"The Dutch architect" who rebuilt the Gate of Dawn and built himself a fortress-house in Hajciuniški, turned out not to be Dutch at all. But his legacy is captivating
For a long time, it was believed that a sophisticated master from Western Europe brought advanced building technologies and Renaissance tastes to our lands. It turned out that contemporaries and descendants invented his origin to add weight to his monumental legacy. His true origin was only recently revealed.
The charm of Nonhart's fortress-house in Hajciuniški, Voranava district, has been spoiled by metal roofing and white windows, but its grandeur is still felt. Photo: planetabelarus.by
If one opens the multi-volume "History of Belarusian Art", "Belarusian Encyclopedia", the encyclopedia "Grand Duchy of Lithuania" or the works of Aleh Trusau such as "Pages of the Stone Book" or "Monumental Architecture of Belarus", one will find the same confident line everywhere: the eminent architect Piotr Nonhart originated from Holland. The authoritative Universal Lithuanian Encyclopedia repeats this, calling him a Dutch architect. But today it has been proven that this is a beautiful myth.
In literature dedicated to the architecture of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Piotr Nonhart's origin long remained a subject of discussion. Polish researcher Maria Kałamajska-Saeed claimed that the architect came from a German burgher family from Derpt (Tartu).
Her colleague, Eusebiusz Łopaciński, owner of Liavonpal (Miory district), went even further and localized his homeland in the Netherlands, artificially reconstructing even the original pronunciation of the surname as "Nounhaard" — a version later supported by the well-known researcher Tomasz Kempa.
Piotr Nonhart's fortress-house in Hajciuniški in a drawing by Napoleon Orda. 1877. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
This Dutch myth was refuted only in 2022, when the monograph by Polish historian Kamil Frejlich "Under the Judgment of Vilnius City Governance. On Jurisdictions and their Inhabitants in the 17th Century" (Pod przysądem horodnictwa wileńskiego. O jurydyce i jej mieszkańcach w XVII wieku) was published.
Based on court records and archival materials, Frejlich proved that the architect's roots should be sought not on the shores of the North Sea, but in the artisan quarters of Krakow. His father was a native of Nuremberg, the goldsmith Mikołaj Nonarth, who executed orders for Sigismund Augustus and worked in both the Polish and Lithuanian capitals until his death in 1563.
An eloquent archival detail testifies to this identification: the architect's sister signed one of the documents in favor of the Evangelical Reformed Church as Krystyna Mikołajówna Nonhartówna. This patronymic reliably connects the children with the Krakow jeweler and puts an end to the Dutch theory.
Piotr Nonhart's fortress-house in Hajciuniški. Photo by Jan Bułhak, 1937. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Piotr Nonhart's fortress-house in Hajciuniški. Photo by Jan Bułhak, 1937. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Confusion into the master's biography was introduced by his contemporary, the Lutheran pastor Andrzej Schönflissius, who in 1633, in his funeral sermon, articulated a completely unfounded genealogy. According to the priest, the deceased's father was Stanisław, a nobleman of Emperor Maximilian, and his mother was a certain Elżbieta Axgermundyn, whom he grandiloquently called a "hetman's daughter".
But how did the son of a Krakow jeweler manage to break into the elite of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and become a nobleman? The privilege of ennoblement, issued by King Sigismund III at the Warsaw Sejm on April 16, 1590, testifies that nobility was granted to Nonhart not for his outstanding architectural projects, but for his direct participation in Stefan Batory's liberation campaigns near Polotsk, Pskov, and Velikiye Luki.
Upon ennoblement, Piotr adopted his own coat of arms "Nonnart", which was actually borrowed from the documents of his biological brother Stanisław, elevated to noble status in Breslau (now Wrocław) in 1563 by Emperor Maximilian II. It was this episode with the imperial privilege for his brother that, decades later, was transformed by Pastor Schönflissius into the legend of the invented father's court career.
How Piotr Nonhart Monopolized Construction in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
Given his father's long-standing connections with the Vilnius court of Sigismund Augustus, Piotr Nonhart's appearance in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania does not seem accidental. It is known that by 1602 he was already actively working in the capital, where the king granted him a garden, an abandoned mill, and a sawmill (that is, a timber mill) along the Vileika river for life.
Already in 1595, Nonhart received the position of Vilnius builder, which gave him access to the most important state projects. The next two decades became the period of his maximum professional activity. After the catastrophic fire of 1610, which destroyed a significant part of the city, it was he who, in 1613, concluded a contract with Bishop Benedykt Woyna and the Vilnius chapter for the reconstruction of the cathedral, taking responsibility for timber procurement and the creation of a new roof.
In parallel, the master managed the repair of the fire-damaged Lower Castle and was personally responsible for carpentry work during the construction of St. Casimir's Chapel — a masterpiece of Baroque architecture. To supply these large-scale constructions, Nonhart regularly traveled to Königsberg and Elbląg, from where he organized marble deliveries and hired transport ships in Kaunas.
The Reformed Church and castle in Kojdanava in a drawing by Kurt Sauermilch. 1918. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
His talent and organizational skills were not limited to the capital. By order of the Grand Lithuanian Cupbearer Janusz Radziwiłł in 1611, he signed a contract for the construction of a Reformed church in Kojdanava (today's Dzyarzhynsk), and later worked on creating tombstones for representatives of this magnate family in Dubinki (in Lithuanian, this settlement is now called Dubingiai).
In 1632, Nonhart undertook the creation of a marble tombstone in the Bernardine church in Ivye commissioned by Mstislavl Voivode Mikołaj Kiszka.
