Schychin

Shchuchyn city is located on the river Tyrowka in the West of Belarus (Grodno region) and has very rich history, but it by no means is connected with fishery. And if when entering the city it will seem to you that there is a graphic dollar sign on the emblem of Schuchyn, do not believe your eyes.

SCIPIO DE CAMPO COAT OF ARMS

It is believed that the place-name "Shchuchyn" derived fr om the surname “Shchuka”, which one of the owners of the town had. But no documentary was provided. As, however the fact, that in ancient times there were a lot of pikes in Tyrowka river.

In historical documents Shchuchyn was firstly mentioned in 1487, but the official foundation of the city dates back to 1537 (the first mention in Lithuanian Metrica). Shchuchyn received its own emblem in 1761.

From a distance, the Schuchyn city emblem really recalls "dollar", and even under the crown. In fact, it depicts the monogram of one of the town owner’s initials Ignatius Scipio, who belonged to the ancient Italian family Scipio de Campo.

SCHUCHYN-THE CITY OF EDUCATION

Namely Ignatius Scipio was directly involved in the creation of Collegium (College) and the Order of Piarists monastery in the city.  The Board of Shchuchyn was considered to be one of the biggest in Belarus and Shchuchyn itself was called the "city of education." In addition, Ignatius Scipio opened the country's first pharmacy in Shchuchyn.

But there's more: del Campo’s descendant built a luxurious palace in the city, which already in the 19th century was rebuilt by Francis Drutsk-Lyubetsky, the former Minister of Finance of the Kingdom of Poland (he was married to the niece of the countess Maria Scipio). Now the building is called Drutsk-Lyubetsky palace. It is the hallmark of Schuchyn.

WHAT CAN ONE ALSO SEE IN SCHUCHYN?

1.    The Cathedral of St. Theresa of Avila (1827) and the Order of Piarists monastery’s buildings. The temple is built in Classicism style and is a part of monastery. Nowadays it functions.

2.    The Church of St. Michael the Archangel  (1865). Neo Russian style. The church is built not far from the cathedral, in the city center.

3.    Ciotka’s monument (Alaiza Pashkevich) - Belarusian poetess  ("Belarusian violin"), born in Schuchyn. It was erected in 1991.

4.    The Clock Tower at the central square.

SCHUCHYN SECRET AERODROME

Nowadays Schuchyn is a district center of Grodno region, wh ere more than 15 thousand of people live. And the destiny of the majority of citizens is connected with aviation.

The reason is that in the time of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics a secret first class airfield “Tochnyi” located there.  It is said that during the Cold War period the planes with nuclear load on board soared to the skies over Schuchyn.  But the pilots themselves claim that it is a myth and they more often had to fight with air balloons, flown from the territory of Poland.

SCHUCHYN UNDERGROUND

There is a legend that the government wanted to build a subway in Schuchyn, accommodating the underground tunnels of the aerodrome, which after the end of the “arm race” and the USSR collapse was desolated.  On the whole, Schuchyn was not of interest to diggers anymore.

Local amateur aviators began to reconstruct the airfield in 2014, and the city authorities helped to make a way for a takeoff strip. Now at the Shchuchyn aerodrome festive airshows and drag-racing are held. Huge hangars are given in rent.

The remarkable thing is that the monument of MiG-19 aircraft was set up in the city. Not far from the aerodrome the power plant with the capacity of 2,5 MW was established in 2016.

Besides green energy, baby food and dutch cheese (creamery) production the qualitative cables (“Awtoprowod”) are produced in Schuchyn.