Many townspeople are probably aware of the possible existence of an underground labyrinth under the historical center of Grodno. Some prefer to believe it, others are very skeptical. However, if the underground labyrinth really existed, then it did not arise immediately, but was built over a number of centuries.
The Grodno magazine has compared various information, we can come to the conclusion that, most likely, an extensive network of ancient underground communications arose in the period from the late 16th to the middle of the 18th centuries.
At different times, underground communications were found in various places in the historical center of Grodno. Having collected these numerous evidences together, several versions can be put forward.
Version one
The most popular version of the legend about the Grodno underground passage places it under a maximum security prison. Rumor has it that some of the ancient dungeons are even equipped with cells for prisoners. Which, of course, is another urban legend. One way or another, however, in those rooms that are located underground, especially during the intense flooding of the Nemunas, the water level exceeds the half-meter mark.
Second version
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The second version has a mysterious passage under the Jesuit (now Farny) church, by the way, located very close to the prison. The connection between these versions is obvious, because the modern prison became such only in the 19th century, and it was located on the territory of the former Jesuit collegium. If we take into account the version about the involvement of the "Society of Jesus" in the construction of underground passages, then there is no reason to doubt that some of them connected the collegium directly with the church.
Version three
The most controversial version speaks of the presence of an underground passage under the building, known from 1680 documents as the palace of Casimir Sapega. It is popularly nicknamed Batoryevka, although the oldest part of the stone house could well have been erected during the reign of the notorious king Stephen Batory. A photograph from Polish archives depicts an old diagram of all the premises of Batorievka. It clearly shows a huge network of corridor passages and cellars.
However, this building is one of the least studied historical buildings in Grodno. Today it houses the Department of Normal Anatomy of the Grodno State Medical University and the Cabinet of Curiosities. Together with an employee of the Department of Human Anatomy, I go down a steep wooden staircase to the basements of the building "anatomical".
The first thing that is striking is the high vaulted ceilings, reaching 5 - 7 meters and more typical for spacious monastery premises than for narrow utility cellars. Immediately I remember the truly royal underground path that connected the castles in Mir and Nesvizh. The walls of the dungeons are lined with palm trees - ancient handmade bricks, which, according to scientists, can be up to 600 years old! Experts say that these are ordinary basements, however, their size and design suggest otherwise. Quite often, spacious rooms are suddenly cut off by a narrow passage or opening in the wall, which beckons with its emptiness and mystery. It could be seen that the course descends deeper into the ground. Its walls were finished in the same places with completely crumbling fingerlings. Another of the rubble turned out to be insurmountable,in the light of the flashlight the continuation of the path was guessed, which, unfortunately, was further covered. A narrow tunnel, smelling of rot and stench, went south towards the monastery of the Brigits. Obviously, these basements in the old days were only a basement, while the true underground was much deeper. This is evidenced by the numerous arches, the top of which is barely visible under the feet. If we proceed from the fact that building bricks appeared on Belarusian lands only at the end of the 18th century, then the framework for the construction of the underground will converge at the end of the 16th - middle of the 18th centuries. Around the same time, the Jesuits appeared on the territory of the Belarusian lands, very quickly gained power and then just as suddenly lost it.the tunnel, smelling of rot and stench, went south towards the monastery of the Brigits. Obviously, these basements in the old days were only a basement, while the true underground was much deeper. This is evidenced by the numerous arches, the top of which is barely visible under the feet. If we proceed from the fact that building bricks appeared on Belarusian lands only at the end of the 18th century, then the framework for the construction of the underground will converge at the end of the 16th - middle of the 18th centuries. Around the same time, the Jesuits appeared on the territory of the Belarusian lands, very quickly gained power and then just as suddenly lost it.the tunnel, smelling of rot and stench, went south towards the monastery of the Brigits. Obviously, these basements in the old days were only a basement, while the true underground was much deeper. This is evidenced by the numerous arches, the top of which is barely visible under the feet. If we proceed from the fact that building bricks appeared on Belarusian lands only at the end of the 18th century, then the framework for the construction of the underground will converge at the end of the 16th - mid-18th centuries. Around the same time, the Jesuits appeared on the territory of the Belarusian lands, very quickly gained power and then just as suddenly lost it. If we proceed from the fact that building bricks appeared on Belarusian lands only at the end of the 18th century, then the framework for the construction of the underground will converge at the end of the 16th - middle of the 18th centuries. Around the same time, the Jesuits appeared on the territory of the Belarusian lands, very quickly gained power and then just as suddenly lost it. If we proceed from the fact that building bricks appeared on Belarusian lands only at the end of the 18th century, then the framework for the construction of the underground will converge at the end of the 16th - middle of the 18th centuries. Around the same time, the Jesuits appeared on the territory of the Belarusian lands, very quickly gained power and then just as suddenly lost it.
