Pan Tadeusz arrives to Alanta!

More and more manor houses of which Lithuania was famous for once are brought back to life and its glory. Even if it is connected with “lords” and polish culture. The Palace of Alanta estate, which was recently renovated, invites for the annual festival of the beginning of tourist season known as “Pan przyjeżdża!”. In theatrical performance, Pan Tadeusz Pac-Pomarnacki, the last owner of this sumptuous mansion, will solemnly arrive to his summer residence.

Welcomes and farewells of “Pan Tadeusz” (starring by a well-known actor and former Minister of Culture, Remigijus Vilkaitis) has been taking place in Alanta for two years already. Shepherd boys (students of the local junior high school) and servants lead by tijūnas(the headmaster of nearby school of technology and entrepreneurship) will bow down to the lord’s carriage.

According to Viktorija Kazlienė, the initiator of the spectacle and the director of the Regional Museum in Molėtai, the lake district, which is the common name for the area of Molėtai, draws a lot of city dwellersduring summer. That is why, she came up with an idea of inauguration of the tourist season, symbolic welcome to summer guests, and reference to history. “We laugh that Pan Tadeusz was the first one to understand and appreciate the beauty of Molėtai area and the first one to built his summer residence here. Today, lots of people follow in his footsteps but the Palace of Alanta estate has second to none”- assured V. Kazliene who is proud of the palace restored to its former glory.

Alanta (Lithuanian: Alunta, Alanta) is known since XV century. In 1581 the king of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth,Stephen Báthorygifted Alanta to Gáspár Békés, a respected Hungarian general who fought for Poland. In 1598-1828, the residence belonged to the Radziwiłł family. Among others, Napoleon Nowicki was born there. He was a member of patriotic and secret society who was sent to Siberia in 1839 in connection with the Konarski case. He was married to Felicja Mickiewiczówna, Willamowicz’s widow. It was a romantic love story described in Pieśń Filaretów by Adam Mickiewicz. In Alanta concerts were organised to keep educational institutions, which were run in Vilnius by Tekla Iwicka, a cousin of Napoleon Nowicki. Her sister, Julia Iwicka, the wife of Mikołaj Bakszewicz (1824-1891), the eminent geologist, the graduate of Moscow State University and the discoverer of gold deposits in Altai Mountains, was also born there.

In 1828, the residence was bought by Tadeusz Pac-Pomarnacki. His son Aleksander started to build a new palace, which survived till now. Up to the outbreak of the First World War, the manor house served as the center of polish culture and defiance against Russification, even though the relations with local peasants (Lithuanians) wereoften tense. In 1855, Władysław Pac-Pomarnacki introduced czarist hussars to relieve displeased people, but they occurred to be even more merciless while punishing. In 1858, peasants wrote a complaint to Motiejus Valančius asking for the intersession. Five years later, also insurgents stayed in this area but it is hard to believe that a lot of local peasants were among them…

The Pac-Pomarnacki family never came back to Alanta after the evacuation before upcoming war in 1915. During interwar period, the authorities of the Republic of Lithuania nationalized and divided the estate. In the palace they had the dairy and library. Recently, XIX century traditions were brought back to life and included into the idea of the Night of Museums. Exactly today, Lithuanian museums invite for nighttime tours and special shows for free. The one in Alanta starts at 6.00 p.m.

Based on (information and photos): muziejus.moletai.lt

Source: http://www.wilnoteka.lt/pl/artykul/pan-tadeusz-przybywa-do-owanty 

Tłumaczenie by Jadwiga Granowska w ramach praktyk w Europejskiej Fundacji Praw Człowieka, www.efhr.eu. Translated by Jadwiga Granowska within the framework of a traineeship programme of the European Foundation of Human Rights, www.efhr.eu.