Vankovich Museum, Minsk

The Vankovich Museum opened in 2000 to celebrate the 200th anniversary of painter Walenty Wankowicz’s birth. Located in Minsk’s Upper Town, the museum occupies the historic site of the Wańkowicz family estate, which first appeared on city maps in 1793. The property was purchased by Edward Wankowicz, a judge and nobleman of the Minsk District, in 1846. His family, bearing the coat of arms “Lis,” remained influential members of the local aristocracy.

The estate originally consisted of a manor house and several outbuildings, including a stable, carriage house, and a yellow wing that housed the kitchen and the manager’s quarters. Visitors can still appreciate the layout that once guided carriages through a tree-lined driveway into the noble residence. In the 19th century, the Wankowicz home became a lively gathering place for Minsk’s cultural elite. Composer Stanislaw Moniuszko, a relative of Edward Wankowicz, lived nearby, while writer Vintsent Dunin-Marcinkievic was among the frequent guests.

The family remained in residence until 1920, when Piotr Wankowicz, Edward’s grandson, emigrated to Poland, leaving the property behind. The estate was later divided into communal apartments during the Soviet period. In 1980, a decision was made to restore the historic complex as a museum. The original manor house, which had fallen into disrepair, was reconstructed using 19th-century building techniques on its original foundations.

Today, the museum recreates the refined atmosphere of a noble estate through three main exhibitions: a reconstructed gentry interior, a portrait gallery from the late 18th and early 19th centuries, and memorial halls devoted to Walenty Wankowicz’s life and art. Period furniture, chandeliers, and carpets—sourced from the National Art Museum’s collections—evoke the elegance of the time.

In the courtyard, visitors encounter Uladzimir Slabodchykau’s 2010 sculpture The Artist’s Morning, dedicated to Wankowicz. The work captures the romantic spirit of the Belarusian painter, offering a graceful conclusion to a visit through one of Minsk’s most evocative reminders of its 19th-century artistic and cultural world.