Hrodna resident passes Grand Duchy of Lithuania era books to museum


A selection of rare books published in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania times has been presented to Hrodna Historical and Archaeological Museum.

The best part of them are Western European religious publications, but there are also dictionaries – Polish, German, Latin. Most of the books needs restoring. The restoration work may be done in Belarus or Poland.

The giver who asked not to be named wants the unique editions not to get lost and not to be carried abroad.

“These books were purchased from market traders, sometimes – from down-and-outers. They might have belonged to the libraries of the Catholic monasteries or priests – once there were many of them in Western Belarus. In 1939 [when the USSR seized Western Belarus – Belsat] the unenviable fate was awaiting such libraries, i.e. being burnt or plundered,” the man says.

 

When the restoration process comes to its end, the books will be handed over to the museum collections or to the rare book department of the library named after Karski.

belsat.eu

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