Restoration of the Town Hall Completed in Chachersk, Built by Catherine II's Favorite for a London-Inspired 'Ideal City'

The renovated Chachersk town hall. Photo: SB. Belarus Today

The project cost approximately 2 million rubles; funds were allocated as part of the state program to overcome the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster.

Before the start of work, the historic building was in a state that required immediate intervention. The last renovation here was carried out in the late 2000s, but problems with moisture and the wear of wooden structures remained unresolved.

The old wooden structures of the five towers — the central one and four corner ones — were completely dismantled. For their restoration, special timber was used, which was custom-made in Russia — only there was a company found that was capable of producing material with the necessary strength characteristics.

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Interior of the renovated Chachersk town hall. Photo: Chachersk Herald

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Photo: Chachersk Herald

The building was returned to its historical height of 33 meters, and an observation deck with a weathervane was restored. However, heritage protection activists note that an observation deck historically did not exist — it is not present in early 20th-century photos, but it appears in Soviet-era photos, before the war.

Also, a new granite spiral staircase was created inside the building.

To solve the problem of excessive moisture in the masonry walls, a special sanitizing plaster was applied. Its formula was developed and custom-made in Grodno.

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New spiral staircase in the town hall, faced with porcelain stoneware. Photo: SB. Belarus Today

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Exhibition probe of the authentic masonry of the town hall. Photo: SB. Belarus Today

After the completion of the reconstruction, the Chachersk Historical and Ethnographic Museum reopened in the building, its collections numbering more than 20 thousand items. Among the most valuable exhibits are mammoth tusks and Paleolithic tools (around 30 thousand years old), as well as a collection of unique icons from the Babitskaya icon-painting school. A separate hall, the 'Throne Room', is dedicated to the period of the Chernyshov counts. For tourists, animation elements are provided, for example, a meeting with actors in 18th-century costumes, and tasting of local winery products.

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Icons of the Babitskaya icon-painting school in the museum's exhibition in the renovated Chachersk town hall. Photo: SB. Belarus Today

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Museum exhibition in the renovated Chachersk town hall. Photo: SB. Belarus Today

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Museum exhibition in the renovated Chachersk town hall. Photo: SB. Belarus Today

Geometry instead of chaos

The uniqueness of the Chachersk town hall cannot be considered in isolation from the history of the city itself. Until the 1770s, Chachersk had a chaotic medieval layout, formed around a castle and a fortified settlement (detinets).

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The Church of the Nativity of the Theotokos and the Church of the Holy Trinity in Chachersk — twin temples, built for complete symmetry of the idealized city layout's composition. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

The situation changed after the First Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, when in 1774 the Russian Empress Catherine II presented the town to her favorite, the first Belarusian Governor-General Zakhar Chernyshov. The Count, a proponent of European classicism, decided to completely rebuild the settlement. He demolished the old fortifications and introduced a new, strictly geometric street network.

The renowned researcher of Belarusian architecture Yuri Chanturia noted that the layout of Chachersk bears a striking resemblance to Christopher Wren's project for the reconstruction of London after the Great Fire of 1666. At its core was the idea of creating visual perspectives that culminated in architectural dominants.

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Reconstruction of the Chachersk layout, in which the town hall building serves as the central element of the composition. Around the square, four rotunda temples were located, only one of which has survived, and the palace of Governor-General Chernyshov was built on the site of the detinets

The town hall was built at the center of this system. Around it, at equal distances, four rotunda temples were placed: three Orthodox churches and one Catholic church, of which only the Transfiguration Church, whose authorship is attributed to Giacomo Quarenghi, has survived to this day.

The town hall building itself combines classicism with elements of pseudo-Gothic architecture, such as pointed window finishes, which was characteristic of that time.

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The Chachersk town hall in 1895 still did not have an observation deck on the central tower. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Was it a town hall at all?

Although the building is traditionally called a town hall, historians still debate its actual function. It is not documented whether this building served as a magistrate's office, for which it was originally intended.

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The Chachersk town hall during the German occupation of 1941-1944 already had an observation deck on the central tower. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

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View of the Chachersk town hall after reconstruction. Photo: Telegram channel 'Gomel Region Officially'

It is probable that the beautiful building with prominent towers served more as a symbol of the new government and a center for urban planning composition, rather than an actual administrative object. However, the building's later fate is precisely known: archival data indicate that in 1863, a rural school was located here, and in 1884 — a pharmacy.

Today, after the completion of the restoration, the building continues to serve the city, now as a guardian of its history.

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