The village of Tupalshchyna, that was called Padnevichi some time ago, is known for the fact that now within its precincts, there is a tomb of the talented playwrighter who was among the founders of Belarusian Theater – Vintsent Dunin-Martsinkevich. The attraction is located in the local cemetery and today it looks more like a park than a resting place of the dead. There is a chapel-vault in the center of this “Park”. It was built over a hundred and fifty years ago – in 1852. It served as the last refuge for representatives of the Zhabrovsky dynasty; and in 1884 there was performed a funeral service for one of the most memorable historical figures of the 19^thcentury – Vintsent Dunin-Martsinkevich.

The classic of Belarusian literature Vintsent Dunin-Martsinkevich and his heritage

The future great writer was born on February 4 near Bobruysk, in the folwark (farm) of Panyushkevichi. Though his parents were the nobles, but quite poor, as a result, Vintsent, not having received higher education, had to get a job early to earn a living. Since the mid-twenties of the 19^th century, he had different low bureaucratic positions, while being in Minsk. In 1831, Vintsent married the daughter of a lawyer Yzefa Baranovskaya, who bore him seven children.

A purchase of the Lyutinka farm was an incitement to the beginning of a fruitful creative period. He wrote his first works there. And his opera “Sielanka” (later it was called “Idyll”) was published in Wilno in 1846. It was a truly original work. If gentlemen there spoke traditionally in Polish, then peasants started talking in the Belarusian language for the first time in the history of Belarusian literature. In addition, the work openly ridiculed the superiority of nobility over common people.

The merit of creating the first national theater troupe, which actively gave performances in 1840-1850, belongs to Vintsent Dunin-Martsinkevich.

 The playwrighter distinguished for his advanced views and actively supported the uprising of        K. Kalinovsky. When it was suppressed, the reaction of authorities did not keep itself waiting. Almost to the end of his life he was under the police surveillance. However, that did not break the freedom loving spirit of the writer, from whose pen continued to appear great works, having resonance and inspiring us nearly a century and a half later. These are the most famous “Pinskaya shlyakhta” (Pinsk nobility) and “Matchmaking”, which, unfortunately, were not published in the author’ lifetime …

Touch to the literary heritage

The grave of Vintsent Dunin-Martsinkevich is located directly in front of the chapel of the Zhabrovsky family. His second wife and youngest daughter Tsezarina found their last refuge close to the playwright. She, like her father, had taken an active part in the uprising of Kalinovsky. The grave of the playwright has been lost for a long time. Numerous wars and revolutions, occurred on the territory of Belarus, contributed to that. And only in 1951 a teacher of the Belarusian language and literature Nikolay Lomako managed to return such an important historical heritage. Two decades later, in 1977, a monument was set on the grave of the classic of Belarusian literature. The sculptor Nikolay Yakovenko made a bronze bust of Vintsent Dunin-Martsinkevich, still standing beside his grave.

Tourist routes, which include a visit to the grave of the classic of Belarusian literature and drama, allow anyone who wants to pay tribute to Vintsent Dunin-Martsinkevich, who stood at the origins of formation of our literature.