Pinsk. The building of the former Credit Bank.

In the very heart of Pinsk, at the intersection of streets bearing the names of the hero-partisan and the famous commander, stands a building that can be safely called the "safe" of the city's memory. The house at number 8 on Konstantin Zaslonov Street saw both financial flourishes and military hardships, and today it has become a temple of art. This is the building of the Polesie Mutual Credit Society, popularly known as the Credit Bank.

The history of this architectural centenarian began in 1912. The beginning of the 20th century was a time of active economic growth for Pinsk, and the new building at the corner of the future Korzha and Zaslonova streets was to become a symbol of this prosperity. However, it did not last long as a financial institution. After the events of 1917 and subsequent political changes, the situation in the city changed, and the building changed its profile, becoming an officer's club. But the most fateful pages of his story were yet to come.

In the pre-war years, the Pinsk City Committee of the Communist Party was located within these walls. This circumstance forever inscribed the building in the history of the Great Patriotic War. It was from here that the first partisan detachments went to fight the enemy. In these offices, a legendary squad was formed under the leadership of Vasily Zakharovich Korzh, a man whose name is now one of the streets intersecting here. In 1964, grateful descendants perpetuated this connection by installing a memorial plaque with Korzh's portrait on the facade, so that every passerby would remember the courage of those who started the guerrilla war here.

But the building is interesting not only for its rich biography, but also for its unique appearance. The architect who created it in 1912 clearly gravitated towards the Art Nouveau style, but did not escape the influence of eclecticism, creating a memorable image. The main architectural feature of the building is its angular design. The first floor is gently rounded, as if inviting you to enter inside. But the second floor presents a surprise: its corner is cut off, forming an elegant bay window balcony. The whole composition is crowned by a stylized figured pediment.

Previously, this pediment served not only a decorative function. A real chiming clock was installed in it, which measured the time for the whole city. The fate of the clockwork mechanism was symbolic in its own way: it was moved to another famous monument in Pinsk - the Jesuit Collegium. In the vacant place on the facade there is now a musical lyre, a stone sign that the time of commerce and wars is over, giving way to the beautiful.

Today, having crossed the threshold of this historic building, you will no longer meet any bankers in frock coats, officers, or party workers. Music has been playing here since 1939. The former bank housed Pinsk Children's Music School No. 1. The sounds of piano, violin and vocals were replaced by the rustle of bills and the clatter of typewriters.

This amazing metamorphosis made the building truly alive. It has not turned into a soulless museum exhibit, but continues to play an important role in the cultural life of the city. The old walls, remembering the economic boom and the military councils, now absorb scales and sketches, helping to educate new generations of musicians. Walking around Pinsk, it is worth lingering at the corner of Korzha and Zaslonova streets. You will see not just an architectural monument, but a stone chronicle in which entire epochs of the life of one of the oldest cities of Belarus are encrypted.