Nesvizh where. Sights of Nesvizh: description and reviews. What to see in the city of Nesvizh

Story

The first mention of Nesvizh was found in Russian chronicles in the XIII century, when it is said that Prince Yuri Nesvizh took part in the battle of Kalka (1223). Dying from his wounds, he instructed his servant to get to Nesvizh and inform his wife and all those close to him how the prince had died. When the servant got out of the battlefield, an arrow pierced him - to the very heart, but he still got to the princely castle and brought with him the tragic news of the death of the prince and the arrival of the Tatars in Russia. After the lands of Belarus were included in 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 the castle appeared here no earlier than the 15th century. Thus, the first written mention of the city is now considered to be the year 1446, when the annals tell of the transfer of the town of Nesvizh to the Grand Duke of Lithuania Kazimir Mikolai Jan Nemirovich.

In 1492, Nesvizh passed into the possession of the Belarusian tycoon Pyotr Kishke, and in 1513, when his daughter Anna became the wife of Jan Radziwill, the city as part of her dowry became the property of the Radziwills. In 1547, the son of Anna and Ian - Nikolai Radziwill the Black - became the prince of the Holy Roman Empire and makes Nesvizh exactly his residence. In order to prevent the transfer of his possessions “by tow” (as part of the dowry), he establishes the right of the majorate - the title, land and all wealth are transferred to the eldest son. The remaining male offspring had to either go to the 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 Sirotka - the son of Nicholas Radziwill Black. Heir to a tremendous fortune, he could have spent his life idly, but he travels to 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 her, he erects a stone castle, rebuilds the city, turning it into a European one: exempts citizens from many taxes and feudal duties, develops trade and crafts. In Nesvizh, a school, hospital, weaving and tailoring, locksmith and furrier shops were opened with 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 cadet corps and a school of naval officers for the private army of Radziwill were also located in the city. In 1583, the construction of the Nesvizh Castle begins, for which Italian masters are involved. In a very short time (a little over 30 years), the castle and the city were built according to the latest fortification fashion.

“The city that received the Magdeburg privilege (“ Saskoye Magdeburg Law ”), deducted money for fortification from its income. According to the articles of Magdeburg Law, watchdog, fire services and militias were organized in the city. All residents carried guard and defense duties, participated in military shows ("policies") and training ("drill"). By the end of the XVI century. city \u200b\u200bfortifications were mostly built. An engraving by Nesvizh cartographer Tomasz Makovsky, made around 1600, depicts Nesvizh, whose defense was based on a high earthen rampart. It had the appearance of a pentagon with 7 bastions, which covered the city from all sides.

Inside came through five gates: the Slutskaya, Kletskaya, Vilenskaya, Mirskaya and Zamkovaya. Urban fortification was surrounded by a water moat, connecting with the Usha River. There was a drawbridge in front of each bram. Not the last 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 closed the direct road to the castle and were a serious obstacle to the enemy. The water moat around the city performed another function: it was stocked up and turned almost into a fish nursery. However, it was forbidden to fish for the townspeople. The Radziwills ordered strict monitoring of this lieutenant or the Tseikhgvart, authorizing them to take networks from the townspeople. ”
M. A. Tkachev “Castles of Belarus”

During the Russo-Polish war, the castle withstood two long sieges of the Russian troops, who stormed Nesvizh itself, in 1654 and 1659. In 1706, Nesvizh, as well as the nearby World, was sacked by Swedish troops. After 15 years, it is being restored, also erecting a palace chapel, it was then that he acquired the appearance that we are seeing today. In 1764 and 1768 Russian troops invade here, in 1792 the Russian troops take the castle by attack, and after the partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1793, the city became part of the Russian Empire. In 1812, Dominic Jerome Radziwill sided with 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 set up around the castle (the total area of \u200b\u200bthe park complex is 90 hectares). In 1921, Nesvizh was part of Poland, in 1939 - part of Belarus, in 1941-1944. is under fascist occupation. During the USSR, the KGB sanatorium was located in the palace, in 2002 a fire broke out in the castle, which destroyed most of it. Now restoration work is underway, which promises to be completed by 2010.

