The Dudichi Estate...
The echo of its old name "Dudutki"came to us from the
chronicle "The Lay of Prince lgor".
A gazebo on thePtich river.
In 1769 after his wedding to Alexandra from the Zaranko-Corbovskiy family, andobtaining an estate as her dowry, a magistrate of Koven and a voivode ofVitebsk, Joseph Prozor built an estate here in the Baroque style, witha 20-room wooden castle, formal gardens with two terraces, a lime-treewalk and a unique water system on the Ptich with sluices, a mill, smallislands, canals, bridgw and gazebos.
He founded a Uniate Church (later converted to anOrthodox church) with a Madonna icon purported to work miracles, openeda two-year
The Yelsky estate at Dudichi
school, and founded a choir conducted by Sir Vrublevsky which became region's greatestpride.
In 1785 Joseph Prozor gave Duduchi to his daughterRose as her dowry. Having moved to Dudichi, her husband Stanislav Yelsky,a cavalry colonel and the chief of Igumen szlachta (dynasty), changed thingsto swit himself. He invited 20 German craftsmen and had them teach varioushandicrafts to peasants (as early as 1766 King Stanislav-August grantedDudichi a "trader's privilege"), and since that time handicraftsand local trades fairs have been organized every month during the new moon.
Uniate Church (1970)
The Yelskysowned the Dudichi estate for 130 years. They made it into "a countyof muses", one of the centers of cultural life in Belarus.
Karol Yelsky (1782-1857), Stanislav's son, was a goodviolinist and wrote music. Sculptures by Kazimir Yelsky (1782-1867) decoratedthe best buildings in Vilno.
Mikhal Yelsky at the hunt
Karol's youngest son, Alexander Yelsky (1834-1916) was a famous writer, historian,ethnographer, translator and publisher, who opened a valuable museum inZamostye near Dudichi. Mikhal Yelsky (1831-1904), the Alexander's olderbrother, became a violinist and composer well known throughout Europe.
A. Yelsky with his daughter
The Prozorsand the Yelskys glorified these sites and left a bright landmark in thespiritual life of the homeland.
In their memory a museum-ethnographic parkis being created under the guidance of writer and publicist Evgeny Budinas,and with the creative participation of architect Sergey Sergachev, artistBoris Tsitovich, scientist Anatoly Fedoruk and many of their companions-in-armsand friends.
Whatever the time of year, whatever the weather, you willinvariably be impressed by the variety of life and the opportunity Dudutkiprovides its visitors to spend a day interestingly and full of content.
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