Tangible historical and cultural heritage of Brest Oblast

Cultural heritage is the spiritual and historical backbone of the Belarusian nation. It creates a sense of belonging to the common cultural space, forms the unique cultural identity of the nation and links the past, the present and the future generations.

In recent decades, there has been an increased awareness of the importance of the historical and cultural heritage. The state has undertaken many effective steps to preserve and protect it.

Currently, the State List of Historical and Cultural Values of the Republic of Belarus includes 778 historical and cultural values located on the territory of Brest Oblast, 738 of them are immovable tangible (345 architectural, 147 archaeological, 8 art and 234 history sites), 22 movable tangible and 20 - intangible historical and cultural values.

Of the four sites included in the UNESCO World Heritage List, two are located in Brest Oblast: Belovezhskaya Pushcha and Struve Arc.

Four monuments in Brest Oblast have Category 0 (inscribed or proposed for inscription on the World Heritage List). These are the points of the Struve Arc, a complex of fortifications of the Brest Fortress, the Kamenets Tower, and the church in the village of Chernavchitsy.

Thirteen objects have Category 1 of international importance, 138 - Category 2 of national importance, 605 monuments - Category 3 of regional importance.

Brest Oblast is home to a number of historical and cultural complexes. The largest are the historical downtowns of Brest, Pinsk and Kobrin, and also old quarters. There are about 500 uncatogized sites in Brest Oblast.

In terms of protection of the historical and cultural heritage, the regional executive authorities are guided by the Code on Culture of the Republic of Belarus, which spells out the guidelines, including in terms of the protection of the historical and cultural heritage.

The state program “Culture of Belarus” sets out the priorities of social and economic development of the Republic of Belarus for 2021-2025 and also the state policy in culture.

The legislation compliance is monitored by the structural units of the city executive committees that exercise state authority in the sphere of culture.

In accordance with the legislation, 1,742 (99%) conservation obligations have been signed with the owners of objects of historic interest.

In order to determine the regime of maintenance and permitted types of work, 66 protection zones for 158 immovable tangible historical and cultural values (21.4%) have been approved, including six protection zones in 2021.

The work on conservation of immovable heritage continues.

The prosecutor's office takes an active part in the historical and cultural heritage preservation effort. In 2011 the Culture Ministry and the General Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Belarus signed an agreement on joint action to protect the historical and cultural heritage.

In the field of protection of historical and cultural heritage the local executive bodies play a coordinating role, which is realized via the interdepartmental coordinating councils for the protection of historical and cultural heritage. They oversee the most important issues of legislation implementation, restoration and repair effort.

The state pays special attention to the preservation and restoration of objects of the historical and cultural heritage of Brest Oblast.

Thus, the project to restore Kossovo Palace and Park was launched in 2008. it is financed by the Fund for the Support of Culture and Art of the President of the Republic of Belarus, the national, regional and district budgets.

The restoration project is slated for completion in 2022.

The Sapieha Palace Complex in the town of Ruzhany is an equally important historical and cultural site.

From 2008 to 2011, restoration work was carried out on the entrance gates, the eastern and western wings of the palace and was funded from the district budget. A museum in the Sapieha Palace Complex in Ruzhany was officially opened on 25 January 2011.

Currently, restoration work continue on the eastern building of the palace complex, with the financial assistance from the national and district budgets. The project provides for the conservation of the main building and arcades.

Priority restoration and recovery work is underway to conserve the chapel in the agro-town of Zakozel, Drogichin District. The roof vault were cleared, forged elements and fragments of stucco were taken down. The Fund for the Support of Culture and Art of the President of the Republic of Belarus has financed the restoration and recovery work on the facade, fronts and vaults, artistic cast iron casting, roof covering and air barrier system in 2020.

Restoration work continued in 2021.

As part of the development of cross-border cooperation between Poland, Belarus and Ukraine, repair and restoration work was carried out on the Reitan estate in the village of Grushevka, Lyakhovichi District. In 2019, a lot of work was done including dismantling of the structures, development of external power supply networks, water supply and ventilation systems. The foundation was reinforced, insulated and waterproofed, the basement floor structure was reinforced and windows were installed, and roof elements were restored.

Currently, work is underway to fine-tune the design project, taking into account the archaeological research.

In Brest Oblast, purposeful work is underway to hand the unused monuments over to investors for the development of tourism in the region.

Detailed information about the auctions to sell old estates and the participation terms is available on the official website of the Brest Oblast Executive Committee in the section "Brest Oblast Territorial Fund of State Property (hereinafter referred to as the Brestoblimushchestvo Fund)/Auctions/Tenders" (www.brest-region.gov.by) and in the Unified Information Database of Unused State Property of the State Property Committee of the Republic of Belarus (www.gki.gov.by).