The castle, the church and the city building are included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Castle

According to the slab above the castle entrance, the castle was completed on May 7, 1583. I repeat that before there was a wooden manor on this place, the new fortress in stone was built by Italian architect Giovanni Maria Bernardoni. It seems to me that Prince Radziwill was so impressed with Italian style samples that he decided to build something similar in Nesvizh, for which he brought an architect from Italy. In addition to the fortress walls and towers, the castle located on the peninsula was surrounded by moats and ramparts, and even now it is noticeable how impressive they were at that time. The Wushu River was closed by a dam, so the water level in the ditch could be regulated. That road along the dam, along which we went 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 a castle in the Czech town of Třeboонь and its pond system - everything was being built at about the same time.

In terms of plan, the castle had the shape of a quadrangle of 170 * 120 m, surrounded by a high earthen rampart with bastions in the corners. Behind stone-covered shafts there were trenches, rifle cells, and a walkway went on top of the parapet. From the side of the courtyard, the parapet line of fire was defended 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 elsewhere in Belarus, a foundry cannon workshop was created in Nesvizh. Already in 1576 the first batch of seven cannons was cast here - "fakes" firing 2-pound cores. In 1598, bells were cast here for Nesvizh and Mir castles (they served castles for 300 years each). In 1785, the castle had 66 cannons of its own production. It is not surprising that Nesvizh Castle withstood so many sieges!

A spacious castle courtyard was surrounded by three buildings. Opposite the entrance gate, the main building with princely chambers rose. Separated buildings in the following centuries were rebuilt and united by architectural inserts, forming by now a closed front yard. In the corners of the castle tower a lovely 8-sided turret. In addition to the large front yard, there are two more small ones in the castle - household (equestrian) and intimate. The horse yard was located in the southern part of the castle when stables were set up in the ramparts. The third courtyard hides in the buildings and was used only by the owner himself - he communicated with secret passages to the outside world. It is said that these underground passages lead to the farny church and to Mir Castle.

From the XVI to the XX centuries. The Radziwills collected in the castle a huge library of 20 thousand volumes, a unique archive with ancient documents (almost all the acts of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, from the time of Jagaila, personally written letters from European monarchs were stored here), an art gallery (about a thousand canvases), a collection of weapons, Slutsk belts (woven from gold, they could be turned from head to toe), I am silent about such trifles as furniture made of precious wood, collections of coins, tapestries, trellis, family jewelry and services of the best porcelain factories in the world. The guide enthusiastically told us about how, even in the 19th century, gold cuirasses were found in the surrounding villages, from which pigs were fed, or tureens of Meissen porcelain used for household needs peyzan. The library, by the way, is partially stored in the library. Saltykov-Shchedrin in St. Petersburg.

As usual, all this splendor formed the basis for the legends of the Radziwill treasure, which Dominic Radziwill, who switched to the French side, did not manage to take out from the castle cellars. The supposedly trusted servant hid the treasures somewhere in the underground passages, and he perished during the Napoleonic invasion. Treasure hunters tore up Alba Park, which once surrounded the castle, and even during the Second World War the Nazis detached a sapper company here to get to the treasure - but to no avail. It seems to me that they won’t find anything: books and part of the archives, as we already found out, were sent to Russia, paintings, furniture and jewelry with services could easily be plundered by both Russian troops and residents of neighboring villages, and the famous gold and silver bars from which the stacks were laid out in the princely treasury, as 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. On something the same offspring of the Radziwills live in London and Paris to this day :)

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

you probably saw the miraculous image of the Mother of God above the Medina’s gate - it is believed that they painted the image from Barbara Radziwill). The king was so sad that he tried to evoke the spirit of Barbara (it happened in Krakow,

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

Despite the fact that the exposition inside the castle is very poor (everything is newly made), 3000 rubles are taken for the entrance - probably, they collect it for further repairs. If you don’t want to go to the castle, you can walk in the park - it’s free, unless at the entrance or somewhere on the alley you will be met by a guy with a grimy nose on a bicycle who will offer you to tell the legend about the castle and show the “wish stone” - of course , Not for free. The stone, which is actually a “mortgage” - the construction of the castle, which started once, began to transform for some reason (not without the participation of local residents, probably) into a stone, when you touch it, your wishes come true. Not for free: "put" under the stone to poke the money that smart guys collect as soon as the group moves five meters away.

