Panyushkovichi. The Vincent Dunin-Martsinkevich birthplace.

On the high right bank of the Berezina, above Bobruisk, the pretty village of Panyushkovichi is sheltered. For thousands of tourists passing along the highway, this is just an ordinary point on the map. But for the history of Belarusian culture, this place is sacred - it was here that on February 4, 1808, in a poor noble family, the boy who was destined to become the founder of the new Belarusian literature and the national theater, Vincent (Vikenty) Dunin-Marcinkevich, was born.

The origins of genius.

Today, there is little to remind us that there was once a folk village on the outskirts of the village. The parents of the future classic, Ivan Martsinkevich and his wife, did not have their own land and rented the Panyushkovichi estate from a close relative, who was none other than the Archbishop of Mogilev, Metropolitan of all Roman Catholic churches of the Russian Empire Stanislav Bogush-Sestrintsevich.

Interestingly, the writer acquired the double surname "Dunin-", which is familiar to us today, only in adulthood. In the birth certificate, the future classic was simply written as Vincent-Jakub Martsinkevich. The prefix "Dunin" appeared later, when the young Vikenty proved his noble origin, which caused a lot of controversy among historians, some of whom believe that some of the documents could have been forged. Nevertheless, it was here, in the picturesque places on the banks of the Berezina, that his early years passed, shaping the future singer of his native land.

A point on the memory map.

Unfortunately, the manor house where the classic spent his childhood has not survived to this day. Years and hard times have not spared the building. Today, the place where the folwark was once located is marked rather modestly, but with great respect.

A memorial boulder has been erected on the outskirts of Panyushkovichi (coordinates: 53.2324, 29.1684). A plaque with the name of Vincent Dunin-Marcinkevich and important dates of his life is fixed on the stone. This place has become a point of attraction for those who honor the Belarusian word. Some sources also mention a memorial sign in the form of a gazebo.

Although the manor building itself was lost, and at the beginning of the 20th century the estate was nationalized and transferred to the first agricultural commune, the memory here is in the very air. Standing by a boulder and gazing into the expanses of the water meadows, you understand where the poet drew his inspiration from.

A life-long journey.

His earthly journey began in Panyushkovichi, but literary fame found him later. After studying at the Bobruisk Military School and an unsuccessful attempt to get a higher education, Dunin-Martsinkevich served as an official in Minsk. However, his real life began to boil over after he bought the Lyutsinka folwark near Ivenets in 1840, where he created his famous theater.

It was there, in Lyutsinka, that Belarusian speech appeared on stage for the first time in his comic opera "Selyanka" ("Idyll"). But the roots are always here, in the Bobruisk district. Today, the memory of the famous countryman in Mogilev region is supported not only in Panyushkovichi. In Bobruisk, the Mogilev Regional Drama and Comedy Theater bears his name, in front of which there is a bust of the writer.

Instead of an afterword.

Panyushkovichi folwark is a place with amazing energy. On the one hand, the complete desolation and ruins of the former manor, on the other - the realization that it was here, in this simple noble family, that the genius was born who gave the world the "Pinsk gentry" and "Gapon".

Come here in the spring, when the banks of the Berezina are covered with greenery. The silence here is special. And it seems that the wind is rustling the pages of old manuscripts, reminding us that it is from such small farms that great literature begins.