First monument of stone architecture in Belarus, created in the Romanesque building tradition

Abstract

The article for the first time proposed a new version of the origin of masters who were invited to build the Minsk temple. The article says that the masters could be invited from Germany (Saxony), and not from Poland, as previously thought.In 1949–1951 the archaeologist Vasil Tarasenka found the ruins of an unfinished temple on the territory of Minsk Castle (later this monument was studied by E. Zagarulsky, G. Shtykhaŭ and A. Miadzvedzeŭ). The foundation and lower parts of the walls of the temple are made of stone and are squared with stone tiles of a rectangular shape on a mortar. The masonry technique is Romanesque, characteristic of Western European architecture.The main controversy is the time of construction of the temple. Some researchers believe that this is the second half of the XI century, others believe that the first Minsk appanage prince Gleb began the construction at the beginning of the XII century.Based on Romanesque construction methods, it is believed that Polish craftsmen built the temple. The author for the first time expresses and justifies the German (Saxon) origin of the builders of the temple in Minsk.