Open left menu nesvizh. Nesvizh and Nesvizh castle in Belarus Nesvizh where

The small town of Nesvizh (14,300 inhabitants) is located in the Minsk region. Archaeological excavations and mentions in documents date its foundation to the 15th century. From the middle of the 16th century, Nesvizh became the residence of the princely family of the Radziwills, and construction of a castle began there. Since 1793, the city was part of the Russian Empire, and from 1921 to 1939 it was part of the Polish state. Currently, it is a recognized tourist center of Belarus.
From Baranovichi to Nesvizh the bus traveled through the real outback. There were no large settlements here; along the way there were only villages and towns. Despite the fact that almost all the land was in production, there was no sense of any wealth around. There were also unsightly buildings, of which there are many in Russian villages. True, there were also positive examples, when neat, identical houses could be seen through the bus window.

Temple in one of the villages. It was built for sure as a Catholic one, but now it can belong to any of the Christian movements. There is plenty of wildlife on these lands. Mostly these are livestock, but I also happened to see a hare gnawing on something not far from the road.

The Nesvizh bus station was under renovation, so all flights arrived at the local automobile company. The dining room of which turns out to be very useful before a walk around the city. A sign located nearby led to the Church of St. George the Victorious (1954).

A small bell tower was built in the courtyard. Everything looks quite patriarchal. Next to it is a barrel for watering the garden.

I pass by the castle. It is located on the shore of a chain of lakes.

From this place you can see the back side of the Corpus Christi Church (1593).

At the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries, the city was surrounded by an earthen rampart with five gates. Initially, the Slutsk gate (gate) had a different appearance and looked like a typical watchtower in which tax collection was collected. In 1655 - 1660 Nesvizh was destroyed by Russian troops. By the end of the 17th century, the gates were restored, but in 1706 they were razed to the ground by the Swedes. Finally, in 1788, the Slutsk gate acquired its current appearance.

Until 1939, there was a small temple in the building, and a bell hung in the arch on the pediment (it can be seen in old photographs). After the Great Patriotic War, people lived in the gate for some time.
Let's look at it from the other side.

The new lion apparently reminds us of the city’s former greatness.

The city hall was built in 1596.

Next to it is the master's house (early 18th century).

And a later building.

The 18th century tower from the Benedictine monastery has been preserved.

There is currently a technical school on its territory. The former Church of St. Euphemia is now one of the educational buildings. Of course, he looked different before.

I decided to take a little ride around the city. New fire station. By the way, at the entrance to the city there were several new nice five-story buildings.

Vladimir Ilyich extended his hand invitingly forward.

Two buildings from different eras. The only thing they have in common is that they are both painted.

The city museum recently received a new entrance.

I didn't go inside. But he looked into the yard.

Two young women with a child in a stroller were walking towards me.
- Girls, please tell me why the houses are the same? Did the state build them? Or some kind of organization?
- Yes, this is departmental housing, it is provided to specialists.
- What kind of specialist do you need to be in order to qualify for such a house?
- Various... We live there ourselves...
- Comfortable?
- It's cramped. There are four of us now...
- And if a person quits his job, will his housing be taken away?
- Yes...
This principle was popular in the Soviet Union. And people went to work in housing and communal services, construction sites and factories. But with the advent of the bright era of democracy in Russia, the country set a course for managerialization of the entire country, and there were no workers.

I turn back. The Church of the Ascension of the Lord has been under construction since 2008.

The inscription on the facade of the house says that the Agricultural Estate "At Leonid's" is located here. The list of services below suggests that this is a guest house. One must think that Leonid understands that his guests will not be able to truly understand the essence of the agricultural estate without working in the field or in the barn, and therefore this option must be provided at least as a free bonus.

Several interesting buildings were discovered in this place.

Corpus Christi Church is very close. Its bell tower was once part of the city's Castle Gate.

Sculpture on the facade.

Saint John of Nepomuk returned to his place after an 80-year absence

In the courtyard of the temple there is a chapel of Bulgarin, the grandfather of the writer Thaddeus Bulgarin.

Near the church fence there is a monument to the preacher Simon Budny.

The park, together with the castle located in it, is called a palace and park complex. Since 2005, it has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is clear that you first get to the park. Which starts from the road between two ponds.

Large children's playground. Apparently, for those who are not interested in castles.

Memorial in memory of the Great Patriotic War.

Let's see the park first. This is what the castle looks like from it.

A well is an important thing in the event of a siege.

Let's look back. We entered the park along the bridge located on the left side of the photo.

The path runs along the moat. Behind it you can see the next pond, there are several of them in the park.

We will move towards the bridge, located in the distance for now. It's comfortable to ride a bike here.