The parks are very nice, although we looked at a small part of them directly at the castle. An interesting monument is the beloved prince’s greyhound, who saved his life on the hunt more than once and was buried under this very stone on which her image stands.

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

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

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

City

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

Closer to the lake, the Benedictine convent was preserved (1596), erected at the expense of Nikolai Sirotka and his wife Elizabeth Vishnevetskaya. Now, only the three-tier tower (XVIII century) and the cell building, which now houses the teacher training college, have survived from the entire complex. They say that their own ghost is still wandering 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 surviving Nesvizh gate. Once upon a time, high ramparts left right and left, making the city a real fortress, and the brahma was 5. The name of the gate was received from the Slutsky tract. On the engraving depicting Nesvizh, dating to the beginning of the 17th century, a fortified tower is depicted on the site of the brama. In 1760, the tower was rebuilt in the Baroque style. There were premises for guards on the first floor of the gate, and a chapel in the second.

Church of the Farn

“In the second half of the XVI century. The Radziwills, Khodkevichi, Volovichi, Sapieha and other magnates began to switch from Catholicism to Protestantism - with the aim of secularizing church lands, that is, to take them into their own hands. Nicholas Radziwill Cherny even founded the Calvinist community in Vilna in 1553, and also tried to organize the publication of Calvinist literature in Brest, where in 1563, according to his order, the Bible was published in Polish. In Nesvizh, with his submission, the Protestant printer Simon Budny (directly Semyon Budyonny), who was educated at the University of Cracow, published the Catechism and On the Justification of a Sinful Man before God. However, the clergy did not give up just like that, prisons and members of monastic orders launched a large-scale ideological struggle for the minds of magnates, which was crowned with success. When Nikolai Cherny died, his Catholic son Nikolai Sirotka began to buy up 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 fold of the Catholic Church, Nicholas the Orphan orders Giovanni Bernadoni 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 church on the territory of the Commonwealth.

“Worship your temple in your fear,” reads the Latin inscription above the entrance to the Nesvizh Farn Church. The temple is as if the Radziwill’s creed: the side altars are about to fall, but no - the angels support them. 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 combat clothing, with arms, Nikolai Sirotka is depicted on the stove kneeling, in a pilgrim robe, with a campaign and with a wide-brimmed hat behind his shoulders. The knightly armament lies casually thrown back from behind. Under the bas-relief is a long Latin epitaph that says that before the Lord no one is a knight, but only a pilgrim wanderer.

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

Crypt

But you can still enter the inaccessible crypt under the church: when we examined the murals, there was still a service in the church, after which the entrance was closed. One of the girls in our group was so worried that they could not see the crypt that I told her about the article I had read before coming here - as one of the parishioners, Mrs. Yanina Shidlovskaya, lets tourists into the tomb for a fee of 1,500 rubles from person. The girl took up the matter actively, and after inspecting the castle group literally dragged us this lady, who, having seen that the group was large (there were about 20 of us), and two more groups expressed a desire, said she would take 1000 rubles per person, they say , collect. True, she did not even touch the money, ordering them to be shoved into a donation box.

