Reitan Manor in Grushevka village

In Belarus, there are many ancient estates that belonged to various gentry and magnate dynasties of Belarus. Some of them are well preserved and are located within the boundaries of large cities (for example, the famous Prushinsky manor in Loshitsky Park in Minsk), and some will never be restored, as they are located in the exclusion zone of the Chernobyl accident (Gerard Manor in Demyanki). Each residence keeps the memory of the past, of its owners, their lives and secrets; some are preserved in perfect condition, others are in ruins; some were rebuilt many times, others came to us in a virtually intact state. From this article you’ll know about Reitan manor in Grushevka village, located in the neighbourhood of Lyakhovichi.

The Reitans family and Grushevka: pages of history

For the first time the village was mentioned in the annals in distant 1551: Queen Barbara Radziwill handed over Grushevka to Nikolai Zalessky. This dynasty held Grushevka for a short time: at the end of the 17th century, the lands were granted to Knight Reitan for the heroism shown in the battle of Vienna.

An interesting fact from VETLIVA: the majority of settlements, along with the residences in their territory, constantly changed owners. But not Grushevka: the Reitans owned it for three and a half centuries!

In 1705, Dominic Reitan became the owner of the village, followed by his son Tadeusz, one of the most famous representatives of the dynasty.

VETLIVA tells: Tadeusz Reitan made history as a man who tried his best to save the Commonwealth from the division at the Sejm of 1773 but failed. «Kill me, but do not kill the Motherland» - he said. Thanks to this phrase he made history and became known as the Polish Don Quixote. Tadeusz didn’t see the collapse of his homeland, because he died on his estate in 1780, long before the final disappearance of the state called Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.

After Tadeusz’ death, his brothers Anton and Stanislav became the owners of the estate. They had no heirs, so after their death, Grushevka passed on to their nephew Dominic. It was he who laid the estate here - made from stone, in classicism style. From Dominic’s son Stepan, the possessions passed to Jozef, and that was the time when that glorious representative of the Reitans dynasty became the initiator of building the manor from wood at the end of the XIX century. It is rumoured that the owner of the estate chose a less durable wood as the main material due to the fact that doctors did not advise him to live in a stone house.

The manor is not the only building to which Yuzef Reitan had a hand. Using his own and his wife’s (Alina Garting) money, the church of St. Jozef in Lyakhovichi was also built.

After Jozef’s death ( in 1910), Grushevka was inherited by the son of Jozef’s sister, Heinrich Grabowski. The last owner of the estate was the son of Heinrich Grabovsky - Alexander.

Reitan Manor in Grushevka: modern look

Now, this landmark of the Brest region is gradually being destroyed. The old Belarussian manor in Grushevka is both lucky and unlucky at the same time: it is on the balance of the local collective farm. On the one hand, the doors and windows are tightly boarded up to prevent outsiders from entering, on the other hand, it is surrounded by existing agricultural outbuildings.

Inside, the manor amazed the imagination with wealth: Dutch tile, parquet, panels and ceilings were decorated with carvings and paintings. The owners honoured the memory of their famous ancestor, and therefore staged a whole hall of fame dedicated to Tadeusz Reitan.

Now there are only bare walls left, broken windows - there’s no trace of former greatness. This is because in Soviet times, at first, the club was located in the estate, and then the vegetable store. And the current state leaves much to be desired. Despite this, Reitan manor deservedly replenishes the State list of historical and cultural values ​​of the Republic of Belarus.

Brest is an area with many sights. There are the famous Brest Fortress and Belovezhskaya Pushcha, as well as many other amazing places. Travel around Belarus with VETLIVA and discover interesting sights, such as Reitan manor in Grushevka.