Version four
In the middle of the last century, witnesses of the destruction of Fara Vytautas claimed that under the ruins of the church there were clearly traces of underground communications. Those who managed to descend in those distant days into the dark labyrinths were simply amazed at their scale. Anna Petrovna Hotim, a resident of Grodno, once claimed that back in 1947 she visited a similar underground passage leading from the cellars of Fara Vytautas: “The dungeon was human-sized, about 2 meters wide. It was planned as a straight corridor with small rooms on either side. In one of the rooms there were iron stoves with white ash inside, in others - coffins made of rough boards. The further we went, the more terrible it became. Soon the sound of water was heard, it grew stronger and stronger, there was a breath of cold. We did not see where the underground passage ends, but we did not find a dead end either. The water was rustling right above us, which meant that the underground was underneath the Neman. Judging by the direction, the passage connected Faro Vitovt with the Franciscan Church on the other side."
Version five
Hence the fifth, perhaps the most incredible, version arises, connecting the historical center of Grodno - Sovetskaya Square - with the Zanneman part of the city.
All these versions have a right to exist. However, it makes no sense to consider them separately, since they only speak of the presence of basements under specific structures, but not of a wide ramified network of underground labyrinths. At the same time, there are numerous eyewitness accounts claiming that, having descended into dark rooms that smell of rot and dampness in one place, they came out into the white light in a completely different, located at a considerable distance from the previous one. There are good reasons for connecting all these hypotheses together.
Jesuit labyrinths
The mystery of the construction of the labyrinth is directly related to the numerous monastic orders: Dominicans, Franciscans, Bernardines, Carmelites, Brigittes and, of course, the Jesuits - the most powerful and privileged of all the orders that the Vatican just sent here. It was the Jesuits who occupied the leading position and exercised control over the rest of the orders. Who knows, maybe for this purpose a whole network of underground communications was built? In this case, the Jesuits took the most direct part in this "event", and the central part of the city should be literally dotted with underground passages, including the one that went under the Neman to the Franciscan church. The proposed scheme shows the location of the buildings of the Catholic orders in the city of Grodno in the second half of the 17th century.
At first glance, this theory contradicts the presence of an underground passage under the building of the Sapieha Palace (now Karl Marx, 1). However, the observant reader will notice that the path directly connecting the Jesuit monastery with the Bernardine monastery, if it really existed, should run directly under Batoryevka. It is interesting that the rest of the orders (Augustinians, Basilians, Carmelites, Mariavites and Bonifratrs) have nothing to do with the underground passage. At least, no such evidence has yet been found.
