Description of the attraction
The vice-administrator's palace (Walitsky's palace, bishop's house) was built on the outskirts of Grodno Gorodnitsa in 1765-1772 according to the project of the German architect Johann Möser. Construction and further development was carried out by another famous architect of the 18th century - Giuseppe Sacco.
Initially, the palace was three-storeyed with two wings attached to the right and left. The palace was surrounded by a park in a regular style. Unfortunately, only a residential building and the remains of a park have survived to this day.
The construction of the palace was completed only in 1793. King Stanislav Poniatovsky presented the palace to Anton Dzekonsky, who sold it to the millionaire, adventurer and virtuoso player Count Mikhail Valitsky. Valitsky created an exemplary economy, manufactories in the manner of European ones, because the newly-made count spent half his life in Europe. Valitsky, accustomed to living on a grand scale, settled down with taste in the palace. In the northern wing, he ordered to place - "fuss" (carriage) and rooms for servants, in the southern - a kitchen and services. Despite the fact that Valitsky was an irresistible handsome man and had many famous mistresses, he died at an advanced age single and childless.
In 1858, the palace was bought by the bishop of Brest, His Grace Ignatius. It housed not only the residence of the bishop, but also the spiritual consistory and housing of the priests. The southern wing was converted into a house church. The residents of Grodno quickly forgot the previous dissolute owner of this palace complex, and the complex itself became known as the Bishop's courtyard. Many Orthodox metropolitans and bishops later lived here. The walls of the palace were painted with frescoes, and the church of John the Baptist was located in the palace.
In 1952, the bishop's courtyard was confiscated by the state and transferred to the Grodno State Medical University.
In 2004, after long requests from the faithful, all the surviving buildings included in the palace complex were transferred to the Orthodox Church. Repair and restoration work is underway, after which a library, a social assistance center, a missionary department and a department for youth affairs of the diocese will open here.
