Gieranony is a village associated with the Gasztold family. It was here that a castle was built, believed to be the site of the first meeting between Sigismund Augustus and Barbara Radziwiłłówna, then still the wife of Stanislav Gasztold. They married in the church, which is still in use today, albeit after several reconstructions.

Gieranony - the residence of the Gasztold family
. The small town of Gieranony is situated in the historical Vilnius region, and is now part of Belarus, in the Ivye district of the Grodno region. Its earliest history is linked to the Gasztold dynasty - one of the wealthiest in Lithuania in the 15th and early 16th centuries. In 1433, Duke Sigismund Kęstutowicz granted Gieranony to his court marshal and one of the most influential Lithuanian magnates, Ivashka Gasztold (1393-1458). This was more of a confirmation of ownership, as the estate had already been in the hands of the family at the end of the 14th century. Andrew Gasztold (1342-1408), starosta of Vilnius and father of the above-mentioned Ivashka, can be considered the first owner of the village. Gieranony, as the family's residence, was also mentioned in Teutonic Knights' signposts from around 1400.

Another representative of the family who had a great influence on the development of the village was Iwaszka's grandson, Olbracht Gasztold (1470-1539), Lithuanian chancellor and voivode of Vilnius. Gieranony was his favourite estate, which he turned into a truly grandiose residence by erecting a magnificent castle before 1525, worthy of a dignitary titling himself Count of Gieranony.

Olbracht's heir was his son Stanislav (c. 1507-1542), Voivode of Troki, the last of the family, who died childless in 1542. His widow, Barbara Radziwiłłówna (1520-1551), later Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania (wife of Sigismund Augustus), retained her life estate in Gieranony, but the estate itself returned to the monarch's domain. From then on, the Gieranony starosty became a royal estate.

Gieranony - successive owners
In 1795, the estate was taken over by the Russian state and given to a favourite of Tsarina Catherine II, General Alexander Bezborodko (d. 1799). The estate was inherited by his brother Elias, and in 1812 it was purchased from him by Wojciech Pusłowski (1762-1833), an economic activist and marshal of the Slonim district nobility. In 1849, Gieranony was purchased from Pusłowski's sons by Samuel Łaniewski-Wołk (1768-1851), who bequeathed it to his daughter, Veronica, married to Oskar Korwin-Milewski. They were succeeded by their son Ignacy Karol (1846-1926). He was an extremely colourful character, one of the protagonists of Zygmunt Miłoszewski's popular novel 'Bezcenny', and the creator of an outstanding collection of Polish paintings, kept in Gieranony for several years from 1897. After 1918, he sold the estate to his nephew Szymon Meysztowicz (1876-1940), married to Antonina née Morawska, who was the last owner of Gieranony.

History of the Gieranony church
The first Gieranony parish church, dedicated to St John the Baptist, was founded in 1471, but no longer exists. On the other hand, in 1519, at the same time as the castle was built, a brick church of St. Nicholas was erected in its vicinity, which additionally served as the castle chapel. In 1537, the wedding of Barbara of Radziwiłł and Stanisław Gasztołd took place here.

In 1529, by permission of Pope Clement VII, Olbracht Gasztold founded an infulcation at this church, and from then on it began to serve as a parish church. The establishment of the infula meant that the parish priest had the privilege of using elements of the bishop's attire (the infula, headdress) during solemn services. This raised not only the prestige of the parish, but also that of its columnist, which is why Olbracht Gasztold was very generous in providing his foundation with land grants. In his will from 1539, the founder also donated valuable and exquisite vessels and liturgical vestments, and had a sacristy built next to the church, where they were to be kept. Among the gifts were two monstrances, a cross with four stones, two silver incense censers, an incense boat, a missal decorated with precious stones, a silver-framed missal, a silver gilt pastoral, two silver processional staffs, three gilt pacifiers, a reliquary of the Holy Innocents in the form of a tablet; two reliquaries in the form of hands with the relics of the Eleven Thousand Virgins, and liturgical vestments of costly silk fabrics, decorated with gold thread embroidery.

Gashtold's gifts to the church
. Particularly noteworthy are the monstrances that have been preserved to this day. One of them was donated to the treasury of Vilnius Cathedral in 1698 and has remained there ever since. Its origin, however, has not been forgotten and it is still known as the Great Gieranon Monstrance. It is an extremely magnificent (1.5 m high) and artistically superb gold work. It has a turreted architectural form typical of the Gothic. It is exhibited in Vilnius and has long been of interest to researchers.

No less noteworthy is the second of the monstrances, which is still in the Gieranon church and remains almost unknown. Much smaller than its famous peer, it matches its virtuoso workmanship and even surpasses it in compositional sophistication. Originally Gothic, it was reworked in the 18th century and given a banal Rococo glorification, but this lack of stylistic uniformity did not overshadow its exceptional beauty. The mastery of the open-work foot and the shaft, made of twigs of dry, thistle-like acanthus vine in which the shields with the coats of arms of Olbracht Gasztold (Awdaniec, Hippocentaurus, Zadora and Druck) and the plastic flowers decorated with beads were incorporated, places this monstrance among the highest achievements of late-Gothic European goldsmithery. It may be associated with one of the German centres, possibly Nuremberg.

Reconstruction of the church in Gieranony
. In 1779, a tragic fire completely destroyed the interior furnishings and severely damaged the Gieranony church building. In the same year, the church was renovated through the efforts of parish priest Jan Horain. The building was then given a new, late Baroque shape. However, the "old walls" were retained and reinforced with scarps. A porch and a new façade were also added.

The most interesting element of the interior is the brick-built choir with its bulging outline and expressive articulation, well representing the features of the Vilnius Baroque. The furnishings preserved to this day were also made at that time: altars, pulpit and baptismal font. Of the objects donated by Olbracht Gasztold, only two pastorals and a monstrance with beads, which underwent the above-mentioned modification, have survived.

The appearance of the church in the mid-19th century is documented by two paintings in gouache technique (watercolour) by Vilnius painters Stanislav Januszewicz and Kanuty Rusiecki (1800-1860). In 1859, the chapel of St Hippolytus was added to the presbytery by the foundation of Oskar Korvin Milewski, with a crypt for family tombs. At the same time, the old sacristy was extended and given a similar form to the chapel.

In the inter-war period, the gables of the chapels were given neo-Baroque, picturesque forms. After the Second World War, the Gieranon church remained in continuous use, so that it continues to serve the parishioners in an unchanged form. In recent years, the façade has undergone extensive renovation.

Gieranony Castle
Interest was also aroused by the castle, considered by tradition to be the place of the first meeting between Sigismund Augustus and Barbara Radziwiłłówna, at that time still the wife of Stanisław Gasztold. The origin of the Gieranon coat of arms was also attributed to the memory of their unhappy love. It depicts a heart pierced by a sword and was granted to Gieranon by Stanisław August in 1792, together with the renewal of the town's rights. The castle, which was not used after the heirless death of Stanislaw Gieranon, slowly deteriorated.

Today, the picturesque ruins of the Gasztold residence are preserved in painted 19th century views of Gieranon. Today only small fragments of the castle walls remain.