Description of the attraction
The old manor house in the village of Grushovka belonged to the old Reitan family - a Prussian noble family since the 16th century. In the 17th century, the estate was inherited by Dominik Reitan, who decided to build a beautiful stone house in the classicism style.
Alina and Józef Reitary became the next owners of the estate. Under them, the estate flourished, and the estate became one of the richest, but Jozef fell ill and the doctors did not recommend him to live in a stone house. Therefore, at the end of the 19th century, on the site of the old stone house, a new wooden house was built, cut from a very expensive and high-quality material. The large house had an attic floor, and a terrace was built on the porch with carved columns.
Dutch tiled stoves were built in the house, the floor was parquet, the walls and ceilings were painted, and precious chandeliers hung from the ceilings. The house had its own art gallery and hunting hall. The house was furnished with expensive furniture.
This house is associated with the life and death of an outstanding politician, diplomat and philosopher of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania Tadeusz Reitan, who tried to prevent the first partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and even disrupt the Diet. He lay down on the floor in front of the deputies and uttered the historical phrase: "Kill me, do not kill the Fatherland!" The deputies did not want to kill the Polish patriot, but agreed to the division of the homeland. In recent years, Tadeusz Reitan lived in one of the outbuildings of the family estate, where he committed suicide.
Now the Reitan estate is in a deplorable state. The wooden house where the club once was is boarded up. The brick buildings of the stables are used as a cowshed. The Reitan family chapel also stands in desolation. Only the old park with linden alleys is relatively well preserved.
