Crafts Center in the village of Glusha
In the 1980s, an open-air ethnographic museum was designed in the Wilderness on an impressive clearing. A variety of buildings from all over Belarus and even from Russia were brought here — houses, a wooden church from the village of Ugli in the Bobruisk district, a windmill built at the end of the 19th century. The main idea of the museum concept is to show those examples of folk architecture, types of outbuildings that were inherent in the Bobruisk district. They began to collect stationary exhibits, which, in order for us to see them in the Wilderness, had to be made movable. The museum was supposed to be truly unique, but perestroika broke out, funding was reduced, and the project, as they say, hung in the air.

Today there is a Crafts Center on the site of the museum. Two furnaces, houses of a weaver, a poor man and a potter are located in the clearing, next to the operating St. Panteleimon Church and a mill.

The first exhibit of the museum was the "poor man's house", which was brought from the village of Turki. The peculiarity of this house is that it was not disassembled for transportation, but transported completely, for which they hired special equipment in a military unit in the village of Kiselevichi. It is interesting how the roof of the "poor man's house" was covered - it was covered with straw, which was specially harvested by hand, with sickles.

The next building - the "house of the weaver" - was transported from the Wilderness, and circumstances so developed that it was already forced to be disassembled and reassembled already on the museum site. Then there was the "potter's house", which was brought from the village of Luzhanets Gorokhovsky Village Council. A special kiln for firing pottery was made in this house. Today, by the way, this furnace continues to work, and the "potter's house" is one of the few buildings that still performs its function today - an exemplary pottery art circle "Glechyki" works here.

The most interesting exhibit of the museum was a windmill. Although the original goal was to show samples of folk architecture of the district in the museum, but it was not possible to find a mill in Bobruisk. According to Vladimir Konstantinovich, the mill was transported from the Kletsky district. Inside, on the mechanism, even the year when this windmill was built is indicated - the last decade of the XIX century. The windmill still leaves certain secrets behind it, so it remains unclear who is Jozef Basil, whose name is indicated on the wheel of the mill mechanism.

Another very interesting monument was the threshing floor, transported from d. Pobokovichi. It is a pity that today we will not see it anymore, since there is hardly any other place in the threshing floor area. There was also a black bathhouse and a blacksmith shop, which, unfortunately, were also not preserved.

An Old Believer church built in the 1880s was transported from the village of Ugli. The church in the Wilderness today acts as an Orthodox church, it was consecrated in honor of St. Panteleimon.

Currently, a Crafts Center operates on the territory of the Skansen Museum. It has been operating since April 1, 1992. The priority areas of the center's activities are to support and create conditions for the natural existence of traditional crafts at the moment.

There are 2 craftsmen with the title of "folk" who are also members of the Belarusian Union of Folk Art Masters in the Crafts Center. These are Bovda Yuri Ivanovich and Orlov Alexander Vasilyevich. 

In order to popularize folk art crafts , the following is carried out on its own:

* "Open-air ceramics" for managers and participants of children's groups of decorative and applied arts;

* classes of participants of the exemplary pottery collective "Glechyki" with the People's Master of the Republic of Belarus Bovda Yuri Ivanovich, who is the curator of this collective;

* master classes on certain techniques of pottery processing are held for masters of other cultural institutions in order to exchange experience;

* the joint work of craftsmen to develop a new method of processing pottery, for example, the method of smoking and welding;

* individual master classes. 

The brand of the Bobruisk district can rightfully be called pottery, the traditions of which are known far beyond the district. Such results were achieved thanks to the masters who elevated the skill to the level of art. In 2010, the traditional technology of pottery, under the leadership of the People's Master of the Republic of Belarus Bovda Yuri Ivanovich, received the status of an object of intangible historical and cultural value of the Republic of Belarus. After all, the works of potters have always been famous in the Bobruisk region – traditional dishes and toys, whistles. The ceramics of the district are distinguished by the originality of proportions, modest decoration, features in the design of lids and handles, as well as a combination of colorless glazes with a color of light red clays. 

On the basis of the Crafts Center of the village of Glusha, there is also a continuity of generations, as there are circles and collectives, as a result of which technology and skills are transferred from the older generation to the younger through classes, joint work on products and personal example of masters.

To date, all possible measures are being taken to ensure that this heritage of our district does not disappear. For the same purpose, the pottery art circle "Glechyki" was organized and fruitfully functions, which bears the title of exemplary (resolution of the Board of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Belarus No. 9P of 23.09.2002). Its main purpose is to attract children and teenagers to pottery. Teamwork is based on regional traditions. Alexander Vasilyevich Orlov leads the exemplary pottery art collective "Glechyki". 

The Crafts Center really comes to life on the day of the annual regional festival of folk crafts and crafts "Glushansky Khutorok", which has been held in early October since 2010, as well as during the work of the Estate of Santa Claus from December 25 to January 7. 

Work schedule:

08.00 – 20.30 – Tue., wed., Thu., Fri. (lunch 13.00 – 13.30)

10.30 – 19.00 – Sat.

10.30 – 19.30 – sun. 

Contacts:

cks@bobruisk-rik.gov.by

+375 2257 20-151

+375 2257 15-077