Minsk. The legend about the building of the first toilet.

If you've ever walked along Alexandrovsky Square in the center of Minsk, you've probably noticed an elegant miniature building that looks more like a toy palace or a stage set than a utilitarian structure. Today, the ticket office of the Young Spectator Theater is located here, and a rare passerby guesses that more than a century ago this place had a completely different, much more piquant reputation.

This building is the first public toilet in Minsk, built in 1912. However, it is not so much the architectural value of the Empire style that attracts attention to it, as an urban legend full of drama, deception and elegant revenge worthy of O'Henry's pen.

An idea in the Empire style.

The beginning of the 20th century was a time of active landscaping for Minsk. The city aspired to a European gloss, and in 1912, in the newly built Alexandrovsky Square (named after Emperor Alexander II) This small but solid building appeared. The architect chose the Empire style - monumental, ceremonial, with columns, porticos and strict proportions. The building turned out to be elegant, but its function remained a mystery to the uninitiated.

The legend of the dishonest rich man.

But how did it happen that the building of a public latrine acquired the features of an aristocratic manor? The story that Minsk residents tell by word of mouth began several years earlier.

According to legend, a rich and extremely greedy nobleman lived in the vicinity of Minsk. Deciding to build himself a country estate, he hired a young but promising architect. Inspired by the opportunity to create a masterpiece, the architect put his whole soul into the project, created magnificent drawings and personally supervised the start of construction. However, when it came to the final calculation, nobleman showed his true colors. He not only refused to pay the agreed amount, but also brutally insulted the master, threatening him with reprisals if he dared to complain.

The young architect found himself in a desperate situation. It was useless to sue an influential tycoon - the law and the courts at that time were on the side of the rich. But the talented man couldn't swallow the insult. He decided that revenge would be special: not criminal, but reputation-destroying.

Shortly after the completion of the estate, the city authorities announced a competition for the construction of the first public toilet in Minsk. The architect, whose name, alas, has not been preserved in the official chronicles, but whose resentment turned out to be immortal, won this order.

He created a project for a miniature but exact replica of the offender's house.

All the same columns, the same portico, the same proportions and decorative elements as in the rich estate outside the city were reproduced in the city center, but with one important difference. The purpose of this "manor" was diametrically opposed to high art and a comfortable life.

The triumph of the architect.

None of the guests and acquaintances of the greedy nobleman could resist the irony. From now on, to visit the toilet in the center of Minsk, any citizen or visiting nobleman actually "entered the house" of the greedy man. The rumors spread instantly. Invitations to dinner parties at that very country estate were now perceived as nothing but an insult. "We don't want to be in the same row as the latrine!" they joked in the living rooms.

It was a time of shame for greedy nobleman. His house became a byword. The proud rich man, who boasted of his position, turned out to be an outcast in high society. Self-respecting people stopped visiting him, fearing ridicule. Legend has it that very soon he had to sell the estate for a song and leave these places, and the architect, whose sense of self-worth turned out to be stronger than fear of those in power, forever inscribed his name in the history of Minsk - albeit with a healthy sense of humor.

Life after the legend.

The first Minsk toilet has long been closed for its intended purpose - in the 20th century there was both a warehouse and a utility room. Today, a fragment of the "empire" of that same greedy pan serves a completely peaceful purpose: it is a ticket office.

Tourists and newlyweds (after all, the square is traditionally a place for walking) are often photographed against the backdrop of this elegant building, rarely thinking that they are holding onto the handrails of the former "latrine", which has become a monument not only to architecture, but also to human ingenuity, wit and the ability to turn injustice into a story that is funny even a hundred years later.

So the small building in Alexandrovsky Square reminds us of an old truth: a real master can find a way to put an offender in his place, even if he has pockets full of gold.