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The fire tower in Grodno is an architectural monument of the 20th century, on the territory of which there is an active fire and rescue unit. It is located at the intersection of the oldest streets of the city — Zamkova and David Gorodensky.
The museum in this building is not located by chance. This is the place where firefighters settled in the second half of the nineteenth century and are still working. Today Zamkovaya, 19 is primarily a fire rescue unit No. 1, but if you bypass the complex, then on the other hand, from the Old Castle, you can get to the museum.
Today's building of the fire station and museum is an absolute novelty. The historical remise, built at the very beginning of the twentieth century, was dismantled in the 60s - only the tower remained. Therefore, when the fire station built in Soviet times was declared obsolete, it was demolished to the ground without much regret, and in September 2008 a modern part was opened here. In parallel with the construction of the part, the organization of the museum was also underway.
Before the construction of a new fire station, archaeologists conducted research in this place. Some of their finds can be seen in the museum. Although the fire tower is a landmark architectural monument for Grodno and Belarus, the exact time of construction is still unknown. Documents that can shed light on the history of the building are stored in St. Petersburg. Now Major General Alexander Glushko, who works there, is looking for the exact date of construction for the museum. Once he came here for an excursion and became friends with the head of the museum.
In the middle of the nineteenth century . Grodno was a city of the seventh category, which means that one team with a staff of 34 people had to operate here. But until the end of the century, it was not possible to fully staff the team. In addition, for a long time firefighters wandered around the city behind the police chief, without having their permanent place
Before registering at Zamkovaya, 19, the city fire wagon train burned down. It burned down completely on the night of May 25-26, 1859 due to the fact that the barrels were not filled with water and the horses were not harnessed in time. An instruction came to Grodno – to immediately organize fire protection in the city. Then the wing and one wing of the empty royal stables were given over to a fire wagon train.
The museum has four exhibition halls. One hall is dedicated to fire and rescue sports, the other is divided into three historical periods - from the origin of the first fire–fighting measures to the present, the third is dedicated to the fire of 1885, and the fourth is the space of the tower.
In the first hall there are cups that Belarusian rescuers won at competitions in fire and rescue sports. For example, this year in Kazakhstan, the Belarusian national team took first place. Only a part of the awards are on display, in fact there are much more of them – enough for a separate exhibition. Moreover, Grodno rescuers participated in competitions back in the interwar period – for the first time in 1926 in Warsaw.
Then you can see examples of tools that were used to extinguish fires back in the Middle Ages – barrels, buckets, axes, as well as things found at this place during archaeological excavations after the old fire station was demolished. Extensive fragments of the exhibition are devoted to the Russian, interwar and Soviet periods. Here you can see the uniform of firefighters of those times and models of equipment from the end of the XIX to the end of the XX centuries. Irina found the models already in critical condition, and even had to go to Riga to restore one of them.
A separate hall is a multimedia diorama dedicated to the great fire of the city, which happened in 1885. She was transported here from the regional Department of the Ministry of Emergency Situations. A light bulb is connected to each house – they light up as the "fire" spreads. A "fire" begins in the area of today's school No. 1 on the street of the Paris Commune and gradually covers three quarters of the city. All the action is accompanied by voice acting in the Belarusian language.
It would seem that firefighting is a rather narrow topic, but the museum is already cramped in the rooms where it is now. The entire space of the exposition together with the tower is about 500 sq.m. If it were possible to expand, there would be an exposition dedicated to veterans of the fire service. The tower can be climbed only on holidays, for example, on the Night of Museums or on Independence Day, since it has not yet been restored and strengthened. It is not yet possible to visit it en masse during the year.
The tower has six tiers, you can climb it from the second. After the restoration, an original fire escape will be opened on the second tier, through which, wearing a uniform, it will be possible to go down, as firefighters did in the past. In the meantime, there is an art gallery "Kalancha" on the tiers of the tower, where it is planned to hold chamber exhibitions. Now there are works by Vladimir Kachan and Alexander Losminsky hanging here under the general title "120 prystupak yes sky". By the way, there are really 120 steps in the tower.
On the observation deck of the tower there is a fireman-mannequin, who is called Vasily here. Every day a real firefighter comes to visit him, who plays the trumpet at exactly 11.58, until the clock on the Far Church begins to strike. This tradition existed back in the period of the Russian Empire, so a modern trumpeter climbs the tower in the uniform of that era. It is said that in Volkovysk and Slonim in the interwar period, Oginsky polonaise was played from fire towers. Today in Grodno, a trumpeter plays some short melody from the repertoire of Belarusian authors. Since the ancient clock on the church may be late, the fireman watches their hands through a telescope.