We reached the bridge. From here you can see the next one. The distances here are great. Getting through everything on foot is not an easy task.

Water sports station.

From this photo you can estimate the size of the largest pond. There are several ponds and parks here. One smoothly transitions into the other.

The water level is regulated using a set of culverts.

Romantic corner. Judging by the trampled grass, it is in demand. Which is not surprising, because... in this atmosphere, the human soul, without any prompting from above, becomes capable of beautiful impulses.

It would be surprising not to meet a mermaid here...

In the shade of overgrown trees you can see the people who once lived here. The architect Bernardoni built the Church of the Corpus Christi and may have taken part in the design of the castle.

Nikolai Radziwill the Orphan began building a stone castle instead of a wooden one.

It's time to go to the castle.

The entrance was carried out from here, because. The side of the bridge was undergoing repairs.

cross post to zamki_mira

Story

The first mention of Nesvizh is found in Russian chronicles in the 13th century, when it is said that Prince Yuri Nesvizhsky took part in the Battle of Kalka (1223). Dying from his wounds, he gave instructions to his servant to get to Nesvizh and inform his wife and everyone close to him how the prince died. When the servant was getting out of the battlefield, he was pierced by an arrow - to the very heart, but he still made it to the prince's castle and brought with him the tragic news of the death of the prince and the arrival of the Tatars in Rus'. After the inclusion of the lands of Belarus into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Nesvizh princes owned their inheritance from the 13th to the 15th centuries. provided that they serve the prince. True, already in the 80s. Last century, scientists proved that the city and castle appeared here no earlier than the 15th century. Thus, the first written mention of the city is now considered to be 1446, when the chronicle tells about the transfer of the town of Nesvizh by the Grand Duke of Lithuania Kazimir Mikolay Jan Nemirovich.

In 1492, Nesvizh came into the possession of the Belarusian magnate Peter Kiszka, and in 1513, when his daughter Anna became the wife of Jan Radziwill, the city, as part of her dowry, became the possession of the Radziwills. In 1547, the son of Anna and Jan, Nikolai Radziwill the Black, became the prince of the Holy Roman Empire and made Nesvizh his residence. In order to prevent the transfer of his possessions “by tow” (as part of a dowry), he establishes the right of primogeniture - the title, lands and all wealth are transferred to the eldest son. The remaining male offspring had to either go to a monastery or become knights in the army of some king. It was thanks to this that Nesvizh remained the possession of the Radziwills until 1939.

Monument to Simeon Budny, the first printer from Nesvizh

Printing house

The heyday of Nesvizh is associated with the name of Prince Nicholas Christopher Radziwill the Orphan - the son of Nicholas Radziwill the Black. Heir to a huge fortune, he could have spent his life idly, but he travels around Europe and the Middle East, and even writes travel notes about what he saw. Having received from his father a wooden estate and a small town with it, he erects a stone castle, rebuilds the city, turning it into a European one: he frees the townspeople from many taxes and feudal duties, develops trade and crafts. In Nesvizh, a school, a hospital, weaving and tailoring, metalworking and furrier shops were opened under him. In 1562, a printing house was opened, where the first books in the Belarusian language were published. A little later, it was here that the first Belarusian theater appeared, and the city also housed a cadet corps and a school for naval officers for Radziwill’s private army. In 1583, construction of the Nesvizh Castle began, for which Italian craftsmen were involved. In a very short period of time (just over 30 years), a castle and a city were built according to the latest fortification fashion.

“The city, which received the Magdeburg Privilege (“Saskoe Magdeburg Right”), allocated money for fortification work from its income. According to the articles of Magdeburg law, watchdog, fire-fighting services and militia were organized in the city. All residents carried out guard and defense duties, participated in military reviews (“policies”) and training (“drills”). By the end of the 16th century. the city's fortifications were mostly built. An engraving by Nesvizh cartographer Tomasz Makowski, made around 1600, depicts Nesvizh, the basis of whose defense was a high earthen rampart. It looked like a pentagon with 7 bastions, which covered the city on all sides.

