AY LINK OF TIMES
WHERE DID THE GHOST COME FROM IN THE TOWN HALL
OR WHAT DID THE 18TH CENTURY LEAVE FOR MINSK? In the 18th century It would have taken you less than ten minutes to walk from the outskirts to the centre of Minsk. Yes, the city was small at that time, with only five thousand inhabitants, but by the end of the century its population grew by another thousand. To compare: at that time 20 thousand lived in Vilno, 7 thousand in Mogilev and 3 thousand in Novogrudok. Unfortunately, we know little about the events that took place in the city two hundred years ago. Just think: there hadn’t been a war in Belarus for about 80 years — there hadn’t been such peaceful centuries before. And life was thriving in the city. The town hall was the seat of the town council, supervised by the councilor. It consisted of a council and a lava. The former dealt with public affairs, the latter was responsible for criminal cases. The lava could only try ordinary citizens, but it was difficult to influence the nobility. This is why
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there were many disputes at that time. The gentry bought lands inside the town and once they were bought, they fell out of the town’s jurisdiction. It led to serious problems. When a nobleman bought two plots on different sides of the road, he merged them, thus blocking the town’s tracks. The village headman was appointed by the king. Naturally, this position was taken by a big nobleman, who was often ready to sacrifice the interests of common burghers, so as not to quarrel with the richer and more influential masters.
Minsk was also the seat of the voivode, for the town was the centre of the voivodeship. Every two years tribunals were held there, at which representatives of rich clans appeared. It is easy to imagine that serious political games were played here… One can learn about the18‑century secrets of the capital during the author’s journey held by the guide Timofey Akudovich. Within the project “Drawing closer” he teaches to notice details, to read history from the objects that have survived in the city, and to admire it.