The Museum of the History of the Fire Service in Grodno is open on weekdays from 9.00 to 17.00, weekends are Saturday and Sunday.
tel.: +375 152 72 36 48
www.mchs.gov.by
The museum in this building is not located by chance. This is the place where firefighters settled in the second half of the nineteenth century and are still working. Today Zamkovaya, 19 is primarily a fire rescue unit No. 1, but if you bypass the complex, then on the other hand, from the Old Castle, you can get to the museum.
Today's building of the fire station and museum is an absolute novelty. The historical remise, built at the very beginning of the twentieth century, was dismantled in the 60s - only the tower remained. Therefore, when the fire station built in Soviet times was declared obsolete, it was demolished to the ground without much regret, and in September 2008 a modern part was opened here. In parallel with the construction of the part, the organization of the museum was also underway.
Before the construction of a new fire station, archaeologists conducted research in this place. Some of their finds can be seen in the museum. Although the fire tower is a landmark architectural monument for Grodno and Belarus, the exact time of construction is still unknown. Documents that can shed light on the history of the building are stored in St. Petersburg. Now Major General Alexander Glushko, who works there, is looking for the exact date of construction for the museum. Once he came here for an excursion and became friends with the head of the museum.
In the middle of the nineteenth century . Grodno was a city of the seventh category, which means that one team with a staff of 34 people had to operate here. But until the end of the century, it was not possible to fully staff the team. In addition, for a long time firefighters wandered around the city behind the police chief, without having their permanent place
Before registering at Zamkovaya, 19, the city fire wagon train burned down. It burned down completely on the night of May 25-26, 1859 due to the fact that the barrels were not filled with water and the horses were not harnessed in time. An instruction came to Grodno – to immediately organize fire protection in the city. Then the wing and one wing of the empty royal stables were given over to a fire wagon train.
The museum has four exhibition halls. One hall is dedicated to fire and rescue sports, the other is divided into three historical periods - from the origin of the first fire–fighting measures to the present, the third is dedicated to the fire of 1885, and the fourth is the space of the tower.
In the first hall there are cups that Belarusian rescuers won at competitions in fire and rescue sports. For example, this year in Kazakhstan, the Belarusian national team took first place. Only a part of the awards are on display, in fact there are much more of them – enough for a separate exhibition. Moreover, Grodno rescuers participated in competitions back in the interwar period – for the first time in 1926 in Warsaw.
Then you can see examples of tools that were used to extinguish fires back in the Middle Ages – barrels, buckets, axes, as well as things found at this place during archaeological excavations after the old fire station was demolished. Extensive fragments of the exhibition are devoted to the Russian, interwar and Soviet periods. Here you can see the uniform of firefighters of those times and models of equipment from the end of the XIX to the end of the XX centuries. Irina found the models already in critical condition, and even had to go to Riga to restore one of them.
A separate hall is a multimedia diorama dedicated to the great fire of the city, which happened in 1885. She was transported here from the regional Department of the Ministry of Emergency Situations. A light bulb is connected to each house – they light up as the "fire" spreads. A "fire" begins in the area of today's school No. 1 on the street of the Paris Commune and gradually covers three quarters of the city. All the action is accompanied by voice acting in the Belarusian language.
It would seem that firefighting is a rather narrow topic, but the museum is already cramped in the rooms where it is now. The entire space of the exposition together with the tower is about 500 sq.m. If it were possible to expand, there would be an exposition dedicated to veterans of the fire service. The tower can be climbed only on holidays, for example, on the Night of Museums or on Independence Day, since it has not yet been restored and strengthened. It is not yet possible to visit it en masse during the year.
The tower has six tiers, you can climb it from the second. After the restoration, an original fire escape will be opened on the second tier, through which, wearing a uniform, it will be possible to go down, as firefighters did in the past. In the meantime, there is an art gallery "Kalancha" on the tiers of the tower, where it is planned to hold chamber exhibitions. Now there are works by Vladimir Kachan and Alexander Losminsky hanging here under the general title "120 prystupak yes sky". By the way, there are really 120 steps in the tower.
On the observation deck of the tower there is a fireman-mannequin, who is called Vasily here. Every day a real firefighter comes to visit him, who plays the trumpet at exactly 11.58, until the clock on the Far Church begins to strike. This tradition existed back in the period of the Russian Empire, so a modern trumpeter climbs the tower in the uniform of that era. It is said that in Volkovysk and Slonim in the interwar period, Oginsky polonaise was played from fire towers. Today in Grodno, a trumpeter plays some short melody from the repertoire of Belarusian authors. Since the ancient clock on the church may be late, the fireman watches their hands through a telescope.
The Museum of the History of the Fire Service in Grodno is open on weekdays from 9.00 to 17.00, weekends are Saturday and Sunday.
tel.: +375 152 72 36 48
www.mchs.gov.by
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