Exiled Belarusians fund purchase of 17-century engraving of Brest

August 27, Pozirk. The MALDZIS initiative, a heritage conservation campaign financed by exiled Belarusian philanthropists, has announced the acquisition of a rare 17th-century engraving showing what the city of Brest looked like 360 years ago.

The engraving, titled “Urbs et Castellum Brestzie Litewski” (City and Castle of Brest-Litoŭsk), was published in 1696 in Nuremberg, Germany, by artist Erik Jönsson Dahlbergh. The artwork provides a highly detailed depiction of the city before Belarusian lands were annexed by the Russian Empire.

Sociologist Ryhor Astapenia, a representative of the campaign, noted that the engraving shows Brest resembling many European cities that have preserved their ancient architecture.

Scholars point out that this is the only surviving detailed image of old Brest, which was completely demolished in the 19th century by imperial Russian authorities to build the Brest Fortress.

The hand-colored piece measures 35 by 49.5 centimeters (13. 8 by 19.5 inches). In the foreground, it features a panorama of Swedish, Hungarian and Cossack troops outside the city walls. The center captures the skyline and a structural plan of Brest, highlighting its fortifications, castle, Catholic churches and synagogue.

The campaigners say that the engraving will be donated to Brest’s history museum when the political situation in Belarus changes.

In July 2025, the MALDZIS initiative, named after the late Belarusian scholar Adam Maldzis, announced the purchase of the French-language edition of Kazimir Semianovič’s Artis Magnae Artilleriae Pars Prima (The Great Art of Artillery, Part One).

The book, printed in 1651, was purchased at auction with funds donated by economist Pavieł Danejka, businessman Ivan Šyła and several others who wished to remain anonymous.

Danejka, administrative director of the BEROC think tank, has been branded an “extremist” and a “terrorist” by Belarusian authorities and sentenced to 12 years in prison in absentia for allegedly founding an “extremist group” and conspiring the seize power.

Earlier, the campaigners had acquired one of the first editions of Jan Nieprecki’s map of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, along with several other historical artifacts.

Society

Society

Belarusian philanthropists fund acquisition of rare 17th-century book

August 27, Pozirk. The MALDZIS initiative has announced the purchase of the French-language edition of Kazimir Semianovič's Artis Magnae Artilleriae Pars Prima (The Great Art of Artillery, Part One). The book, printed in 1651, was purchased at auction with funds …

Read