A whole necropolis was accidentally discovered in the center of Grodno. There could have been a temple known since the 15th century

Excavated graves on the plot at Malaya Traetskaya Street, 4. Photo: newgrodno.by

On the plot at Malaya Traetskaya Street, 4, the company "RealtBudInvest" is constructing another administrative and commercial center, the project of which was developed by the creative workshop of architect Gennady Sheinman. Work, which began in October 2025, was planned to be completed in November of this year. However, all work had to be stopped when human remains were extracted from the ground during the excavation of the foundation pit, reports Newgrodno.by.

Specialists from the Institute of History of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus are working on the site: more than 20 skeletons, as well as ceramics and coins from the 16th-17th centuries, have already been discovered.

Павялічыць

Excavated graves on the plot at Malaya Traetskaya Street, 4. Photo: newgrodno.by

Павялічыць

Excavated graves on the plot at Malaya Traetskaya Street, 4. Photo: newgrodno.by

What kind of unknown necropolis is this in the historical center of Grodno? Perhaps the street name itself serves as a clue. Malaya Traetskaya and the parallel Velikaya Traetskaya streets clearly indicate the existence of a church dedicated to the Holy Trinity in this area, which has not survived to our times and is not reflected in any city plans.

In 1865, the magazine "Vestnik Zapadnoy Rossii" (Herald of Western Russia) published an article drawing attention to the name of Traetskaya Street. Based on a 1511 document mentioning a privilege granted to Matsey, a priest of the Holy Trinity Church, for lands in Suslaushchyna, the author of the article claimed that an ancient Orthodox cathedral of the Holy Trinity previously stood on the site where a charitable society house and a Catholic church stood in the 19th century.

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Excavated graves on the plot at Malaya Traetskaya Street, 4. Photo: newgrodno.by

It was claimed that the Catholic clergy, taking advantage of fires, simply seized the ancient Russian shrine, from which only the street name remained among the people. This logic fit well with the anti-Polish and anti-Catholic policies of the Russian authorities shortly after the 1863 uprising.

However, modern studies of Grodno toponymy and archival documents debunk this myth. As historian Natalia Slizh proves, the Orthodox Trinity Church mentioned in the 1511 privilege had no connection to this area. This church could have been either in the village of Azyory, from where the mentioned priest originated, or near the Borisoglebsky Monastery in Kolozha, where a wooden Trinity Church indeed existed, destroyed during later wars.

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Construction of the administrative and commercial center on the plot at Malaya Traetskaya Street, 4. Photo: newgrodno.by

Павялічыць

Object passport. Photo: newgrodno.by

In reality, a Holy Trinity Church existed at this location, part of the Augustinian monastery, known from magistrate acts and inventories.

The earliest mention of this church comes from a privilege of Grand Duke Alexander Jagiellon, issued to Farny Church in 1494. It describes "plateam, que vadit e Judeis versus ecclesiam claustralem sancte Trinitatis" — meaning, "the street that went from the Jewish quarter towards the monastic church of the Holy Trinity."

A 1674 document describes the plot of burgher Anna Raŭskaya, located above Haradničanka: the front side faced the street coming from the German Market, the back side — towards Haradničanka, one side — towards the Vilnius road, and the other — towards the plots of the Holy Trinity Church. All of this locates the church approximately in the same place as the now discovered necropolis.

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