Project “16 Days of Gratitude”: day 7
Day 7. Street of Princes Ostrozhsky. Many Ostrozhskys were buried in the Lavra. Taking pictures in the caves is not very convenient – there is only candle light. Still I have another story about the Ostrozhskys, so let us continue our journey along the street of the Ostrozhsky Princes. This street was laid at the beginning of the 18th century when the Pechersk fortress was built, and was named to mark the path to Moscow. In Soviet times, the street changed its name several times as the Arsenal, Sergei Kamenev, and Nikolai Shchors. In 1944-2022, it was called the Moscow street (the old name was restored), but… on September 8, 2022, on the 508th anniversary of the victory near Orsha, it was renamed once again. The official explanations noted that “after all, this will contribute to the preservation of national and local memory. The princes of Ostrozhsky, in particular Prince Konstantin Ostrozhsky and his son Prince Vasily-Konstantin Ostrozhsky, are outstanding Ukrainian military and political figures from the time of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania”. I would like to tell you about Vasily-Konstantin Ostrozhsky (1526 – 1608) a little bit more. You already know about his merits as an outstanding Ukrainian-Lithuanian military, political and cultural figure, philanthropist, and Kiev governor, but do you know that he was the richest man not only in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and subsequently the Commonwealth, but throughout Europe, and had his own army that not every ruler could boast of. His achievements for Ukraine are outstanding; he was the founder of the first higher educational institution in Eastern Europe, the Ostroh Academy. The copies of the Ostroh Bible that he published in 1581 are kept today in the libraries of Oxford and Copenhagen. Throughout the history, the representatives of the princely dynasty occupied the highest government positions. The entire family of the Ostrozhskys left an outstanding mark both in the history of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and in the history of our states. Let us see where the street of Princes Ostrozhsky will lead us tomorrow.
Dr. Ruslana Martseniuk
Photos by dr. Ruslana Martseniuk
