On March 26th, the presentation of the book Belarus of Castles published by Belovagrupp was held at the National Library. This is the first large-scale project of Belarusian book publishing of the XXI century dedicated to architectural monuments.
The work on the book united leading historians and photographers of the country with the purpose of creation of a topical chronicle of castle culture of Belarus.
A large creative team worked on the book: 18 authors-historians who made chronicles of castles and more than 20 photographers. The edition included unique author’s photos, cartographical, archival and museum data from regional and foreign sources, historical drawings and engravings. The picture album features 32 rare archival photos of Belarusian castles of the XIX &ndash early XX centuries from the library of the Vilnius University.
The book is based on the list of monuments included in the state program “Castles of Belarus” adopted for 2012&ndash2018. However it is impossible to name their exact quantity. According to results of archeological and naturally-historical researches of the last 50 years and the generalization of data during the preparation of the edition, about 300 Belarusian castles and strongholds built in the XIV&ndashXVIII centuries are recorded. The given edition is the first attempt to systematize the data on them according to their current state.
“We are happy to present the book which only two months ago became the main book of the country (the edition won the supreme award of 54th National competition “The Art of Book” – Grand Prix in nomination “Triumph ”). The great work carried out by the authors has brought them a great success. Also this is a success for Belarus; in fact the project has gone right owing to the state support. The release of such an edition is a significant contribution to our national culture!” Minister of Information of the Republic of Belarus Lilia Ananich said.
Candidate of History and director of the Institute of History of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus Vyacheslav Danilovich agreed with this statement adding that the history of castles was an original reflection of Belarusian history as a whole. According to academician-secretary of the humanities and arts department of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Doctor of History and professor Alexander Kovalenya, “we modern Belarusians are happy people because we are chosen by the time to be engaged in the revival and restoration of our historical and cultural heritage. Concerning the book Belarus of Castles he noted a qualitative presentation of materials.
Doctor of Arts and professor of the chair of arts of the Belarusian State University Olga Bozhenova, in her turn, noted an essentially new decision of design and presentation. “This volume will be studied as an object of new design, in fact the book is made not by a traditional principle of easel graphics but represents a sort of a cinema project,” she said.
Director of the National Library of Belarus, Doctor of Pedagogics and professor Roman Motulsky thanked Minister of Information Lilia Ananich and the writing team for an opportunity to have in the library stocks the edition of which we and our grandsons would be proud.
The authors present the castle heritage as the “golden”, “silver” and “spring” belts – original routes for studying the cultural heritage of our country. “The golden belt” presents extant monuments. “The silver belt” is ruined castles which debris gives a clear knowledge of their former existence. “The spring belt” unites castes discovered during archaeological and historical studies.
The picture album is performed at a high artistic level with broadside panoramas of the Niesvizh, Mir, Grodno and Krevo castles, texts are in Russian and English languages.
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