It is with the Jesuits that the construction of a secret labyrinth in Grodno is associated. The Society of Jesus arose in Europe in an atmosphere of intense discontent with the Catholic Church. The wide scope of the reform movement forced the Pope to seek salvation in the establishment of a new order, headed by the Spanish monk Ignatius Loyola. This is how the "Society of Jesus" was born, vowing to strictly defend the purity of the Catholic religion and fight for the power of the Vatican against heretics. Having first appeared in our country at the end of the 16th century, the Jesuits quickly gained power and influence at the royal court. In the 17th - early 18th centuries they were large landowners, one of the richest in the Commonwealth. In Grodno, the College of Jesuits occupied an entire city block, with a monastery, a pharmacy, a college, a printing house and a library. At the same time, among the members of the "Society of Jesus" themselves, there was a strict discipline, the Jesuits were secretly spying on each other with a report to their superiors about every step. It is not surprising, therefore, that under such conditions of strict control not only over its members, but also over the monks of other Catholic orders, the idea arose of building an underground labyrinth connecting the churches of the city above the Neman. For a long time Grodno stands out among other cities of the country for its abundance of Catholic orders.connecting the churches of the city above the Neman. For a long time Grodno stands out among other cities of the country for its abundance of Catholic orders.connecting the churches of the city above the Neman. For a long time Grodno stands out among other cities of the country for its abundance of Catholic orders.
The underground labyrinth is literally overgrown with numerous legends. So, there is evidence that the Jesuits kept their jewelry in one of the secluded passages of this large and intricate labyrinth. And there is no doubt that the "Society of Jesus" possessed considerable wealth. One way or another, but at the end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th centuries, almost immediately after the liquidation of the once powerful Rzeczpospolita, Grodno found itself on the very border of Russian and Prussian possessions. In essence, the city was divided between the two states by the Neman River. From the report of the vice-governor of the Lithuanian-Grodno province Peter von Berg (March 11, 1802): “The main drawback of this city is that it is located on the right bank of the Neman River, which stretches between the high banks to the borders of Prussia. Their border is on the other side of the river. "When the authorities of Prussia began to persecute the Jesuits on their territory, they quickly curtailed. It was at this time that information about underground communications under the Neman disappeared. The tunnel connecting the Grodno Market with the Franciscan monastery on the opposite bank was destroyed. It is not known whether the “brothers” of Ignatius Loyola managed to save their jewelry, but after that they are rapidly losing their influence and property. In 1803, barracks and a prison were located on the territory of the Jesuit monastery, and in 1820 the Jesuits were expelled from the Russian Empire. The monks have tried more than once to return the seized, but to no avail. With the expulsion of the Society of Jesus from our lands, the truth about the underground labyrinth also disappeared.connecting the Grodno Market with the Franciscan monastery on the opposite bank, was destroyed. It is not known whether the “brothers” of Ignatius Loyola managed to save their jewelry, but after that they are rapidly losing their influence and property. In 1803, barracks and a prison were located on the territory of the Jesuit monastery, and in 1820 the Jesuits were expelled from the Russian Empire. The monks have tried more than once to return the seized, but to no avail. With the expulsion of the Society of Jesus from our lands, the truth about the underground labyrinth also disappeared.connecting the Grodno Market with the Franciscan monastery on the opposite bank, was destroyed. It is not known whether the “brothers” of Ignatius Loyola managed to save their jewelry, but after that they are rapidly losing their influence and property. In 1803, barracks and a prison were located on the territory of the Jesuit monastery, and in 1820 the Jesuits were expelled from the Russian Empire. The monks have tried more than once to return the seized, but to no avail. With the expulsion of the Society of Jesus from our lands, the truth about the underground labyrinth also disappeared.and in 1820 the Jesuits were also expelled from the Russian Empire. The monks have tried more than once to return the seized, but to no avail. With the expulsion of the Society of Jesus from our lands, the truth about the underground labyrinth also disappeared.and in 1820 the Jesuits were also expelled from the Russian Empire. The monks have tried more than once to return the seized, but to no avail. With the expulsion of the Society of Jesus from our lands, the truth about the underground labyrinth also disappeared.
Archaeologist Grigory Akinchits, who carried out excavations on the territory of the Grodno Jesuit college and in the courtyard of Batoriyevka, argued back in the early 2000s: “There are no underground passages in Grodno, because the nature of the land here is such that it consists of quicksand and wet clay, while the groundwater level is high enough."
Legends and traditions are always contradictory. Some believe in them, others do not. But there is something about them that attracts people. Perhaps this is simple human curiosity.