Bialystok University of Technology together with three universities and a monastery saves catacombs in Supraśl

It was at Bialystok University of Technology that a working meeting of a dozen or so scientists and the archimandrite of the Supraśl monastery took place, during which we got to know the action plan of scientists united in an important matter for the preservation of Polish cultural heritage.

– The three Białystok universities, the Supraśl Monastery and the Christian Academy of Theology undertook a huge project of saving and securing the historic catacombs located near the Supraśl Monastery, says Assoc. Prof. Marta Kosior-Kazberuk, DSc, PhD, Eng, Rector of Bialystok University of Technology. – This rescue of catacombs and their protection will be preceded by a very extensive research in which the potential of all universities will be used, which should give a synergy effect. Thanks to this, we will learn a lot about the history and changes that have taken place in this building, but also we will learn about our own potential and develop scientifically.

– This is the burial place of the elite of the Polish Nobility, emphasises Assoc. Prof. Maciej Karczewski, PhD, from the Faculty of History and International Relations of the University of Bialystok. – Here have lied and still lie the remains of truly eminent figures: the mother of Aleksander Chodkiewicz, Aleksander Chodkiewicz himself, other representatives of the Chodkiewicz family, but we also have the Czartoryski, Sanguszko and Sapieha families next to the Chodkiewicz family. There are the Siemaszko family, the Słuckis, the Tyszkiewiczs, the Massalskis, the Olelkowiczs, the Wiśniowieckis. These are names we all know from primary and secondary school history lessons. The remains of these people, together with the monks of the monastery, were buried in these catacombs.

– The catacombs are an object which in a way has no equal in our country – stresses Andrzej Borkowski, PhD, Bishop of Supraśl, Archimandrite of Monastery of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Supraśl. – Maybe on the outside you cannot see what the earth hides inside but we would like to save this structure. Without this class of specialists we would not be able to do it ourselves. Białystok and our universities have such renowned scientists and specialists that we won’t have to look far for them and together we will be able to prepare for a larger grant that will allow us to secure this archaeological structure that we have not far from Białystok, in Supraśl and which could also be a showpiece of our Podlasie region. Properly securing and exposing this site will also do great things for our entire region.

– Not only on a regional scale but also on a national scale I do not know of any other catacombs connected with the Eastern confession of Christianity which exist in the territory of Poland – claims Assoc. Prof. Karczewski, PhD. – This is an extremely valuable testimony and at the same time one of the oldest preserved monuments not only in Supraśl, but in Podlasie, as far as monuments of architecture and construction are concerned. It is a late Gothic building. This cooperation will also be cooperation with the social and institutional environment. It should be remembered that we will certainly be looked at not only in our own country, but also in the East and in neighbouring countries. The cooperation of leading academic centres of the region is something extraordinary! This monument has priority, social and cultural significance, and another benefit for us will be the creation of a positive image of our universities – each individually and all together showing Białystok as a strong academic centre with a very broad spectrum of scientific activities. We will show this from the perspective that we are acting in a concrete way for the protection of historical monuments, but first and foremost for the benefit of Polish society, especially the society of the region, as catacombs are a very important source of regional identity.

The priority objective is the conservation of the relics of the Supraśl catacombs in the form of the so-called permanent ruins.

– At the design stage there is a need for an analysis of the state of preservation of the masonry relics of the catacombs, the statics of the building, the condition of the bricks, the condition of the mortar, an analysis of the mineral substrate, the development of technical documentation, the development of guidelines for the conservation of the relics resulting from the analysis of the state of preservation and the mineral substrate, the development of guidelines for necessary archaeological and archaeological-architectural research at the stage of conservation of the catacombs and, finally, an archival search and study of the history of the catacombs, which can support the architectural and archaeological analyses at the first stage – lists in one breath Assoc. Prof. Karczewski, PhD. – The sources may explain to us why certain things in the catacombs look the way they do and not differently.

History of the catacombs

Around the catacombs there was a burial cemetery. In 2011, rescue excavations took place, and during the modernisation of the street the remains of more than 50 people were excavated.

– In 2013, on the initiative of the monastery, a titanic work of demolition of the catacombs was undertaken, his excellency the bishop himself personally physically worked during this demolition – recalls Assoc. Prof. Maciej Karczewski, PhD from the Faculty of History and International Relations of the University of Bialystok. – I was very impressed, it was social work, I am still very grateful that I was offered archaeological supervision over this work, because it was necessary. Among the remains there was such rubbish as a bed frame, a basin, but also a capital badge “Gift of Archimandrite Nikolai Dalmatov” from 1885. Perhaps it was the wrapper cover of a liturgical book? But this is my intuition.

In spite of their apparently disastrous state of preservation, the catacombs were still a place of worship connected with the burial function of the catacombs. Two legends are also connected with them. One says that there was a connection between the monastery buildings and the catacombs. The second legend was created by Zdzisław Skrok and has even entered the scientific literature.

– He wrote that the catacombs were expanded at some point due to the differentiation of the floor, recalls Assoc. Prof. Karczewski, PhD. – In 2013 it was possible to thoroughly clean the floor of the entire catacombs and this made it possible to reveal that someone had simply obtained some stones for some needs from the floor of the catacombs and there had been no expansion.

Prof. Antoni Mironowicz of the Faculty of History and International Relations of the University of Bialystok prepared for the meeting a list of the most important personalities who ended up in the Supraśl catacombs after their deaths. These are:

• – Aleksander Chodkiewicz, Provincial Governor of Novgorod (d. 1547) and his wife Vasilisa, Princess Yaroslavovichovna,

• – Aleksander Chodkiewicz’s mother – Agnes Skirgiełłówna,

• – Grzegorz Chodkiewicz, hetman of Lithuania (1561-1572) and his wife Catherine Ivanovna Wiśniowiecka,

• – wife of Michał Tyszkiewicz, royal courtier (1533-1550),

• – Sophia, daughter of Eustachy Jacynicz, widow of Michał Ivanowicz Gliński,

• – Bazyli Tyszkiewicz, Provincial Governor of Podlasie and Smolensk,

• – other representatives of ducal and magnate families: the Chodkiewicz family, the Czartoryski family, the Sanguszko family, the Sapieha family, the Siemaszko family, the Słucki family, the Sołomerecki family, the Tyszkiewicz family, the Massalski family, the Olelkowicz family, the Wiśniowiecki family and many others.