Former Mayor of Talachyn District Restored a 200-Year-Old Chapel from Ruins

The Chapel's Restoration Took Six Years

The beginning of this story resembles a quest. Ancient tombstones from the chapel-burial vault of the Khamentouski gentry ended up with Aliaksandr Mareika when he was still head of the Talachyn district. In Soviet times, vandals, searching for valuables, unearthed the tombs. The tombstones were scattered. And two of them — those of generals Fiodar and Mikhail Khamentouski — somehow ended up in a private courtyard in Talachyn.

The owners of the plot, having found the monuments in 2002, came to the chairman of the district executive committee for advice: what should they do with them? Mareika ordered the slabs to be handed over to the military commissariat. The military kept them for some time and then transferred them to a local monastery. But even the monastery didn't know what to do with them. Eventually, the monuments were brought to the official's courtyard. There they lay for many years.

Rumours circulated around the town: "Look, Mareika bought monuments for himself and his wife while still alive."

The Khamentouskis are an ancient noble family in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and the Russian Empire. Four family members became generals, two — leaders of the district nobility, and one — a deputy of the State Duma from the Mogilev Governorate. From the beginning of the 19th century, the Khamentouskis were buried in a burial vault near the family estate of Khalepianka. The chapel was built between 1802 and 1823. After the revolution, local residents plundered the estate. Monuments from the princely burial vault were taken for construction needs.

Upon retirement, Aliaksandr decided to return the monuments to their historical place — Khalepianka, the ancestral estate of the Khamentouskis. Now, the village of Ravuchcha stands on the site of the noble estate. Of the estate buildings, only the ruins of the 200-year-old family chapel-burial vault remained. When Mareika came here for "reconnaissance," he saw a sad picture. The bell tower had fallen onto the roof, the roof onto the ceiling, the ceiling onto the floor, and the floor into the basement…

Павялічыць

Inside — mountains of garbage; one could only enter the building through broken windows.

Aliaksandr invited builders — to consult. Can the chapel be restored? They said: "It's easier to demolish everything and build anew." But the man decided: he would not let the building completely collapse.

— "My civic duty awoke," Aliaksandr explained his intention. — "I am raising four grandchildren, and they will ask: 'Grandpa, you lived your life, but what did you do?'"

From January 2018, Mareika began to visit the ruins almost every day. Six years later, in 2024, he completed the reconstruction.

Павялічыць

"Life Itself Forced Me to Continue"

Now, with the renovated chapel adorning the hill above the Kryvaya River, Aliaksandr recalls that the most difficult part was to begin.

— "I doubted: 'To do? Not to do?'" Many conjectures circulated around my idea. Some suspected that I was looking for treasure or receiving money from the descendants of the Khamentouski gentry. Others asked: 'Why do you need this?' Few understood that working in silence in nature was an outlet for me, as well as a tribute to my ancestors.

First, the man cleared the road to the chapel. It took almost the entire winter to break through the windfall. Then he cleared the debris in the building, and cut down dangerous trees nearby.

— "The trees were big, heavy! And I worked completely alone! It was so dangerous, you can't imagine! There was no road to the chapel at all, just a continuous windfall. I had to clear a path to bring in materials and the Khamentouski monuments. But I gradually got involved, and things progressed. People — both local and visitors — saw that everything was serious and began to trust me. And then life itself forced me to continue."

Павялічыць

From the very beginning, Aliaksandr decided: he would not count the expenses and time.

— "If you start counting, something will gnaw at you, and the work will stop. Besides, money was spent not all at once, but little by little: from one pension, then another, then a third… Old building materials were very helpful. For example, if I heard that a farm was being dismantled somewhere, I would go and ask. People responded willingly."

Three years later, in 2021, Aliaksandr put a new roof on the chapel. A company from Minsk donated 5,000 dollars for it.

— "Many thanks to the head of this company, Dzmitry Zaits — he even personally came to the site to assess the scope of work and help. We had to sweat over the roof: it was necessary to correctly calculate the structure, how to lay the rafters and beams."

Павялічыць

Mareika made the windows, ceiling, and floor himself, little by little. But sponsors also responded.

