GOODBYE, WINTER. HELLO, SPRING!

The labor collective of the House of Printing gathered together in Zaslavl to say goodbye to winter and welcome spring, which is on its doorstep. This is the second weekend in a row when the company’s employees go together to spend the winter. As colleagues joke among themselves, to consolidate the result of the first group, those who went to gukanna viasna.

The Carnival festivities began with a sightseeing tour of Zaslavl, the city founded by Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavovich of Kiev, the baptist of Russia. The center of which has been declared a historical and cultural museum – a nature reserve. On its territory there are the Transfiguration Church of the 10th century, a Catholic church The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the XVIII century, designed by the Italian architect Carl Spampani, the Zamechek settlement of the X – XI centuries, a complex of burial mounds of the X – XI centuries, the Val settlement with the former Calvin collection of the XVI – XVII centuries, and the local museum and exhibition complex has a unique hall of tapestries – masterpieces of Belarusian art based on the ancient history of our lands and a rich collection of musical instruments from all over regions of Belarus.

Then the festive events will continue with a guided tour of the ethnographic complex “Mlyn”, which is located in the open air. Wooden, museumized buildings of the late 19th and early 20th centuries represent the everyday life of the village, have original interiors. The complex includes four facilities: a mill (mlyn), a house of importation, a sviran and a forge.

The steam mill in Zaslavl was built in 1910. The mill has served the residents of Zaslavl and its surroundings for many decades. In 1989, it was withdrawn from the Zaslavsky District Industrial Complex and transferred to the historical and Cultural Reserve, which museumized the facility and opened it to the public in 1990. In 1990 – 1996, the mill’s mechanisms were powered by an electric motor to demonstrate their operation to visitors. The engine was then stopped and sealed for fire safety reasons.

The importation house is a kind of hotel built by the miller for those people who brought grain for grinding, which provided them with “both a table and shelter.” Just like a hundred years ago, the hut still welcomes guests.

Sviran, standing behind the mill building, has a foundation made of field stones. Its facade is a gallery with a balcony, the railings of which are decorated with carvings. Inside, along the walls, there are grain storage bins. In the center there are various containers woven from straw and vines, as well as made from oak rivets, under the stairs there is a kufar – a chest in which the bride kept her dowry.

Previously, no village or town could do without a blacksmith: there was a great demand for metal products used in various spheres of life, including transport, construction, agriculture, and everyday life. A forge built in the first third of the twentieth century will help a modern tourist to immerse himself in the world of this difficult, but very necessary craft for people.

One of the fun and literally incendiary holidays traditionally brought with it a lot of fun and contests. The guests enjoyed a tasting of Belarusian home-cooked dishes, traditional Belarusian dances, a master class on making a “happy lark”, a traditional round dance and rousing dances. The finale of the merry Maslenitsa festivities was the wake-up call of the bear and the burning ceremony of the Maslenitsa symbol.

In general, the holiday was rich and varied, everyone was able to find entertainment to their liking.