Mir Castle

Mir Castle ( Mirski Zamak ) is a defensive fortification and residence of the aristocracy in the town of Mir, Grodno region of Belarus. An architectural monument included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Until 1568, the owners were the Ilinichs, then the Radziwills (until 1828), and the Wittgensteins (until 1891). The last owners were Svyatopolk-Mirsky (until September 1939), after which the Red Army came to Western Belarus and... In general, only by 2010 the castle was at least somewhat restored to human form and reopened to visitors.

This is a stone structure, the main part of which was erected in the 16th and 17th centuries in close proximity to the multinational town of Mir, where Orthodox Belarusians, Catholics and Protestants, Jews and Tatars lived in peace for centuries. It is believed that construction of the castle began around 1522. At the first stage of construction, which lasted about 4 years (presumably from 1522 to 1526), ​​4 towers were erected, connected by walls, the length of which was 75 m. Thus, the appearance of the castle (preserved to this day) is a square. The height of the towers, which have the shape of octagonal prisms standing on tetrahedral bases, ranges from 23-25 ​​m, the height of the walls is 10-12 m. The wall facing the west (towards the road to Vilnius) has another tower in the middle - it once was the only entrance to the castle. In the basement of this tower there was a prison, and on the second floor there was a chapel. From here they lowered the metal grate that protected the wooden entrance gate.

The thickness of the castle walls is 2 m in the upper part and 3 m in the lower part, the walls and towers are lined with three-layer mixed masonry made of brick and stone boulders, which indicates the good defense capability of the structure. In the lower part of the walls, weapon loopholes for the lower battle were cut, and the western and northern walls from the courtyard had combat galleries with pine parapets.

The owners of the Ilinich castle were unable to complete the construction - their family died out in 1568. The project was revived by the new owners - the most famous Belarusian nobles, the Radziwills, introducing architectural features of the Renaissance into the appearance of the fortress. Nikolai Christopher Radziwill, nicknamed the Orphan, made a special contribution to the construction. The castle appeared in a new guise - it was surrounded by an earthen rampart, the height of which reaches 9 m, with defensive bastions located at the corners; the shaft was surrounded by a moat, which was filled with water thanks to a dammed stream and the Miranka River; it became possible to get into the castle only through a drawbridge thrown over a pit.

As the permanent residence of the Counts Radziwiłł, the castle complex included the three-story palace envisaged in the original design, erected by the architect Martin Zaborovsky in the courtyard near the northern and eastern walls.

The first floor and dungeon of the palace were used as an armory and food warehouse, the second floor housed the lackeys and the county administration, and the third housed the prince's chambers.

In 1655, the castle was stormed by Cossacks under the leadership of Hetman Ivan Zolotarenko. The ensuing war with Russia, as well as the Northern War, brought destruction and desolation for almost 80 years. Only in the 30s of the 18th century the castle was completely restored. During the restoration, it acquired a ceremonial hall, a dance hall and a portrait gallery. The “Italian” garden was also restored.

In 1785, at the invitation of Pane-Kokhanku (also a nickname, because he addressed everyone as “my little one”), the castle was visited by King Stanislav Augustus, who was amazed by the wealth and splendor of the interior decoration.

In 1813, the last heir in the male line of the Nesvizh branch of the Radziwills, Prince Dominic Geronim , who swore allegiance to Napoleon, died in France. Dominique's daughter, Princess Stefania, married Lev Wittgenstein , the son of a hero of the War of 1812, and after her death at the age of 22, Wittgenstein inherited the castle.

In 1891, Prince Nikolai Svyatopolk-Mirsky took possession of the Mir Castle. By that time, the castle had fallen into complete desolation and ruin. The new owner decided to begin a full-scale reconstruction of his new possessions: the garden was cut down and a pond was dug in its place; A distillery was built behind the pond, and a two-story palace was erected not far from the castle. In the clearing between the palace and the castle, trees were planted, among which in 1904, according to the design of the St. Petersburg architect Robert Marfeld, a family chapel-tomb was erected. Nikolai's son Mikhail , an educated man and expert in many languages, left the diplomatic service in 1917 and began the restoration of the castle.

In 1939, after the annexation of Western Belarus to the USSR, Mir Castle was nationalized. Until 1941, it housed a production artel, and during the German occupation it housed a Jewish ghetto and a prisoner of war camp. After liberation in 1944 and until 1956, local residents lived in the castle, whose huts burned down during the fighting, which led to the final loss of decoration of its interiors.

Only in 1988 the castle was given the status of historical and cultural value of national importance. In October 1992, a museum exhibition appeared in the southwestern tower, and in 1995 the entrance tower was opened. In December 2000, the Mir castle complex was included in the UNESCO List of World Cultural Heritage Monuments.

Padlock on the 50000 banknote Belarusian rubles

Head of a fossilized ram embedded alive in a wall in the 16th century

























Castle Well











There is such diversity in this tower to emphasize what is new and what is old. Where the brick is, this is what was preserved after the gunpowder explosion in 1812. Where the white plaster is - traces of the era of the current "Old Man".





Ancestral tomb of Svyatopolk-Mirsky











Castle cellars. What did Belarusians eat in the 17th century?

Wine cellar. It should be the highest (dryest), away from strong-smelling products such as garlic. Only non-drinkers were hired to manage it.

Medieval Belarusian warriors



This is Grodno Castle. It's still a mock-up, but they plan to reconstruct that too.

Grodno churches









Reconstruction of the armor of Belarusian knights








Children's armor

Painting "Battle of Orsha"

18th century nobleman's costume

Engravings of various Radziwills - owners of the castle

Radziwill the Orphan again













Castle ceilings. Also a remake...But what a remake!



Office of the last owners in the 30s



Authentic 17th century chest. Survived by a miracle

Hall for noble feasts





Horns of the aurochs - an animal exterminated by hunting in the 17th century. Local farmers fished the fossil out of the river

This is how rich Belarusian nobles dressed

18th century ballroom

Today, local residents celebrate weddings here. The photos, they say, turn out fantastic.



Fan for balls

Gloves for balls

These are the kind of books that Belarusians already read, when Peter in Russia had not yet shaved everyone’s beards

And they played bagpipes and mandolin



Well, these are the dungeons of the castle. For those who took out loans and did not pay... :)

Church of the village of Mir

Mir village market



Clearing on the former border of Western Belarus as part of Poland (1921-1939), only 30 km from Minsk

Toll highway in Western Belarus