Description of the attraction
The Brigitte Monastery and the Annunciation Church are an architectural and historical ensemble of the 17th century. The monastery was founded in 1653 by the spouses - the great Lithuanian Marshal Krzysztof Veselovsky and his wife Alexandra in memory of their beloved, untimely departed, adopted daughter Griselda. Over time, the territory of the monastery expanded and began to occupy an entire quarter of Grodno, and the Annunciation Church found itself at a busy intersection of two large streets.
The Monastic Order of Saint Brigitte is one of the most mysterious orders with a very strict charter. It was founded by Saint Brigitte of Sweden, endowed with a rare gift of insight. Initially, the order was conceived as a mixed one: male and female. Male monks had to wander and preach, carrying the Word of God into the world, while nuns had to pray within the walls of the monastery, strictly observing the vow of seclusion. The last Brigitte nun died in 1908. After the Brigitties, the Nazarene sisters lived in the monastery. In 1950, the monastery was closed and transferred to a clinic for the mentally ill. In 1990, the monastery was returned to the Nazarene sisters. Now it is a functioning Catholic convent.
In addition to the church, built in a peculiar Baroque style, which is very different from the traditional European baroque canons, the corner turrets on the monastery walls and the gate have also survived. The church and the gates are decorated with a frieze made using the sgraffito technique.
In the courtyard of the monastery there is a unique wooden structure of the 18th century, built without a single metal nail, which served as a hostel for the nuns.