One entered through five gates: Slutskaya, Kletskaya, Vilna, Mirskaya and Zamkova. The city fortification was surrounded by a water moat connected to the Usha River. In front of each gate there was a drawbridge. Not the least place in the defense of Nesvizh was occupied by 4 stone monasteries - Benedictine, Jesuit, Bernardine and Dominican with complexes of buildings placed in tactically important and advantageous places. They blocked the direct road to the castle and were a serious obstacle to the enemy's path. The water ditch around the city served another function: it was stocked with fish and turned into practically a fish nursery. However, the townspeople were prohibited from fishing. The Radziwills ordered the lieutenant or guard to strictly monitor this, authorizing them to take away the nets from the townspeople.”
M. A. Tkachev “Castles of Belarus”

During the Russian-Polish War, the castle withstood two long sieges by Russian troops, who stormed Nesvizh itself, in 1654 and 1659. In 1706, Nesvizh, like nearby Mir, was plundered by Swedish troops. After 15 years, it was restored, also building a palace chapel, and it was then that it acquired the appearance that we see today. In 1764 and 1768 Russian troops invade here, in 1792 the castle was taken by storm by Russian troops, and after the division of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1793, the city became part of the Russian Empire. In 1812, Dominic Hieronymus Radziwill took the side of the French army, after which he was forced to flee. Only in the 1860s. The castle returned to the Radziwills, after which several parks were laid out around the castle (the total area of ​​the park complex is 90 hectares). In 1921 Nesvizh became part of Poland, in 1939 - part of Belarus, in 1941-1944. is under fascist occupation. During the USSR, the palace housed a KGB sanatorium; in 2002, there was a fire in the castle that destroyed most of it. Restoration work is currently underway here, which is expected to be completed by 2010.

The castle, church and town buildings are included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Lock

According to the plaque above the castle entrance, the castle was completed on May 7, 1583. I repeat that previously there was a wooden manor on this site, but the new fortress in stone was built by the Italian architect Giovanni Maria Bernardoni. It seems to me that Prince Radziwill was so impressed by Italian examples of style that he decided to build something similar in Nesvizh, for which he brought an architect from Italy. In addition to fortress walls and towers, the castle located on a peninsula was surrounded by moats and ramparts, and even now it is noticeable how impressive they were in those days. The Wusha River was blocked by a dam, so the water level in the moat could be regulated. The road along the dam along which we walked to the castle from the church did not exist then - a long wooden bridge was thrown across the lake, which was dismantled in a matter of minutes. The second bridge was thrown over the defensive castle moat. This system very vividly reminded me of the castle in the Czech town of Trebon and its system of ponds - everything was built around the same time.

In plan, the castle had the shape of a quadrangle 170*120 m, surrounded by a high earthen rampart with bastions at the corners. Behind the stone-lined ramparts there were trenches, rifle cells, and a path on top of the parapet. From the side of the courtyard, the parapet line of fire was protected by another stone wall. Thus, Nesvizh Castle became the founder of a new type of bastion fortifications in Belarus - the so-called “New Italian system”. Earlier than anywhere else in Belarus, a foundry cannon workshop - lyudvisarnya - was created in Nesvizh. Already in 1576, the first batch of seven cannons—“counterfeits”—that fired 2-pound cannonballs was cast here. In 1598, bells were cast here for the Nesvizh and Mir castles (they served the castles for 300 years each). In 1785, the castle had 66 cannons of its own production. It’s no wonder that Nesvizh Castle withstood so many sieges!

The spacious castle courtyard was surrounded by three buildings. Opposite the entrance gate stood the main building with the princely chambers. In subsequent centuries, the separated buildings were rebuilt and united by architectural inserts, having now formed a closed front courtyard. At the corners of the castle there are cute 8-sided turrets. In addition to the large front courtyard, there are two more small ones in the castle - a household (equestrian) and an intimate one. The horse yard was located in the southern part of the castle when stables were built in the ramparts. The third courtyard is hidden in the buildings and was used only by the owner himself - he communicated with the outside world through secret passages. They say that these underground passages lead to the Farn Church and the Mir Castle.

From the 16th to the 20th centuries. The Radziwills collected in the castle a huge library of 20 thousand volumes, a unique archive with ancient documents (almost all acts of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, starting from the time of Jogaila, handwritten letters from European monarchs were kept here), an art gallery (about a thousand paintings), a collection of weapons, Slutsk belts (woven from gold, they could be wrapped from head to toe), I am silent about such little things as furniture made of precious wood, coin collections, tapestries, tapestries, family jewelry and sets from the best porcelain factories in the world. The guide enthusiastically told us how, back in the 19th century, golden cuirasses were found in the surrounding villages, from which pigs were fed, or tureens of Meissen porcelain, used for the household needs of paisans. The library, by the way, is partially stored in the library named after. Saltykov-Shchedrin in St. Petersburg.

