Perhaps every fan travel in Belarus heard about Napoleon Ordu, - a composer and artist, whose works made it possible to see many historical places of our country the way the author captured them almost 200 years ago. The family estate and the small birthplace of Napoleon is located in the village Vorotsevichi, Brest region. In Vorotsevichi today it is available for visiting restored manor house of the Ords, as well as unique museumdedicated to the life and career of Napoleon Orda.
The Vorotsevichs passed to the representatives of this genus in the second half of the 17th century. Napoleon Orda, was the only son and planned to inherit the estate, but he was deprived of this right for his active participation in the uprising of 1830-31. The estate and the whole household was monitored by Napoleon's mother, Josephine Orda (nee Butrimovich).
Napoleon will return to his native land from a long emigration only 25 years later, in 1856 year. Almost immediately, he will actively take up the restructuring of the estate in the Western European manner. However, he will not spend much time here, he traveled almost all year round, and often stayed in pinsk palacewhere my sister lived.
The estate in Vorotsevichi, which was so close to the Hordes, was confiscated after the 1863 uprising. For some time, these lands were rented out, and then bought on favorable terms by Russian General Alexei Bushen. For him, it was a short-term investment, and already in 1876 the Novitskys became the owners, but they did not live here for long.
The best idea of how the estate in Vorotsevichi looked like is given by the drawing of Napoleon and the inventory of the estate in 1830. A large one-story house with 16 living rooms was made of wood. The central two-story part stood out with a complex two-level portico and a balcony. The park side of the house looked almost like a mirror and did not differ much.
The museum in the restored estate was solemnly opened in autumn 2021. Various expositions are available for visitors: a typical nobleman's room; office, workshop and living room of Napoleon Orda; bedroom of the artist's mother Josefina Butrimovich and others. Ord Manor is located outside the village itself, but be sure to check out the museum along the way (yes, there are two of them), and you can also see the Church of the Exaltation of the Cross.
In the neighboring city of Ivanovo, the only monument to Napoleon Ordaibid temple where the legendary traveler was baptized.
