Maldzis Initiative Digitized and Made Publicly Available a Redeemed Archive of a Catholic Parish from Grodno Region
The Belarusian initiative Maldzis digitized and made available in open access the archive of the parish in Vialikiya Eismanty, in the Grodno region, dated to the first half of the 19th century. In March, it was acquired at a Polish auction with funds from the initiative's patron Illia Pakrouski, writes Most.
Illustration: maldzis.world
The redeemed archive is a so-called register — a handwritten collection of decrees from ecclesiastical and secular authorities, as well as various official correspondence. It contains information about the life of the parish and the local community, including surnames of local residents, mentions of vital records, individual family histories, notes on smallpox vaccination, church construction, and much more.
As reported by Maldzis, the scanning work was carried out in Łódź by a specialized company — Piotr Skandalski and Maciej Niewiadomski — thanks to the support of the initiative's regular donors. The result is a 1.7 GB PDF file. Thanks to the high quality of the file, it is suitable for detailed study.
“Digitized archives cease to be an inaccessible rarity, hidden in a single copy. They become common property — historians, local historians, researchers, and simply curious people from any corner of the world can work with them at any time. This means that the names of local residents, family histories, and daily events of the Grodno vicinity of the 19th century emerge from oblivion and return to living memory,” says Maldzis initiative head Pavel Matsukevich.
Representatives of the initiative promise that in the future the book, as a public gift, will return to its place — to the Parish of the Most Holy Virgin Mary and Saint John of Nepomuk in Vialikiya Eismanty.
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