As usual, all this splendor formed the basis for the legends about the Radziwill treasure, which Dominic Radziwill, who went over to the French side, did not manage to remove from the castle cellars. Allegedly, the trusted servant hid the treasures somewhere in underground passages, and he himself disappeared during the Napoleonic invasion. Treasure hunters dug up Alba Park, which once surrounded the castle, and even during World War II, the Nazis sent an sapper company here to get to the bottom of the treasure - but to no avail. It seems to me that they won’t find anything: books and part of the archives, as we have already found out, were sent to Russia, paintings, furniture and jewelry with sets could easily have been plundered by both Russian troops and residents of surrounding villages, and the famous gold and silver bars , from which stacks were laid out in the princely treasury, it seems to me - from a number of castle legends - the owners by that time probably kept their capital not in bullion, but in European banks. The offspring of the Radziwills in London and Paris live on something to this day:)

Like any self-respecting castle, Nesvizhky has its own ghost - the Black Lady, this is the spirit of Barbara Radziwill, wife of the King of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Sigismund Augustus, poisoned by the king's mother, Bona Sforza

then they probably saw the miraculous image of the Mother of God over the Medininsky Gate - it is believed that they painted the image from Barbara Radziwill). The king was so sad that he tried to summon the spirit of Barbara (this happened in Krakow,

in one of the houses on Market Square), and when the ghost appeared, he tried to hug him, which was strictly prohibited. Since then, the ghost has been wandering among the places dear to her heart - the family castle.

Despite the fact that the exhibition inside the castle is very poor (everything is new), they charge 3,000 rubles for entry - they are probably collecting it for further repairs. If you don’t want to go to the castle, you can take a walk in the park - it’s free, unless at the entrance or somewhere on an alley you are met by a guy with a grimy nose on a bicycle who will invite you to tell the legend about the castle and show you the “wishing stone” - of course , Not for free. The stone, which is actually a “mortgage stone” - the construction of the castle once began with it, for some reason was transformed (not without the participation of local residents, probably) into a stone, when touched, wishes come true. Not for free: you are supposed to put money under the stone, which the nimble boys collect as soon as the group moves five meters away.

The parks are very nice, although we saw a small part of them right next to the castle. An interesting monument is the prince’s favorite greyhound, who saved his life more than once while hunting and was buried under this very stone on which her image stands.

A little mermaid sits on a stone nearby, and in the distance the Black Lady herself can be seen.

Pointing to one of the alleys, our guide said that there once was a Nevizh meridian (they say, why are we worse than Greenwich or Paris), and the alley was planted right along it.

On the approach to the castle there is a small alley of the main characters in the history of Nesvizh - including Giovanni Bernadoni, Nikolai Radziwill the Orphan and Yuri Nesvizhsky.

City

Although there is little left in the town from the time of the Radziwills, it is still worth spending half an hour. The layout of Nesvizh still resembles a square; in the city center there is a spacious square with the Town Hall and shopping arcades, where all the streets converge. The town hall was built in Nesvizh shortly after it acquired Magdeburg law (1586) and has been well preserved to this day. Then it housed the burgomaster’s office, the magistrate, the office, the courtroom, the treasury and the archive, and in the 17th century. shopping malls were built nearby. Across the road there is a library building, the so-called. “House on the Market” (1721) – with a baroque “wavy” facade. A Dominican monastery was once located on the site of the cinema (1672).

Closer to the lake, there is still a Benedictine convent (1596), built at the expense of Nikolai Sirotka and his wife Elizaveta Vishnevetskaya. Nowadays, only the three-tiered tower (18th century) and the cell building, where the pedagogical college is now located, have survived from the entire complex. They say that its own ghost still wanders here - this is the Black Nun, punished by eternal wandering for her sins.

On the shore of the lake stands the Slutsk Gate (1760) - the only Nesvizh gate that has survived to this day. Once upon a time, high ramparts stretched to the right and left, making the city a real fortress, and there were 5 gates. The gate received its name from the Slutsk tract. An engraving depicting Nesvizh, dated to the beginning of the 17th century, shows a fortified tower in place of the gateway. In 1760 the tower was rebuilt in the Baroque style. On the first floor of the gate there were guard rooms, and on the second floor there was a chapel.

Farny Church

“In the second half of the 16th century. The Radziwills, Chodkiewicz, Volovichi, Sapiehas and other magnates began to switch from Catholicism to Protestantism - with an eye to secularizing church lands, that is, taking them into their own hands. Nicholas Radziwill the Black even founded a Calvinist community in Vilna in 1553, and also tried to organize the publication of Calvinist literature in Brest, where in 1563, on his orders, the Bible was published in Polish. In Nesvizh, at his instigation, the Protestant printer Symon Budny (directly Semyon Budyonny), educated at the University of Krakow, published the “Catechism” and “On the Justification of Sinful Man before God.” However, the churchmen did not give up easily; priests and members of monastic orders launched a large-scale ideological struggle for the minds of the magnates, which was crowned with success. When Nikolai Cherny died, his Catholic son Nikolai Sirotka began to buy Calvinist books published by his father in Nesvizh and Brest and burn them.”(c) Gleb, In the footsteps of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania

