The museum complex of the National University of Ostroh Academy includes the premises of the 18th century, the architectural monument of local significance. An interesting exhibition section is the so-called “memory room” – an exposition dedicated to the history of the modern academy buildings .
First of all the premises were built for the monastery of the Catholic Order of Friars Minor Capuchins. The monastery existed from 1775 to 1832. After the Polish uprising of 1831, the monastery was closed, and the buildings stood empty. In 1865-1922 there was a women’s school named after Count Dmitry Bludov.
During the interwar period, the buildings that previously belonged to the monastery housed a Polish teacher’s seminary, and after 1945 – a Soviet pedagogical school, as the territory was ceded to the USSR. Later, there was a boarding school (1956-1986), a sanatorium for children with attenuated forms of tuberculosis (1986-1992), a secondary school №4 (1992-1994). Already in 1994, all the buildings were transferred to the Ostroh Academy. The exposition presents documents and things that belonged to the previous owners of the premises.
One of the most exciting exhibits of this hall is the inner monastery well. For a long time, nobody could even guess about its existence. In Capuchin monastery, this room served the kitchen, and monks used the well for their household purposes. After the monastery`s clouser by the tsarist authorities, the premises fell into disrepair, then used for the needs of various educational institutions. According to some data, the well was used even in the postwar years of the 20th century. However, later, the aboveground part of the well was destroyed, and the floor level of the well was covered with wooden boards. Over time, everyone forgot about its existence. In the time of the boarding school, the room served as a dormitory for boys. Children often got sick, but nobody associated it with the bed being located above the well. The mystery of the Capuchin`s well was unveiled during the revival of the academy. The workers found the well during repair. Today, its depth is 25 meters. Tourists and academy guests often throw coins there, devising their own legends about this place.