So, the family tomb of the princes of the Radziwills is a dark basement where there are rows of simple wooden coffins (inside they are metal), with a total of 78 or 79. Nikolai Sirotka himself was buried here first in 1616, and 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 a wire sealed with Radziwill seals - this was done not to let out ghosts (as many say), but to ensure that the same tourists (several coffins are not behind bars, but right under the window in the basement) climbed inside, or adventurers did not open the coffins in search of the key to the treasure (such cases were also). The last burial in the crypt took place in 1999 - they brought here Anthony Radziwill, who died in London (this is his coffin standing under the window). According to our guide, this is the third largest family burial in Europe, after the tombs of Valois and the Habsburgs (though, to our question, is it not Saint-Denis Valois, and which Habsburgs are meant - in Escorial or Vienna's Kapuzinerskirche, the lady found it difficult to answer).

One of the most interesting excursion routes in Belarus, starting in Minsk, is a trip to the ancient castles Mir and Nesvizh, built by the Poles.

Nesvizh is an ancient city located in the Minsk region of the Republic of Belarus, 122 kilometers from the capital city. The earliest references to Nesvizh in written sources date back to 1446.

Excursion World - Nesvizh.

You can book an excursion without leaving your home, but pay for the excursion either with an advance payment or before boarding the bus. Start of trip - Minsk Hotel "Planet"   , from where the group travels by bus to the city of Mir.
  There are 100 kilometers between Minsk and Mir, and only 30 from Mir to Nesvizh. For an excursion around Mir Castle, see the article:.

Nesvizh attractions.

Acquaintance with Nesvizh begins with a city tour, the central point of which is to inspect the estates belonging to the noble Radziwill family during the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. This is an ensemble of parks and palaces built in the 16th-17th centuries, many legends tell about its inhabitants. One of the legends is the legend of the Black Lady.

Monuments to Nesvizh.

In the old town, you should definitely visit the Farny Church, famous as one of the first monuments of Baroque art on the European continent, built by Italian architect Giovanni Maria Bernardoni on the order of Prince Radziwill Sirotka. The temple has preserved ancient frescoes, in particular the image of the Last Supper. But the church is also famous as the mausoleum of the representatives of the Radziwill clan, which is considered the 3rd largest and most burial place after the Habsburg tomb in Vienna and the crypts of the kings of Spain in Escorial.
  Another attraction of Nesvizh is the Slutsk Gate, the gate to enter the city from the Slutsk tract, built in the Baroque style as part of the ensemble of fortress walls. Several interesting buildings are concentrated in the center of Nesvizh - the oldest Town Hall in Belarus, built at the turn of the 16-17th centuries, Market Square, Benedictine Monastery, House of Craftsman.

The Church of the Lord’s Church in the town of Nesvizh, also called Farny, refers to the treasures of early Baroque architecture. It was the first church of the Jesuit Order on the territory of the Commonwealth and the crypt of the princely family of the Radziwills.
  The history of the temple begins on August 19, 1584, when Nicholas Christopher Radziwill, nicknamed Orphan, decided to place a Jesuit college in the city. The building of the College of the Jesuits, which existed unchanged until 1826, and the church was built in 1584-93. the master D. Bernardoni, who came from Italy, was modeled on the cathedral of Il Gesu in Rome, built in 1584.
  The first service was held on November 1, 1593, on October 7, 1601, the temple was consecrated by the papal nuncio Claudio Rongoni, but the construction lasted until 1605. Since 1593, after the death of the master, it was led by a student of Bernardoni - Guppe Brisio.
  The church is a basilica with 3 naves, a dome and an apse. The height of the dome is about 36 meters, the height of the central nave is about 18 meters.
  The interior of the Farny Church is famous for its compositions of wood carvings, sculptures and its frescoes of the 18th century, made on the basis of Rubens' compositional schemes. The fame in the altar part on the plot of the Last Supper, made in 1752-54, is famous. the restorer of the church and the court artist Radziwill Gensky.
  The facade, characterized by a complex curved shape, is a two-tier structure with pilasters and cornices, niches and sculptural images.

Castle Brahma Tower is the oldest stone building, which is the bell tower of the Farny Church.