As a symbol of the return of the Radziwills to the bosom of the Catholic Church, Nikolai Sirotka commissions Giovanni Bernadoni to build a Jesuit church. In 1593, a baroque church appeared in Nesvizh in the image and likeness of the main Jesuit temple - the Roman Il Gesu (1584). It is believed that this was the first baroque temple on the territory of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

“Bow before your temple in your fear,” reads the Latin inscription above the entrance to the Nesvizh Farny Church. The temple is like a symbol of the Radziwill faith: the side altars are about to fall, but no - they are supported by angels. And on the left side, at the very descent into the crypt, pay attention to the gray tombstone of Sirotka: on the graves of knights of that era it was customary to depict a knight in full battle garb, with weapons, while Nikolai Sirotka is depicted on the slab kneeling, in pilgrim attire, on a campaign and with a wide-brimmed hat over his shoulders. The knight's weapons lie carelessly thrown away behind. Under the bas-relief is a long Latin epitaph, which says that before the Lord no one is a knight, but only a pilgrim.

In another side altar there is a marble sculpture of a young woman who sits on the lid of a coffin. This is Maria, the beloved Orphan - according to legend, she was buried alive - in a state of lethargic sleep - guides love to tell this story, excitedly waving their arms. The main decoration of the church is its painting (it is believed that the author of the painting, the artist H.G. Heskey, used Rubens’ compositional schemes for his work). They say you can persuade the organist to let you go upstairs to the choir or even show you how to use the organ, but this seems to be the kind of tale.

Crypt

But you can still get into the inaccessible crypt under the church: when we examined the paintings, there was still a service in the church, after which the entrance was closed. One of the girls in our group was so worried about not being able to see the crypt that I told her about an article I had read before coming here - how one of the parishioners, Mrs. Yanina Shidlovskaya, allows tourists into the tomb for a fee of 1,500 rubles per person. person. The girl got down to business actively, and after the group inspected the castle, she literally brought this lady to us, who, seeing that the group was large (there were about 20 of us), and two more groups also expressed a desire, said that she would take 1000 rubles per person, they say , collect. True, she didn’t even touch the money, ordering it to be stuffed into a donation box.

So, the family tomb of the Radziwill princes is a dark basement, where there are rows of simple wooden coffins (they are metal inside), with a total of 78 or 79. The first to be buried here was Nikolai Sirotka himself in 1616, and from him the embalming recipe was passed down from generation to generation corpses brought by him from a trip to the East. Each of the sarcophagi is entwined with wire, sealed with Radziwill’s seals - this was done not to prevent the release of ghosts (as many say), but so that the same tourists (several coffins are not behind bars, but right under the window in the basement) do not climbed inside, or adventurers did not open the coffins in search of the key to the treasure (such cases also happened). The last burial in the crypt took place in 1999 - Anthony Radziwill, who died in London, was brought here (his coffin stands under the window). As our guide claimed, this is the third largest family burial in Europe, after the tombs of the Valois and the Habsburgs (however, when we asked whether the Valois were in Saint-Denis, and which Habsburgs were meant - in the El Escorial or the Vienna Kapuzinerskirche, the lady was at a loss with answer).

If you can’t get inside, you can look into the crypt through the windows near the church foundation - you can even see something. The final stage of our trip was a visit from a local photographer who offered CDs with photographs of Nesvizh, incl. archival (the castle before the fire) and crypts - 5 thousand rubles each. And don’t get your hopes up – they are copy protected :)

Nesvizh Castle is one of the most notable pearls of Belarus. Built in the 16th century, it still retains the atmosphere of many historical eras.

The combination of various architectural styles, beautiful interiors, and the rich collection of the museum put Nesvizh Castle on a par with the famous castles of Europe.

The castle (by the way, the home of the most famous Belarusian ghost - the “Black Lady”) and the surrounding park with beautiful lakes and shady alleys are considered the most romantic palace complex in Belarus.

In 2006, Nesvizh Castle was included in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List. But even without this high-profile title, we can say that Nesvizh is one of the main attractions of Belarus, a must-see.

The story will tell about the history of the castle, the sights of the city itself and the tourist infrastructure.

Where did the city of Nesvizh come from?

The sloping banks of the Usha have attracted settlers since ancient times. The river was a trade route, and groundwater located in close proximity to the surface was the key to the fertility of coastal lands. Forests full of game, meadows capable of feeding both people and domestic animals, waters rich in fish, made this place inhabited, and the name was given to it Nesvizh, named after Yuri Nesvizhsky, who gave his life in the battle of these lands in the spring of 1223.

