was built, and in 1560, on the site of the modern house No. 1 on Sovetskaya Street, the first city inn.

The next stage of the square is connected with the name of the King of the Commonwealth, Stephen Batory , who made the city his residence and died here. In 1586, instead of a wooden one, a stone temple was built, and on the eastern side of the square in 1580 the Batory Palace was erected, which has survived to this day.

In 1673, it was decided to hold every third Parliament of the Commonwealth in Grodno, after which the magnates began to actively acquire the city’s land for the construction of residences. Until the end of the 17th century The Radziwill Palace is being built on the right side of the square, and the Bathory Palace is being rebuilt into the Brzostowski Palace. Opposite Vytautas headlights at the beginning of the 18th century. a Jesuit church is being built, and in 1709 - the first, and 1763 - the second floor of the pharmacy. Both buildings remained almost unchanged. At the beginning of the 18th century the converted building of Batoria Palace is used for meetings of the Sejm, and the palace is also being rebuilt. At that time, the square was paved, a well was dug near the town hall.

After the partition of Poland, Grodno became the center of the province in Russia . In 1803, barracks and a prison (located here today) are located on the territory of the Jesuit monastery, in 1806 Fara Vitovta was rebuilt into the Orthodox St. Sophia Cathedral, in 1807 the town hall was rebuilt in the style of classicism , between which a square with a fountain is laid to the south side, features which survived now. In 1889, St. Sophia Cathedral was once again rebuilt in the pseudo-Russian style. In 1898, the Art Nouveau building was erected on the northern side of the square, and in 1910 the right side of the square was closed by an ordinary 2-story building with benches on the ground floor.

After signing the Riga Treaty in 1921, Grodno departs to Poland . St. Sophia Cathedral becomes a garrison church and in 1935 it was rebuilt in the Gothic style.

During World War II , the south side of the square was badly damaged. The buildings of the Town Hall and the Radzivilov palace have not been restored. The outbuilding of Batoria Palace and the buildings on the north side of the square were also demolished. In 1958, on the western side of the square, the building of the Textile Workers' Palace of Culture was erected. And on November 29, 1961, Fara Vitovta was blown up, on the site of which nothing was ever built, and now there is a square there.

No. 1 on the street Soviet

Two and three-story building. Architectural monument. The house, known as the "Palace of the Sangushek", has a long history. Built in 1742 on the site of a city tavern of the 16th century. In the second half of the 18th century it was owned by Anthony Tizengauz , and then his heirs. In the 20th century. in the house there were: a workshop of the Grodno photo master Gelgor, a pharmacy, a stationery store, a Linnik store selling sewing machines, bicycles, motorcycles, radio and photo goods. After the war, manufactured goods and food stores, a beer stall were located. In 1962, a dietary dining room opened. After the dining room was closed, the Toys store was located there for some time. In 70-80 years a hairdresser and a Soyuzpechat store were operating in the building.

Now from the side of Sovetskaya Square there are the “Town Hall” store (open Mon – Fri 9.00–20.00, Sat – Sun 10.00–17.00), the clothing store “Style” (open Mon – Fri 11.00–19.00, Sat 11.00–18.00, Sun 11.00–16.00 )

No. 2

Three-storey building. It is highlighted in red by the brick of which it is built. Known as the house of the merchant Muravyov. Built in 1898 , according to other sources around 1914 and even 1890 . Monument of Art Nouveau architecture. After the liberation of the city from Nazi invaders in 1944 , the regional library named after Karsky was located in the building. Since the end of 80 years of the 20th century. the house is not in operation, now under repair.

No. 23 on the street Kalyuchinskaya

Three-storey building. Not exploited.

No. 4 : The complex of the Jesuit monastery. Farny Church and Pharmacy.

The building of the former pharmacy of the Jesuit monastery .

Two-story building. Monument of architecture of 17-18 centuries. The first pharmacy in Belarus was founded in 1687 . The stone building was built in 1709 , and in 1763 the second floor was completed. The building almost constantly performed its original function - pharmacies. Only after 1944 until the beginning of the 90s. 20 century the building housed a furniture salon. Now the building also houses a pharmacy, a medical museum, and from the courtyard there is a religious bookstore.

The pharmacy is a two-story building, facing the street. An interesting facade on the second floor, in which Baroque architecture is abundantly represented: with balconies and a figured pediment, developed window frames, curtain rods.

The pharmacy is open daily from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., Sunday 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. The museum is open Tue-Fri 9.00-17.00. Entrance to the museum is free through the pharmacy. The religious bookstore is open on weekdays from 18.00-20.00, on holidays from 8.30-20.30.

No. 1 on the street Marx : Three-story building. Known as the palace of S. Batoria or " Batorievka ". Architectural monument. Merkuetstsa that in this building the king S. Bathory held the Diet of the Commonwealth and received ambassadors. In this building on December 15, 1586, on the third day after the death of Batory, to settle the disputes of the court doctors P. Symony and N. Bucell on the cause of the death of the king, I am a hairdresser. Zygulitz did embalming the king's body. Subsequently, the building was used as a royal residence, but from the beginning. 18 century already known as the Sapieha Palace. In 1832 the building was rebuilt. After the fire of 1885, the appearance and layout of Batorievka were again significantly changed; its main volume became 3-story. At the beginning of the 20th century in the building were the central hotel and private gymnasium of K. Barkovskaya. Now the whole building is occupied by the Department of Human Anatomy of the Grodno State Medical University .

No. 6 : The Palace of Culture of Textile Workers is a three-story, rectangular building, built in 1958 according to a standard design (architect I. Rozhyn) using elements of classicism . On the back of the facade there is a semicircle in terms of volume, where the main staircase is located, as well as a part of the lobby. The main facade is designed in the form of a colonnade to the entire height of the building, which forms a shallow loggia with a central entrance. On the ground floor there is a lobby, foyer, club and office buildings. On the second floor there is an auditorium with 400 seats, a lobby, a dance floor, and club rooms. On the third floor there is a lecture hall with 120 seats.

For a long time there was a legend that the building was built "back to front": the facade that goes to the House of Life should be the main one. But according to the daughter of the superintendent R. Popov, who was building this building, the colonnade in front of the main facade was removed during the project, so it does not seem to be completed. In Soviet times, a grandstand was set up in front of the main entrance during public holidays, near which festive columns were held. Now under reconstruction. From the side of the household house, there is a cafe “Sahara” in the house, which is open Mon-Thu, Sun 3 p.m.-2 p.m., Fri-Sat 3 p.m.-5 p.m.

There are no buildings on the south side, and therefore it is difficult to determine the exact limits of the area. Previously, there were the Town Hall and the Radziwill Palace .

• I.P. Shamyakin (Ch. Ed.) And other Grodno. Encyclopedic reference book. - Mn. : BelSE, 1989 .-- S. 438 p. - ISBN 5857000157 .