The Gate of Dawn in Vilnius. The upper part with the attic was rebuilt after 1610 according to Piotr Nonhart's design
Furthermore, as historians argue, it was he who was involved in the reconstruction of the famous Gate of Dawn in Vilnius, creating its iconic Renaissance attic.
The culmination of his administrative career came on March 21, 1619, when the office of Vilnius city governor was added to his position as builder, concentrating in his hands effective control over all royal property and construction processes in the state's main city.
A Lutheran Who Was Accepted by All of Vilnius
It would be wrong to assume that Piotr Nonhart lived solely by state construction projects. Over time, the son of the Krakow jeweler became one of the wealthiest people in the capital and its surroundings.
The list of his possessions constantly expanded. From King Stefan Batory, he inherited estates in Livonia from his brother Stanisław, and later actively began buying real estate in Vilnius itself.
Nonhart owned a stone house at the intersection of Zamkavaya Street (now Pilies gatvė) and Skapaŭka (Skapo gatvė), which in 1597 was exempted from military quartering duties, and another on Rudnitskaya Street (Rūdninkų gatvė). In 1619, he acquired a large estate in Antakalnis from Vilnius Subchamberlain Jan Alfons Lacki, where he presumably replaced an old wooden residence with a brick palace. The Sapieha Palace in Antakalnis, which the Lithuanians recently meticulously restored, stands on the site of that Nonhart residence, which later burned down, and the Sapiehas rebuilt it.
But Nonhart's main acquisition was the purchase in 1594 of the Hajciuniški estate near modern-day Voranava. It was there, in 1611–1612, that he erected for himself the famous brick fortress-house, which became an architectural reflection of his own tastes.
Religion was a separate chapter in Nonhart's life. He remained a convinced Lutheran, but at the same time, his second wife was the Calvinist Rochlia Shemetawna, who brought him the estates of Dziviaĺtava (today's Deltuva — near Vilkmergė) and Miłašuny nearby.
His faith was supported by concrete actions and money. When, in 1610, the parish priest of the Catholic Church of St. Johns tried to force several Evangelicals to pay taxes for the maintenance of Catholic shrines, it was Nonhart who came to the defense of his fellow believers and brought the matter to the successful intervention of the king.
Former Lutheran Reformed Church in Hajciuniški, built by Piotr Nonhart, later a chapel-mausoleum. Photo by Jan Bułhak, 1930s. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
In 1633, anticipating his imminent death, he drew up a will, in which he donated seven thousand zlotys for the construction of a brick Lutheran Reformed Church in his Hajciuniški, and also bequeathed 1770 zlotys to the Vilnius community, its school, hospital, and pastors. Even earlier, thanks to his financial support, Vilnius pastor Samuel Dąbrowski was able to publish "Christian Postilla" (meaning a collection of sermons, explanations of the Gospel), dedicated to the sister of King Sigismund III, the Swedish princess and Lutheran Anna Vasa.
However, Nonhart was not a religious fanatic at all. On the contrary, in the colorful and sometimes turbulent Vilnius society, he demonstrated a remarkable ability to compromise and closely cooperated with Catholic bishops and the chapter, rebuilding their main shrine.
Piotr Nonhart died on February 18, 1633. His funeral in Hajciuniški turned into a manifestation of religious tolerance and a testament to his immense authority. As Pastor Schönflissius noted, the entire elite of the Grand Duchy gathered to bid him farewell: senators and officials, Catholics, Calvinists, and Lutherans, burghers and nobility. Among the chief mourners stood the glorious Vilnius Voivode and Grand Hetman of Lithuania Lew Sapieha together with Vilnius Land Judge Jury Zenovich.
What Remains of Piotr Nonhart's Legacy
Little remains of Piotr Nonhart's building monopoly to this day. And while his works in Vilnius still define the city's appearance, the fate of the master's projects on the territory of modern Belarus has been tragic.
All that remains of Gashtoĺdava Mountain in Kojdanava (modern Dzyarzhynsk). Photo: planetabelarus.by
The complex in then-Kojdanava (modern Dzyarzhynsk) disappeared completely. In 1611, the architect signed a contract with the Grand Lithuanian Cupbearer Janusz Radziwiłł, after which the construction of a brick Reformed church began on Gashtoĺdava Mountain. Together with the nine-towered castle, it formed a single defensive and religious ensemble. In the 1920s, local historian Mikhas Adziarykha still found an embedded tin plaque with the date "1613" in the church tower. However, in the 1930s-1950s, the Soviets completely dismantled the Gothic and Renaissance monument for bricks for local new constructions, and even leveled the hill. Today, only a small remnant remains on this site, concealing the foundations of the former Reformed church.
Ruins of the chapel in Hajciuniški. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Nonhart's own residence in Hajciuniški was a little luckier — its walls survived, although its function changed radically. After the master's death, the fortress-house passed to Navahrudak Voivode Jury Chraptovič, who married the architect's daughter Zuzana. Over the centuries, the estate changed owners: Chraptovičy, Shrotary, Osten-Sackens, Rymshy. Next to the fortress stood the Protestant Reformed church built by Nonhart, in whose cellars the estate owners were buried. In the mid-20th century, the temple was destroyed, and its bricks were used to build outbuildings for a mechanization school, which was housed in the fortress-house itself.
In the 1960s, a regional psychiatric hospital was opened within the walls of the Renaissance fortress. And in 1989, a special treatment facility was moved here. Today, behind the one-and-a-half-meter thick walls, designed by the chief builder of the Grand Duchy, operates the Republican Psychiatric Hospital for persons who have committed crimes in a state of mental disorder.