The UNESCO memorial sign was established in 2005, when the following Nesvizh objects were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List: the palace and park ensemble of the Radziwill family, the Farny church and the adjacent buildings. This sign indicates that the Republic of Belarus has assumed responsibility for the preservation of the historical and architectural monument.

One of the fabulous places of Nesvizh is the Gate of the Nesvizh castle complex, surrounded by a park area. The gates are decorated with a monogram and the coat of arms of the “Pipe” of the Radziwill family.

Park Nesvizh.

The park was founded in 1878 by order of Princess Maria de Castellan Radziwill, it was then that trees and shrubs, statues, arbors, ponds, bridges and other corners appeared in which the harmony of man and nature is felt.

5 park territories comprise a single complex, and their total area is 100 hectares.

You need to go through the park slowly to feel the silence and beauty of the ancient corner of the planet.

Radziwill Castle, Nesvizh.

The Nesvizh castle, built in the 16-17th centuries, was the center of the possessions of the Radziwill clan, who controlled the Nesvizh ordination.
  Its history goes back to the beginning of the 16th century, when representatives of the Kishka clan built a castle of wood, not far from which the castle of the new owners of the Radziwills ascended. It turned out that Ian Radziwill married the beauty from the code of the Gut and in a dowry received land in Nesvizh.

The castle, connected to the surrounding lands only with a folding bridge made of wood and secret underground passages, has the shape of a closed quadrangle with sides 120x170 meters. All ancient buildings attract with their riddles. Such riddles include underground entrances and exits, which were indicated on the master plan for the construction of the palace.

Around the castle are earthen ramparts and a moat, the width of which was originally 22 meters. On both sides of the moat, brick walls were built with a thickness of about 2 m and a height of about 4 m.

A redoubt was built on the resulting fortress wall near the gate for defense, and a road was paved around the outside wall. The waters of the Ushi River were brought into the constructed moat, and ponds were filled with the same waters.

The date of foundation of the castle is considered May 7, 1583.
  Presumably, architects from Holland, invited by Nicholas Black Radziwill, took part in the design of the castle, according to another version - the builder of the Farny Church Giovanni Bernardoni, according to the third - unknown builders from France. In the appearance of the castle, one can find similarities with famous European ensembles, including the Palace of Versailles.

Nesvizh Museum.

Passing over the bridge, which in the old days was lifting, we find ourselves in a quadrangular courtyard with a well in the middle, which in the old days during sieges was the only source of drinking water. On the facade of the central building is the coat of arms of an ancient family. The emblem shows hunting pipes, because, according to legend, when the first representative of the clan received these lands, the donor king ordered a border to be drawn around the lands on which the hunting horn would be heard.

Inspection of the castle begins with the main staircase. You can’t walk this staircase; all tourists climb the stairs for servants.

Above the entrance to the first hall is a symbol of power, glory and peace.

This room is called Star. Here we can see the elements of the situation that have been preserved since ancient times, for example, an old stove with a coat of arms of the kind.

The halls are decorated with wood panels and art paintings illustrating the history of the development of the Radziwill family.

From the office you can see the bedroom with a recreated atmosphere from the time of the owners of the castle, with a four-poster bed and animal skin on the floor.

One of the most magnificent is the Fireplace Hall. On the central wall are portraits of representatives of the Radziwill clan.
  A fireplace with dark wood trim is the center of the room. Here the appearance of medieval ceilings with beams is preserved, samples of furniture items corresponding to the heyday of the genus are presented.

In the corner of the Fireplace Hall there is a stove decorated with black tiles.

From the Fireplace Hall, guests ended up in the Dining Room. Here you can admire old china, portraits of the hosts, a tiled stove.

We are in the ballroom. However, the castle was designed so that even at the ball there was an opportunity to retire and chat. Behind a row of columns at the mirror there is such a corner with round furnaces on the sides.

Part of the premises is closed to visitors, we inspect part of the castle.

The district center with the brightest history. A city that for centuries has accumulated cultural and spiritual values. So, get to know each other better. Nesvizh!

