The Bohvits family estate in Podorosk village

Podorosk is a wonderful place, through which a small river Zelvianka flows, it is located in Grodno region, Volkovysk district, near the area where Brest region begins. Podorosk was a well developed settlement in past.

It was first mentioned in the state chronicles in the XVI century. It is known for certain that Podorosk settlement had the Magdeburg Right, a most prestigious at that time. As a result of one of the partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Podorosk was included in the Russian Empire, belonged to the Polish lands, until it finally became a part of the BSSR. Now the picturesque place doesn’t have such a glory which it has enjoyed before, but there is something here, that every Belarusian can be rightly proud of. This is the Bohvits family estate in the village of Podorosk, which has been preserved to this day.

It is believed that the prosperous Chechot kin owned the estate for the first time, until it was passed to the son, famous philosopher Bohvits, Roman, in the middle of XIX century. A luxury house and its surroundings were changed beyond recognition at his initiative. A lovely house was built in the popular style of classicism, it had a rectangular shape and consisted of the main facade with a terrace and massive columns. The building was framed with a high roof, and two floors finished with a spacious loft. The house was surrounded by a lush park, where local trees dominated. It is interesting that the wealthy estate owners had possessed a small distillery and a mill before.

The Soviet period distinguished with the fact that it tried to equip the house with buildings for the needs of the socialist state. It is certainly known that a local farm administration and an educational institution were located in the estate house. Currently, not only the house with the large park have been preserved but also the household outbuildings, including a part of the fence made of brick and the massive gates at the entrance.

The most interesting is that the Bohvits family estate was bought by a businessman from the Russian Federation not so long ago. Although the estate was removed from auction for a long time, since no applications for its purchase have been received. Now the estate is under the renovation, and the owner has truly Napoleonic plans for it: from the opening of a cozy tavern to a luxury hotel and other tourist attributes. It had been on the balance of the local farm before the Bohvits family estate was purchased. The building was abandoned and wasn’t claimed for a long time. The park was in disrepair and the house windows were nailed down.