Zakozel. Distillery.

In the quiet hinterland of the Drogichin district, among the landscapes familiar to the Belarusian Polesie, there is a hidden place that can rightfully be called the cradle of the technical progress of this region. We are talking about the distillery in Zakozel, a building that remembers the taste of good alcohol, the hum of steam engines and ... the very first electric light that lit here at the turn of the XIX–XX centuries.

The history of this company is inextricably linked with the name of Countess Bobrinskaya. A representative of one of the most influential families of the Russian Empire (descendants of Catherine II and Count Grigory Orlov) was not just a landowner, but also a true diligent hostess. It was thanks to her interest in developing the local economy that this magnificent building appeared in Zakozel.

Architecture for industry.

Today's distillery building is like a ghost of former luxury. Modern photos capture the already changed appearance of the building, but the old pictures (which miraculously survived in the archives) reveal to us the true greatness of the plan. Initially, the distillery did not resemble an industrial workshop, but rather a miniature palace or a neo-Gothic castle: slender towers, elegant architectural details, noble proportions.

This building is a unique phenomenon for Polesie. It turned out to be so durable that it withstood the crucible of two world wars, without sharing the fate of many neighboring estates that were reduced to ruins.

Technologies of the future.

The main highlight that makes Zakozel special lies in the technical stuffing of that time. Countess Bobrinskaya was famous for introducing advanced farming methods. A boiler with an electric generator, purchased from a German company, was installed at the distillery.

This event became historic: it was here that electricity was used for the first time in the Drogichin district. Imagine the contrast: around there is a traditional peasant life with a torch and kerosene lamps, and electric motors are already working in the Bobrinsky estate, setting in motion the mechanisms and illuminating the production facilities. It was a real technological breakthrough for the hinterland of that time.

The change of epochs.

After the revolution and the change of ownership, as it often happened on our lands, the distillery palace lost its architectural sophistication. The building was rebuilt to meet the needs of production, the towers and decor were lost. However, the soul of this place remained the same - alcohol continued to be produced here.

Surprisingly, having changed many owners and state forms of ownership, the distillery in Zakozel worked almost continuously until very recently - until 2021. For more than a century, this place remained the center of the economic life of the region.

Today, looking at the facades of the building, you can try to make out the features of the very "palace" that the Countess built. This place is a silent witness to the progress, wars and industrial history of Belarus. Zakozel's technological glory may be in the past, but the memory of the fact that electric lights were lit here for the first time in the area will forever remain in the history of Drogichin lands.