For the first time, history speaks of Nesvizh in the 15th century. Then it was only the center of a small volost. In 1492, it became the property of the rich Lithuanian clan Gut, which in 1513 became related to even more noble Lithuanians - Radziwill, in whose hands the status and welfare of Nesvizh is growing rapidly.

In 1547, thanks to Nicholas Radziwill Black, the Radziwills were given the title of "Prince of the Holy Roman Empire." Nesvizh, by this moment already the residence of a famous family, in 1586 the city received the status of ordination. This means that Nesvizh entirely passes from one owner to another only by inheritance, from father to eldest son.

Reforms of Nicholas Radziwill Orphans. On the European path of development

It is he who, as the eldest son and heir to Nicholas Radziwill Black, takes over control. With its filing, Nesvizh literally blossoms in the 16th century:

• the wooden city is fundamentally transformed, instead of old buildings stone structures grow
• streets acquire a quarterly layout, such a system has been preserved and now
• city \u200b\u200bresidents are becoming more free from feudal lords and taxes
• trade and handicrafts are developing; social sphere - a school, a bathhouse, a hospital and a hairdresser are opening
• workshops open, later, in the 18th century - manufactories and a workshop of art casting

Nesvizh is the first to publish Belarusian-language books. This becomes possible with the advent of printing in the city. Printed here Simon Budny   and Vasily Tyapinsky.

The 16-17th century in Nesvizh turned to knowledge and discoveries. Ancient languages, theology and the natural sciences are studied here. The first stationary theater in Belarus is launched. In 1563, the first newspaper of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania “Navigation is formidable and compassionate ...” appeared. In the 18th century, it was Nesvizh who was proud of Europe’s largest ballet theater.

At Nesvizh teacher’s seminary, Yakub Kolas studied. Here he wrote a lot of poems and humorous stories.

Living story - castle in Nesvizh

As a museum-reserve of our days, it is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Nesvizh Castle, the “heart” of the city, was erected in 1583 by order of Nicholas Radziwill Sirotka. A hundred years later, during the Russo-Polish war, he withstood two enemy assaults. For the troops of Charles 12 becomes a target, as the property of the magnates supporting Augustus II.

During the war with Napoleon, the owner of the Castle, Dominic Radziwill, is on the side of the French army and will leave the city forever. All generic values \u200b\u200bwere taken out of the residence. In 1813, all the estates of the eminent family were confiscated. In the 60s, the castle returned to the Radziwills and expanded - a complex is being built from Castle, Old, New, English parks and the Japanese Garden. As a result, by 1939 the territory was increased to 90 hectares.

History of Nesvizh

In 1706, the Northern War gets to Nesvizh, the Swedish troops completely loot it. Half a century passes, and the city is occupied by Russian troops. After the second section of the Republic of Poland, like a significant part of the territories of present-day Belarus, it departs to the Russian Empire. In the 20s of the 20th century it returned to Poland. 1939 - part of the newly created BSSR. 1941 - 1944 occupied by the German army.

What to see in the city of Nesvizh

In Nesvizh there is something to see: it was once the residence of the Radziwills. It has many monuments of architecture and history. On Central Square is located, in the present building of the Pedagogical College was once benedictine monastery, and where the cinema now stands, was once located dominican   - the one that was reformed into the seminary and which was visited by Yakub Kolas.

Other attractions of Nesvizh

Nesvizh has earlier sights. A striking example is the baroque gate of the late 17th century. The famous - the first Jesuit temple in the Commonwealth, which Nesvizh once belonged to, belongs to the same style.

Undoubtedly, the most beautiful place in the city is. Now it is a museum located in the reserve and is not only the property of Belarus, but also the whole world: the castle of Nesvizh is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Deserves special mention castle park, which is divided into several sectors according to the stylistic principle and stores a number of beautiful sculptures and monuments.