However, this epic version was still questioned and many local historians and learned historians leaned towards a less attractive variation of the development of events, linking the name of the city with a geographical feature - a hill called “Invisible”, that is, from behind which nothing is visible. The hill, unlike the Tale of Bygone Years, from which the story of Yuri Nesvizhsky is known, has not survived to this day, and according to some sources, it was washed away during a flood into 7 smaller ones.

There is a version of the origin of the name associated with hunting stories from the times of Radziwill, who allegedly left the carcass of a bear he killed not far in the forest, and the servants who went for it reported that the meat was not fresh, hence the “not fresh” appeared.

There is also a common version about the origin of the name as a derivative from the vocabulary of fishermen and rivermen who have used this waterway since ancient times.

The greatest clarity to all existing discrepancies and differences of opinion is, of course, given by archaeologists, according to whose testimony, within Nesvizh, including all fortifications, no signs of life of settlers before the 15th century were found. However, no relics or remains related to defensive structures were discovered as a result of excavations.

However, there is a written mention of the city in 1446, in connection with its transfer by Jagiellonczyk to the new owner Mikolaj Jan Nemirovich. Then the settlement passed into the hands of Peter Kiszka, about which there is written evidence from 1492, and in 1513 the city was given as a dowry to Jan Radziwill, after his marriage to Anna from the Kiszka family.

The Radziwills were a princely family of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, then the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and in the 18th-20th centuries - the Russian Empire and Prussia. The Radziwills were the richest Lithuanian magnates, owning vast lands, castles, villages and cities. Throughout the 15th-18th centuries, representatives of the Radziwill family occupied the highest government and military positions.

The further history of the city, up to 1939, is directly connected with the Radziwill family. The city became their residence and received the status of ordination, that is, it could only be inherited by the eldest son. Radziwill “Sirotka” played a special role in the development of the city, who initiated the replacement of obsolete wooden buildings with stone ones and developed the quarter system.

And, of course, the foundation of the castle in 1583 can be considered a key event in the entire history of Nesvizh.

Throughout history, right up to modern times, fortifications were not only the decoration of a settlement, but also a vital defensive part. And the Radziwills, after taking over the anachronistic wooden fortification on the site of the old park, began improving the fortifications according to the plans of engineers from Holland, as a result of which the castle was gradually rebuilt. It is interesting that even after the construction of new fortifications began, the old castle still remained in the engravings.

Initially, the castle was conceived as a defensive citadel and was built according to a classic scheme for its time. The inaccessibility of the fortification was ensured not only by the height of the walls on the moats, which reached 4 meters, but also by a number of hydraulic engineering structures that served to fill the 22-meter-wide moat with water. After all, the water level in the river was insufficient.

You could get to the castle via a collapsible bridge, which was removed in case of the slightest danger. In addition, there were several secret passages from the citadel.

The seemingly simple geometry of the castle provided reliable protection for the inhabitants of its surroundings. The hall, measuring 170x220 meters, has a rectangular shape, providing a complete overview of the area. The ramparts located behind the walls created a dominant height, on which artillery and riflemen were supposed to be located in case of danger. In addition, there were loopholes in the corner towers.

A glacis (sloping earthen embankment) was built along the outer perimeter of the citadel, which further improved the visibility of the area. There were always sentinels there. And in front of the castle gates a ravelin was built, bordered by an additional ditch 2 meters deep and 8 meters wide.

According to some reports, the famous Italian architect Giovanni Bernardoni had a hand in the project, but in general the idea cannot be attributed to him, because the Jesuit arrived at the construction site long after the foundation of the castle. But it is possible that the creator of the Church of the Body of God nevertheless introduced some artistic touches and changes to the original project.

The citadel withstood several sieges and was most damaged during the Northern War, as a result of its capture by the Swedes. The invaders destroyed part of the ditches and drowned almost all the artillery and weapons of the castle, and, of course, took away the best and most valuable things with them. But the destruction also became a gift to future generations, because it was they who gave the reason to turn the former fortification into a real luxurious palace.

The restoration of the castle fell to Radziwill “Rybonka”, and later to his son Karol Stanislaw Radziwill “Pane Kohanku”. All rooms of the palace damaged during artillery shelling and arson were restored by the Radziwills several times. Large sums were allocated for restoration, because the castle remained their family home.

Over time, the fortifications were modified and strengthened, but, nevertheless, the palace style became predominant in the decoration of residential buildings. Thus, 34 magnificent halls appeared in the palace.

Parks of Nesvizh Castle

Since 1860, near the castle, the Rodziwills, who received Nesvizh back into their ancestral domain after some break, established parks: Old, Castle, New, English, as well as the Japanese Garden. More than 90 hectares of green zone were developed by 1939. All parks, like the castle itself, are now not only a national treasure of the Republic of Belarus, but have also been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2005.

