Press releases

BREST, 15 October (BelTA) – The Ivanovo District Executive Committee will get an international technical aid for opening the Napoleon Orda Museum in the village of Vorotsevichi, BelTA learnt from Maksim Aldanov, head of the Brest office of the Joint Technical Secretariat of the Cross-Border Cooperation Program Poland-Belarus-Ukraine.

The construction of a museum on the native land of the well-known artist, musician and composer of the 19^th century is the main goal of the Belarusian part of the intentional technical assistance program “Cross Border Centers of the Dialogue of Cultures in Losice and Vorotsevichi”. The project was approved by Council of Ministers’ resolution of 3 October 2013. The partners are expected to sign a grant contract in the near future. The Brest Oblast Executive Committee will coordinate and control the implementation of the project.

A cross border center of the dialogue of cultures in the city of Losice (Mazowieckie Province, the Republic of Poland) will be developed from grass roots at a time when the Napoleon Orda regional museum complex will make the basis for the cross border center in Vorotsevichi. The project envisages reconstruction of the former Vorotsevichi secondary school, reconstruction and re-equipment of its premises for the needs of the future museum. The cost of the program is estimated at almost €1.5 million. The budget of the Belarusian part of the program amounts to €347,700, including €309,500 of the European Union funds. It is expected that the project will be implemented within 19 months from its official registration.

New infrastructure will allow for tapping deeper into the cultural heritage and tourism potential of the regions, promote cross-cultural cooperation. According to Director of Napoleon Orda regional museum complex Dmitry Kozak, there are over 2,500 exhibits connected with the life and creativity of the outstanding musician and artist. The picture gallery which was opened six years ago showcases up to 300 copies of Napoleon Orda’s drawings, watercolors and lithography.

The restoration of Napoleon Orda’s family estate in Krasny Dvor area, Ivanovo District, was launched four years ago. The works on the development of a museum complex in the village of Vorotsevichi have been held since 2000. Apart from the museum and a picture gallery the project envisages the construction of a country estate, small crafts workshops, a stable yard, a park, a pond, a cafe-bar, a hotel and other facilities.

Napoleon Orda was born in the village of Vorotsevichi, Pinsk District, Minsk Province on 11 February 1807 and died in Warsaw on 26 April 1883. According to his will, his body was transported and buried in the family vault in the city of Yanovo (now Ivanovo, Brest Oblast). One of the down-town streets and Ivanovo school of art were named after this prominent musician and artist. In August 1997 a monument to Napoleon Orda was erected in Ivanovo to mark his 190^th birthday (sculptor Ivan Golubev). Napoleon Orda’s creative heritage comprises more than 1,150 watercolors and graphics as well as over 20 musical compositions.