The museum exposition presents a copy of Ferdinand Belyavsky’s photo; the original is stored in The State Archive of the Tula region. The original picture was made in the second half of the 19th century in black-and-white printing technique on photo paper.
Ferdinand Belyavsky is the founder and the first owner of the ‘Old Tula Pharmacy’. He was born on January 21, 1834, in the family of a Polish petty nobleman Georg Belyavsky and his wife Anna in the city of Kovno (modern Kaunas, Lithuania). At the age of 16, he sent a petition to Nicholas I for permission to change his confession from Catholic to Evangelical. Despite the protests of his relatives, Belyavsky was soon confirmed in one of the evangelical churches in Riga.
Belyavsky studied pharmacy at the University of Dorpat (today — Tartu, Estonia), from which he graduated and received the degree of pharmacist in 1861. After that, he worked in one of the pharmacies in St. Petersburg, and then moved to Tula, where he bought a pharmacy from a university friend Roman Beyer in 1864.
Belyavsky studied pharmacy at the University of Dorpat (today — Tartu, Estonia), from which he graduated and received the degree of pharmacist in 1861. After that, he worked in one of the pharmacies in St. Petersburg, and then moved to Tula, where he bought a pharmacy from a university friend Roman Beyer in 1864.
In the 1870-s of the 19th century, the demand for medicines in the city increased significantly, the old house turned out to be too small for their production, and on April 15, 1882, Belyavsky was granted permission to build a two-story stone building of a new pharmacy, next to the old one. In 1884, the construction was completed. The new institution was called ‘Old Tula Pharmacy’ so that customers would not doubt the continuity.
Here, in Tula, Belyavsky met his future wife — Jeanette Siebert. As it turned out later, Ferdinand and Jeanette, being yet strangers, arrived in the city on the same day. On December 30, 1864, they got married. Four daughters were born in their marriage: Helena, Jenny, Olga, and Fanny. According to the memories of his daughter Olga that have survived to this day, Ferdinand Belyavsky was a loving and patient father.
Belyavsky took an active part in the public life of Tula: he was a member of the society of Tula doctors, for many years he was the chairman of the Church Council of the Tula Evangelical Lutheran Church, for several years he served as a councilor and chairman of the Tula City Duma. He was also engaged in charity work: since 1872 he was a member of the provincial patronage of the Nikolaev, Mariinsky, and Krasnoglazovsky orphanages, and also donated to the church and construction funds of the Lutheran community 1.150 rubles. With this money, it was possible to maintain an entire estate for a year.
Ferdinand Belyavsky died on April 4, 1903, at the age of 69, and was buried in the Lutheran section of the Cemetery of All Saints. The exact place of his burial is unknown.