Museum exhibits

The castle houses a rich library that belonged to the Radziwill family, numbering more than 20,000 ancient volumes. Rare carved furniture, a luxuriously decorated interior, painted ceilings, antique chandeliers, a unique ancient globe, fireplaces, a map of the Principality of Lithuania that has come down from the depths of centuries - everything indicates that it belongs to the world historical heritage. Of particular note is the collection of hunting trophies and the collection of medieval weapons.

Nesvizh for tourists

Of course, the historical and architectural complex attracts countless tourists from all over the world. Since time immemorial, Nesvizh Castle has warmly welcomed its friends, and now on its territory there is a hotel with a restaurant, a cafe, a parking lot, and also a store. Everyone can not only explore the complex, but also take away memorable souvenirs.

The city itself will also not leave tourists indifferent. Just look at the city hall, the oldest in Belarus - it was built in 1596. At one time, the city treasury was kept in it, the court, measuring and weighing houses were located, because during the reign of the Radziwills, trade flourished in the city.

However, “not by bread alone” - many religious buildings also belong to the Nesvizh architectural heritage:

• Church of the Body of God. The authorship belongs to Jan Maria Bernandoni, the main construction work was carried out from 1587 to 1593. The church is the earliest building in the entire Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the Baroque style. In addition, the church is the ancestral tomb of the Radziwills, in which their bodies have been buried for hundreds of years.
• Former Benedictine monastery. The first convent on the territory of modern Belarus. Subsequently, it was converted into a church, and later went to the Tsarist Russian army as a barracks.
• Bernardine monastery. Unfortunately, only one building from the entire complex has survived to this day. Even the Great Patriotic War did not cause such damage to buildings as the post-war 50s and the Stalin regime.
• Former Dominican monastery. The temple of the monastery, which began its existence in 1672, was built at the expense of the monks by 1680. The monastery ceased to exist in 1877, transforming into a teachers' seminary.

Nesvizh Hotels

Hotels of different price categories are open for tourists to stay in the city. It should be noted that since the flow of tourists is quite significant, it is better to book a hotel room in advance.

Hotel "Nesvizh" belongs to the economy class, located close to the center. 37 fully equipped rooms, which have everything you need, including service, are ready to receive guests.

Address: Nesvizh, Belorusskaya street, building 7.

Phone: +375 01770 55367.

Hotel housing and communal services, according to reviews, a class lower than economy.

Nesvizh, Geysika street, building 1.

Phone: +375 1770 59614.

Estate "Nyasvizhskaya vytoki".

Located in the countryside, 3 kilometers from Nesvizh, on a hill surrounded by half-century-old linden and pine trees, at the source of the Usha River.

Phone: +7 029 392 0512.

The Garadzeiski Falvarak hotel has a café, a billiard room, a sauna for guests, and there are single and double rooms of different price categories.

Gorodeya village, Tereshkova street (15 km from the center of Nesvizh, halfway from the M-1 highway to Nesvizh).

Phone: +375 01770 58700.

But, since the main attraction of Nesvizh is the castle, then you need to live in a castle!

Hotel "Palace"

The hotel is located directly in the Nesvizh castle. Accommodation in it will allow you to explore the citadel in more detail and visit the maximum number of castle and castle objects of interest, including parks and a museum complex.

In the Minsk region, on the banks of the Usha River, there is a small Belarusian town called Nesvizh - one of the estates of the rich Lithuanian Radziwill family. According to the official version, it was founded in the 15th century - then it was first mentioned in the chronicle. Although there are several legends of its origin in earlier periods, they are not confirmed by archaeological excavations.

This is a European-style town that is worth a visit to explore the local attractions. Tourists do not have to worry about getting lost in local alleys. For city guests, there are conveniently placed signs that point in the right direction.

The palace and park ensemble of the Radziwills, which includes Nesvizh Castle, is the main attraction of the city of Nesvizh. It is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The castle itself was built in the 16th century on the site of an old wooden castle. The name of the architect, unfortunately, has not been preserved in history. At one time, Nesvizh Castle was the most fortified castle on the territory of modern Belarus. A system of ditches with water and earthen ramparts reliably fortified it from attacks.

Inside you can admire the luxurious decoration, which is not inferior to the interiors of European castles.

For a long time the castle was under restoration. Much was restored almost from scratch. But now its doors are open to visitors who can enjoy walking through its halls and studying the exhibits. Here you can see ancient dishes, weapons of past centuries, and antique furniture.

Many legends surround this castle. One of them says that it is connected by an underground entrance to the Mir Castle, which is located somewhere at a distance of 30 kilometers from the castle in Nesvizh.

