Project “16 Days of Gratitude”: day 4
Day 4. Konstantin Ostrozhsky and Kyiv. You see how it turned out: we met a long time ago and created a very strong state, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and since those times, we have been very closely connected, not only by common events, but also by people. One of such historical personas is Konstantin Ostrozhsky (1460–1530), the prince and Grand Hetman of Lithuania (1497–1500, 1507–1530) and the governor of Trakai (1522–1530), among other titles. He was one of the greatest commanders of the times, and one of the richest people too: his lands were often called the “Country of Prince Ostrozhsky”. Of the 35 battles in which he took part, he lost only two, whereas the victory over the Moscow army in 1514 near Orsha, where he skilfully led the Lithuanian army, is impressive till these days. With great triumph he then arrived in Vilnius. He lived a long life, 70 years, and died in one of his estates, Turov (present day Belarus). He was buried in the ancient Assumption Cathedral of the famous Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. Many Ostrozhskys also rested there, including his wife, brother Mikhail, and son Ilya. In 1579, Ostrozhsky’s other son Vasily (who was also the ruler of the Lithuanian castle in Kyiv), no less famous than his father, built a beautiful monument of pink marble over his father’s grave. However, in 1941, the Bolsheviks blew up the ancient temple and thus destroyed the historical heritage. Today, the monument has been restored thanks to the efforts of Lithuania and Ukraine, the charitable foundation “The Crown of the Princes of Ostrog”, as well as professor of the Vilnius Art Academy Arūnas Sakalauskas and Ukrainian architects. Let’s go and see how their work looks like!
Dr. Ruslana Martseniuk
Photos by dr. Ruslana Martseniuk
