State Property Committee: The list of unused historical and cultural heritage sites has been almost doubled to promote among potential investors
The database update work was carried out jointly with the culture department of the regional executive committee. The information product was first prepared two years ago and included more than 20 buildings, manor complexes, and structures, mainly from the 18th-19th centuries. During this period, investors were found for 6 historical and cultural structures, mainly through auction sales.
After the update, the offering for potential investors was supplemented with 12 objects, mainly from the 19th century, some of which were granted the status of historical and cultural value in 2020-2021. In total, the database contains information on 27 cultural values. The ways of their involvement in circulation can be diverse: sale of ownership, lease, or transfer for gratuitous use for the implementation of an investment project.
The oldest object is the former manor in the agro-town of Sitski, Dokshytsy district, first mentioned in the 16th century.
Among the new additions to the list are the former treasury building in Disna, which remains the smallest town in Belarus, the ancestral estate of wine merchant and gold industrialist A. Kozell-Poklevsky, founded in 1850 in the village of Bykovshchina, Polotsk district, and a rare example of wooden architecture – the preserved estate of artist, sculptor, and ethnographer A. Romer in Postavy district.
Potential investors willing to contribute to the preservation of architectural heritage may be interested in the outbuilding of the former Gordzyalowski estate, located directly on the territory of an archaeological site – the ancient medieval town of Drutsk (Tolochnsky district).
The building of the former mill on the Mnyuta River in Sharkovshchyna district is notable for the fact that a nearby ancient crossing and the ruins of a former synagogue associated with the name of E. Ben-Yehuda, who is called the father of modern Hebrew, are located next to it.
The next auction for the sale of historical and cultural heritage objects is scheduled for May 16. The building of the former Carmelite monastery in Glubokoye (built in 1735, as indicated in the sales documents) is being put up for auction for 1 BRV (Br32). The structure has been for a long time
was not used. In 2014, by court decision, it was declared ownerless and transferred to communal ownership. Attempts to preserve historical real estate through private initiative have been made since 2019. The lot includes a two-story brick building with a basement with a total area of 1280.4 sq. m, as well as a land plot of more than 0.1 ha.
In addition to cultural heritage sites, the database includes data on surviving religious buildings in the Vitebsk region that do not have the status of architectural monuments. They cannot be transferred to ownership, nevertheless, potential benefactors have the opportunity to provide sponsorship for their restoration.
An example of organizing work with such objects is the Great Lyubavich Synagogue in Vitebsk. It was built approximately at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century. The father of Marc Chagall visited the temple: the artist's family lived on the neighboring Pokrovskaya Street. In 1923, the synagogue was closed. Before World War II, it housed an aeroclub, a House of Culture, and a warehouse, then it was not used. Only the walls, facade, and partially the ceilings have survived to this day. Today, a land plot is being registered for the object, after which a reconstruction project will be prepared.