The castle is surrounded by beautiful parks with a large number of ponds. It’s a good place to take a walk in the summer heat, have a photo shoot in the colorful autumn, and breathe fresh air in the winter.

Location: Zamkovaya street - 2.

There were several parks around Nesvizh Castle, founded at different times. The first Antony Park appeared directly around the castle when the castle lost its functions as a defensive structure.

To this day, little remains of the park. Instead of rare plants, there are buildings that were erected when there was a sanatorium here.

The old park arose on the territory of a former swamp. At the end of the 19th century, the best seedlings from the forestries of Belarus and Berlin were brought here, and the abandoned area was replanted. Before the war there were tennis courts here. During the war, the Germans used this park for executions. And after the war there was a sanatorium here for a long time. And only in the 80s of the twentieth century they began to restore the park to return it to its original appearance.

Walking along it, you can admire the mirror pond with a sculpture of a mermaid sitting in the middle on an island. And on the historical alley there are busts of famous people of Nesvizh.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the idea arose to create a Japanese park, which was planned in the north of the Old Park. However, due to the First World War, the plans were not destined to be realized. Now there is practically nothing left of the paved alleys, and the dwarf trees, without supervision and care, have stretched to normal sizes. In the depths of the park you can find a small pond with an island in the middle, to which a small bridge leads. There is also a pier with lions and a gazebo.

Marysin Park is the farthest and most secluded. Initially, there was a hippodrome here, but one of the princesses ordered the foundation of a park in honor of the romantic legend of a couple in love. The park was developed in this style of romanticism. There were fountains and a pond with swans. And all this was surrounded by alleys of oak and ash trees.

After the hippodrome was removed, the question arose, where to ride horses? This is why the park was built in the English style. Its main style is expressed in large open spaces and trees planted in a checkerboard pattern.

In the main square of the city you can see a building with a high tower. This is the local town hall. It was built in 1590. And, although it survived a severe fire, after which it shrank by several floors, today after restoration it looks the same as it did in the 16th century.

On one of the floors you can visit a museum dedicated to the history of the city. The rooms have recreated the atmosphere of the past, which allows you to fully imagine the life of local townspeople. Next to the town hall there are the city's shopping arcades.

Location: Sovetskaya street - 3.

In the 16th century, a fortification rampart with seven bastions was built around the city. However, only two towers have survived to this day. One of them is Slutskaya. Its name comes from the city of Slutsk, which is located in this direction.

There was a guard in the tower who kept track of passing people and collected a tax from them for entering the city. On the second floor there was a Catholic Church.

Location: Slutskaya street.

The second surviving tower is the Castle Tower, which also served as a control for city guests. Currently, the tower houses the bell tower of a Catholic church.

The Benedictine monastery also served as a defensive structure. At one time, the passage to the city led from it through a bridge. After that, the daughters of rich townspeople were educated here, soldiers' barracks were located here, and it was also an Orthodox church. Currently, the pedagogical school and its dormitory are located here.

Location: Chkalova street.

The Church of the Body of God or Farny Church was made by an invited Italian architect in the 16th century; since its foundation it has never been closed or rebuilt. As local parishioners say, it is precisely for his “praying” that he is valued.

The interior decoration is very rich: here you can see beautiful frescoes and a colorfully painted dome.

Location: Mitskevich street - 5.

Under the Farny Church there is the tomb of the Radziwills. The entrance to it can be found at the left wall. In a small stone cabinet there is a door that leads to a large room with coffins, where the remains of the Radziwill family are kept. In terms of size, it ranks third after the tombs of the Bourbon and Habsburg families.

At one time, one of the princes of the family received permission personally from the Pope to create a tomb, since at that time it was customary to bury the dead in the ground. He also brought the embalming recipe from Egypt. Over time, the embalming recipe was lost, and various other methods of preserving bodies began to be used.

At one time, a special delegation came here to study methods of preserving bodies and used these methods to embalm Stalin’s body. History is silent about the results of their visit.

You can visit the tomb only as part of an excursion, which takes place in the morning.

Near the Slutsk Gate on the shore of the pond, wooden sculptures are scattered on a green lawn, among which you can walk and examine them in detail.

Although Nesvizh is a small town, it is quite rich in attractions. In addition to the listed main attractions, you can visit the Church of the Ascension of the Lord and the Craftsman's House, which represents a typical building of the city, which has not completely survived to our times. You can also visit the local history museum, where you can learn about local history and culture. Or just stroll around the city, examining the architecture and getting acquainted with the sculptures. On one of the walls of a residential building, you can see a drawn map of the city as it was in the 16th and 17th centuries.