My journey began by contemplating the view of night town hall, the benefit of the house in which I was provided housing was looking directly at it, it is not the main attraction of Nesvizh, one of:

You must admit the excellent view, only desert streets are not pleasing to the eye, with places for spending time in the city there is such a huge problem, but more on that later, then we went for a walk:

typical for night Nesvizh. We visited a park in which, by the way, not a single lamp burned (for the sake of economy, they are there), we bathed in a Japanese park, it was the day before Kupalya, we looked for a paparazzi, and then we very clearly saw a black Panna, and although we don’t really believe in legends, we decided not to tempt fate and leave the place as soon as possible))
To our surprise, a cafe was still working at the entrance to the park, sitting on the shore of a reservoir, under local draniki and not a local whisker, we met dawn and admired the views that were getting better and better every minute, you must admit - there is something to see:

And so our first evening ended in this city, by the way it was a Friday evening, and ahead of us was Saturday and part of Sunday, I mean that it’s difficult to get the same impression by arriving on a sightseeing bus for a couple of hours.

The morning began with the same appearance as last night, with one exception, it was not dark outside the window, and it was clearly visible not only Town Hall, but also the shopping arcade next to it:

Unfortunately, the Town Hall Square was practically not preserved in its original form, and it was not even the German occupiers who were to blame, and the power of the Soviets, according to which the square did not fit into the architectural foundations of the scoop, remained only artisan house   1721:

more recently, another city park was made in the city, of course much more modest than castle ones, but it also arouses interest among citizens:

while my friend was visiting the gym, I walked around the city admiring its beauty and visiting all the significant sights, so for example, I first got inside slutsk gates, although as it turned out earlier, I could not do this because the exposition opened recently, this is how it looks from the outside:

inside there is an altar (a completely new one that does not represent historical value), windows with stained-glass windows and an excellent auntie a caretaker with whom you can, or rather you need to exchange a few words and not necessarily about the history of the city, you can talk so to speak and come into contact with the local population .

visiting the gate, you can relax on the shore of the pond and appreciate the view from this angle:

And then there was a little break, after a busy evening yesterday with a fancy black lady, we just needed to remove the alcohol residues from the body, you can do it in a local bathhouse, it is very simple, I immediately remembered the village from childhood, but the steam room there is powerful, expels everything that is possible from the body, in general, we went for a while to the bath:

from this photo you can judge all Nesvizh as a whole, pacification around, people are in no hurry, complete relaxation)) Of course, on the third day you will want to howl from such relaxations, but for two days it’s the most, rest for body and soul. By the way, in the village of Mir, where it is located, there are even fewer people.

Taking a breath and having lunch we set off for sightseeing already in the company, we stumble upon a fragment of an engraving of ancient Nesvizh, and also learn that in 2012 the city was the cultural capital of Belarus.

That's because they say a century, live a century, learn, only during this trip I found out that for the first time in Belarus books in Belarusian were printed in 1562 by Simon Budny, here is the corresponding monument:

typography was carried out in the former priest's house, it has been preserved, but not quite to our days:

and then we visited one of the most important sights, Farn Church of God’s body:

the photo shows that the main dome is under restoration and this can not but rejoice, finally found the money for it, on the right is visible castle gate tower.

this is in the courtyard of the church:

and this is the Bulgarin chapel:

I told you that here, as in Paris, only a little lower? So you didn’t lie, go inside the church and appreciate its interior decoration, it’s very impressive, and the church is “this is a unique necropolis of a significant kind, is the third example after the Viennese tomb of the Habsburgs and the Spanish Escorial,” you can’t take pictures inside, but the caretaker allowed to make one frame:

impressive? and live is even more impressive, and it was all preserved in its original form, practically nothing was damaged, and during the war, despite the fact that a bomb hit the church. In the necropolis, the doors were finally closed and photography was prohibited, it is still worthless to disturb people, but you can still see it. At the exit from the church you can evaluate the entrance gate

and another view of the church with the family coat of arms:

