Bright Sun of Nesvizh

Symon Budny is the founder of a famous printing-house in Nesvizh, a symbolic figure in the history and culture of Belarus. He was a philosopher and educator and became “the ray of Sun” for the majority of Belarusian people in the distant 1562. On the 10^th of June his famous book “Catechism” was printed in Nesvizh. In this book the author’s views upon the religion, philosophy and culture were covered. The personality of Symon Budny had a great influence on the development of Belarusian Written Language. The brightest years of his life are associated with Nesvizh – the so called “Belarusian Paris”.

Not Far from the Printing-house

It would be completely unpardonable if his image was kept only in the archives. So in 1982 the monument to Symon Budny was opened in Nesvizh. The author of the monument was Svetlana Gorbunova. The three-meter sculpture was installed near the place that housed the famous printing-house of Symon Budny.

Interesting is the fact that Symon Budny holds in his hands a book with the emblem of the sun – a symbol of knowledge and a source of inexhaustible wisdom. Those days a book had always been a companion of a printer and educator. It should be noted that Symon Budny received his education in Krakow. Later he worked in Vilnius, and always fought for the Belarusian language.

Heritage of Budny

It is known that in his “Catechism” Symon Budny asked the noble family of Radziwill not to forget the Belarusian language appreciate and cherish it. There are also other works of Symon Budny such as “Conversations of St Justinian, philosopher and martyr, with Trypho" or "On the justification of sinful men in front of God".

At school pupils learn much about the famous educator Symon Budny and his creative activity. But if you want to learn more about our outstanding compatriot you should visit Nesvizh.

The Road to Enlightenment

Without visiting the monument to Simon Budny the excursion into the city's history will be quite incomplete. It will also be impossible to understand the way of life of Symon Budny’s contemporaries without listening to the extracts of his works.

Such brilliant personalities, the leaders of the time, the immortal figures like Symon Budny not only made a great contribution to the development of the nation but also became a link between the past and the future.

Thanks to the unchanged works of Symon Budny we have a clue about the life of our ancestry, about their daily chores and dreams, about their philosophy and arguments, about their creative works.

It is hard to revaluate the importance of the people like Budny for the development of the Belarusian culture, because without their work we would simply not know about the history of that period of time.