— "Inside the chapel, I planned to plaster the walls, but over time the bricks completely crumbled, and the plaster wouldn't hold. I tried to fix a mesh with dowels — everything fell apart. But a way out was found: I made a false wall, painted it — and on it, I securely fastened the icons. I installed new windows. I made the ceiling simple and neat — from ordinary plastic panels. I laid the floor. Dry planed boards for it were provided by Estonians, owners of a private sawmill in Vitebsk. It would seem, people far removed from our culture, what is some chapel near Talachyn to them? But they listened to my story, said: 'You are doing a good deed, we will help.' And the Vitebsk Oil Extraction Plant helped with equipment: it provided a tractor to bring the boards."

Finally, Aliaksandr installed the doors — and with that, the interior work was finished.

Павялічыць

Services Are Held in the Chapel on Holidays

The construction is over, but Mareika still travels to Ravuchcha every week.

— "I maintain the territory next to the chapel, keeping order there. I brought good soil here and sowed a lawn. Every ten days I mow it with a lawnmower, not a trimmer — to make it look well-maintained. A couple of times a year I bring a vacuum cleaner, a steam generator, and do a general cleaning of the chapel."

First, the volunteer installed four monuments near the chapel: to generals Fiodar and Mikhail Khamentouski, Mikhail's wife — Lizavieta Khamentouskaya, and their son, actual state councillor Pavel Khamentouski.

Later, while clearing debris, Aliaksandr probed the ground with a crowbar and found an abandoned grave. Deep in the earth lay a monument to another representative of the family — Volha Khamentouskaya. Thus, a fifth pedestal appeared near the family burial vault.

The main wall in the chapel is adorned with icons and lamps.

Павялічыць

Almost no local residents are left in the village of Ravuchcha: only six people in four houses. Therefore, services in the chapel are held only on major holidays — for example, on Epiphany. A priest comes, believers gather from different places — and the renovated chapel comes alive with prayer.

Tourists Come to the Chapel

Strangely, tourists have started coming to the small village of Ravuchcha, lost among fields and forests. People read online about the chapel restored from ruins and want to see it with their own eyes. Aliaksandr Mareika tries to make guests feel comfortable here.

— "The chapel stands on a hill, and below flows the Kryvaya River. Tourists raft along it towards Druts. I made a convenient descent to the water for them on the hill. I also prepare firewood so that they can calmly light a bonfire at their stop, instead of searching for branches in the dark. Soon I will also put up a gazebo: tourists will be able to rest there. You know, when people see that they are treated kindly, they respond in kind: they don't break anything, don't litter, maintain order."

Anyone can enter the chapel: the lock here is the simplest, a latch. Aliaksandr installed exactly that kind, because a key would get lost in an instant.

— "People see that the chapel is open and go inside. Sometimes they even leave donations. Many thanks to everyone: with this money, I fuel my car. By the way, although the chapel is open to all, there have been no extraordinary incidents throughout this time. Only one incident stands out. One autumn, I came to the spot, and a man was sleeping in the chapel. He had arrived from Barysaw by bicycle and was very late. It was damp and cold outside, and he had neither the time nor the strength to light a fire. So he spent the night in the chapel — in a sleeping bag. He told me he was hungry and ate raw pumpkin from a garden. In the morning, he got up and went to the station."

A spring flows not far from the chapel. Its history is strange. As early as the 17th century, a church built by the Khamentouski gentry stood here. In Soviet years, the church was demolished, and, according to legend, a spring gushed right from under its foundation.

— "The spring is still alive today. I brought Mother Anfisa here. She suggested: a cross must definitely be placed here. I found a suitable one, and we placed it with my grandchildren. I also look after this place: I lined the spring with stones, put up a fence, planted flowers, and mow the grass."

Павялічыць

Place of Power

The hill with the chapel became a place of power for Aliaksandr:

— "How easily one breathes here, surrounded by wonderful nature! It's immediately clear that the Khamentouskis were people of intellect and excellent taste. They knew where to settle to live joyfully and continue their lineage. They called the local field below the hill 'Danube Waves' — and it indeed rolls with soft, gentle hills. It's especially good here in March: during the day, the spring sun warms generously, and I love to ski here."

— "Once, the Khamentouskis established a huge garden on their estate and were renowned throughout the surroundings for their cheesemaking skills. Centuries have passed, but the traditions have not disappeared. Today, a butter and cheese factory operates in Talachyn — one of the best in Belarus both in terms of technical equipment and product quality. And instead of the manor garden, a giant fruit orchard of the local cannery rustles," Aliaksandr notes with satisfaction.

• 11
• 0
• 0
• 3
• 0
• 0
• 0
• 3