So the sights are coming to an end, there remains one worthy of attention, namely complex of the former Benedictine monastery, preserved only brama bell tower and one residential building, at the moment it is used as a hostel for students of teacher training college and the whole thing looks something like this, at the entrance:

and from the patio, with students:

here, by the way, I studied at the teacher’s seminary Yakub Kolas, this commemorative plaque testifies to this:

the students were lucky to live in such a picturesque place, I myself would love to study for a year in Nesvizh, especially if I had an easel and its attributes:

on this our walk ended and we went home, took a break and went on night bathing trips)) The last thing that captured my camera were the stained-glass windows of the Slutsk brama:

Thank you for your attention, I hope you enjoyed it, write about all the questions in the comments, and in the near future I will prepare two more posts about Nesvizh sights.

Sights of Nesvizh. The most important and interesting sights of Nesvizh - photos and videos, descriptions and reviews, location, sites.

• May Tours   to Belarus
• Hot tours   to Belarus

All All Architecture Religion

Any Museum Card

The main city attraction is the palace and park complex of the 16-19th centuries, located in the north-eastern part of the city. Like a number of other interesting city buildings, the complex was built under the prince Mikolaj "Orphan" Radziwill. The palace is very beautiful, as is the surrounding area with several landscaped gardens.

The second most important city building, which dates from about the same period as the palace, is the old city hall. It is considered the oldest in the territory of modern Belarus. The restored Tower of the Town Hall stands out for a long time, which for a long time was the highest point in the vicinity, which made it possible to use it as a sentinel.

The third of the most remarkable in the historical and architectural sense of the Nesvizh buildings is the Farny Church, or the Church of God’s body. Giovanni Bernardoni, specially invited from Rome, became his chief architect, and from the outside the church is very reminiscent of Italian religious architecture. But its interior is even more remarkable: here you can see excellent frescoes, thanks to which the temple gained great fame. Its second feature lies in the crypt: it contains the family tomb of the princes Radziwills, where more than 70 tombs have been preserved.

Beautiful landscaped city parks, which were created more than one hundred years under the various princes of the Radziwills.

Unfortunately, not many have survived from the other religious buildings of Nesvizh. The former complex of the Benedictine monastery is used today by the teacher training college, and from its buildings only the high narrow gate tower, built in the Baroque style by the same Bernardoni, remained the same. From the Bernardine monastery, only one building has been preserved. For more than three centuries, the tiny chapel of Bulgarin has been counted - this is a small rectangular chapel a few steps from the Farny Church, built into its fence.

The urban development of the old Nesvizh was more fortunate: in the city you can still see old and interesting houses of one degree or another. For example, the building of the 17th century. (the house where the xenz lived). An artisan’s house on the city market is also interesting: it is believed that this is the only remaining urban residential building in the country with a baroque facade. The house was built in the 18th century. and was remade several times, but an interesting facade with a complex and magnificent profile can be seen today.

The memorial stone in the Old Park was erected by Prince Anthony Radziwill in honor of his wife, Maria de Castellan. Today, there is a strong belief that a stone fulfills the desires of someone who touches it or leaves money on it.

Also interesting is the building of the inn, built at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, and the buildings of the shopping arcades on the town hall (also known as the market square). The ranks were attached to the Town Hall at the same time as its construction, having separated from it by driveways for the transport of goods. Partially shops were located even in the building of the Town Hall itself, and today they remained only in these neighboring pavilions.

Beautiful and landscaped city parks, which were created more than one hundred years under the various princes of the Radziwills. This is the Old Park with the “Stone of Desires”, founded in 1878, the English park on the opposite side of the castle pond, the romantic and quiet Marysin Park to the north of it, Anthony Park (the least well-preserved of all) and the Japanese Park, the newest and incomplete .

• Where to stay:   directly in Minsk - the choice of hotels and hotels is small, but everyone can find a "gatel" to their liking. For those who came to improve their health and conquer the ski slopes, the Logoisk, Silichi and Yakutsk mountains are ideal resorts, where all conditions for outdoor activities are created not only in winter but also in summer. For the sake of sightseeing, it’s worth a couple of days