The memorial stone of the German headquarters of 1917

A small township of Vishnevo, which is a village today, is located in Minsk region near the town of Volozhin 22 km away. This place has been known since the XIV century. At its time the village was quite a large industrial center.

Though the village is small but is very interesting itself not only for its amazing history and the events taken place in it, but also for the names of many famous people somehow connected with it. Among them: a well-known composer M. Oginski, S. Budny, Hreptovichi family, poet K. Buylo and Y. Kupala’s wife B. Lutskevich.  People like H. Goldman – one of the leaders of Zionism, and the future President of Israel – Shimon Peres, as well awarded with the Nobel Peace Prize, are worth mentioning.

Events in Vishnevo village broke out actively in wartime, when German troops were deployed on the territory. Many people were perished in those days. In the neighboring village there is a cemetery, where the killed in those terrible days are buried. The war graves’ surprising aspect was that Russian and German were buried together, and dead tokens were just given to the enemy afterwards. Considering that it was wartime, where a lot of people disappeared from their native lands, and then it was very humane in relation to the foe.

The description of the memorial stone

The famous estate "Odrovonzh" is located on the village territory, which once belonged to the Hreptovichis. 20 meters away from the estate’s main building is a large memorial stone. This stone has become the entire neighborhood’s symbol and reminder of the past events during the First World War. It is written on the stone, that in the 1915 autumn – mid-spring 1917 the manor building was the present German division headquarters and the division itself was located not far from it. The size of this unique stone was so impressive that it seemed the German military were almost certain they would remain there forever. It is worth mentioning that there are only two similar monuments referring to a particular division on the territory of Belarus.

We can say Vishnevo village itself is one of the most interesting places in all of Volozhin district. A lot of spectacular sights and places in this region are surely to surprise you with its rich history. Take the manor "Odrovonzh" alone, which building looks amazingly beautiful. The mighty trees of the park surround this wonderful place. The coming visitors will be interested in observing the preserved places and buildings.