The city of Nesvizh, Belarus – attractions, photos. The city of Nesvizh and the most beautiful castle in Belarus Monuments and their description Nesvizh

Nesvizh (lit. Nesvyžius; Belarusian Nyasvizh) is a city in the Minsk region of Belarus on the Usha River. The city is home to the famous Nesvizh Castle, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Farny Church, the 16th-century town hall, as well as a number of other architectural monuments.

Story

The first mention of the city was previously associated with the name of Yuri Nesvizhsky (in some sources Nesvitsky), who with his squad took part in the battle on the Kalka River (now Kalchik) on May 31, 1223 (“The Tale of Bygone Years”). As a result of the battle, he died, and the consonance of the prince’s name with the name of the city became the reason for his identification as the appanage prince of the city of Nesvizh. However, this version was refuted by scientists in the late 80s of the 20th century.

There are also several other folk variants of the origin of the city’s name; one of them is the existence of a huge mountain on the site of the city, which was called “Invisible” because because of it “you can’t see anything.” During a large flood of the river, the mountain was washed away into seven hills, but the name was still preserved and over time turned into the modern “Nesvizh”. Another story is related to hunting: once Radzivil came here to hunt, the hunt was successful, but there was not enough room for the most important trophy - a bear. As a result, it was decided to come for him later, sending servants, but while they were looking for the bear, it had deteriorated and became “not fresh,” as a result of which the hunting place began to be called “Stale.” Considering geographical location Nesvizh on the portage from the Neman to Pripyat (Usha River - portage on the Lan River), it can be assumed that the name of the town was given by the word from the everyday life of the rivermen who used this waterway. For example, “znyasva”, “znesla”, etc., denoting the collection and demolition of goods in one place in warehouses before the haulage; perhaps some warehouses and wintering of boats and carrying them on oneself (“nyasva”, “nosva”), demolishing them back into the Usha River. (Pavlovsky A. T. 27.2013)

Archaeological excavations conducted in these places testify to the history of the city, which began no earlier than the 15th century. The version about the appanage principality also did not find its confirmation - no evidence was found of the existence of defensive structures here. The courtyard that stood here was just the center of a small volost. Thus, the city has become almost two centuries younger - the first written mention of it now dates back to 1446. Nesvizh appears in chronicles in connection with the transfer of the town from the Grand Duke of Lithuania Kazimir Jagiellonczyk to Mikolay Jan Nemirovich.

In 1492, Grand Duke Alexander gave the city to the richest Lithuanian magnate Peter Kiszka. Thus, Nesvizh came into the possession of the famous Kishek family, one of whose representatives, Anna, in 1513 married Jan Radziwill, nicknamed the Bearded, who received the city as a dowry (“by tow”). In 1533 Nesvizh finally passed to the Radziwills.

In 1547, the son of Jan Radziwill, Nikolai Radziwill the Black, achieved the assignment of the title “Prince of the Holy Roman Empire” to his family, and made the city his residence, the importance of which increases in 1586 after giving it the legal status of an indivisible hereditary possession (ordination), transmitted by the right of inheritance only to the eldest son in the family. The Nesvizh ordination remained in the hands of the Radziwills until 1939.

The city's rapid prosperity began in the 16th century. and is associated mainly with the name of the first ordinate Nicholas Christopher Radziwill the Orphan - the son of Nicholas Radziwill the Black. Having inherited the wooden Nesvizh from his parent, he carries out a great deal of work to reform it - the buildings are replaced with stone buildings, the chaos of the medieval city is reformed into a regular quarter system, which has survived to this day.

The lives of citizens do not remain aloof from the reforms. Returning from a trip to the Mediterranean and the countries of the Middle East, Orphan is imbued with the spirit of change and reconstruction of the family nest. Bringing his ideas to life, at the first stage he frees the townspeople from many feudal duties, eases the tax burden and turns the city into a typically European one, attracting merchants and artisans to it. The city is developing rapidly - a school is opening there, a bathhouse, a hairdresser and a hospital are being built. Weaving and tailoring, metalworking and furrier shops begin to operate. A little later, already in the 18th century, manufacturing production and an artistic casting workshop were established. In 1583, construction of the Nesvizh Castle began.

In the XVI-XVII centuries. There is an Arian school where ancient languages, theology and natural sciences are studied. In 1562, the Nesvizh printing house opened in the city, which published the first books in Belarus in Belarusian language(in 1562-1571, famous Belarusian enlighteners Simon Budny and Vasily Tyapinsky published books). Nesvizh is also the founder of the theatrical art of Belarus - the first permanent theater “Comedyhouse” was opened here. Initially an amateur theater, the theater gradually moves into a professional direction, turning into a court theater, and gives performances outside the city.

City Hall (Nesvizh)

The core of the city now, as in past centuries, is the Market Square (now the Central Square), in the center of which stands the town hall with a tall six-tiered tower, symbolizing, in everyone's opinion, the Magdeburg Law granted to the city in 1586. The town hall previously housed the mayor's office, the magistrate, the office, the courtroom, the treasury and the archive; the main city streets converged on it. Starting from the 17th century, the town hall gradually became overgrown with shopping arcades, which subsequently formed a closed U-shaped contour. Architectural ensemble The square underwent significant changes in the middle of the 20th century during its reconstruction to suit modern needs.

In a short historical period (1584-1616), with the participation of Belarusian and Italian masters, taking into account the latest achievements of fortification art, a city and a castle were built, and the settlement itself, located at a distance from it, was surrounded by a moat and rampart. At the entrances to the city, stone gates with powerful towers were built - gates Zamkovaya, Slutskaya, Kletskaya, etc. The waters of the Usha River raised by dams became an important element of the fortifications.

Monumental stone buildings of the late 16th-17th centuries. was represented by a castle, gates, churches, monasteries of the Bernardines (1598), Bernardines (1591), Dominicans (1672); Jesuit Church of the Body of God (1593). At this time, an austeria opened in the city.

Nesvizh Castle in 2011

At the beginning of the 18th century, the city became a victim of the Northern War - in 1706 it was completely plundered by Swedish troops.

In the 18th century In the city there was a court chapel, the largest ballet theater in Europe (opened in 1740), a cadet corps and a school for naval officers in Alba (a suburb of Nesvizh) for Radziwill’s army. In 1764 and 1768 Nesvizh is again occupied by Russian troops as a result of the confrontation between Catherine II and Pane-Kokhanku. After the second partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1793, the city became part of Russian Empire.

On January 1, 1896, the population was 10,237 inhabitants, of which 5,692 were Jews, 2,890 were Orthodox, 1,545 were Catholics, 32 were Protestants. There was a synagogue and seven Jewish houses of worship, two Catholic parishes, and an Orthodox church in the city.

Since 1921, Nesvizh has been part of the Polish state, in 1939 - part of the USSR (Belarus), in 1941-1944 it was under the occupation of Nazi Germany, since 1991 - in independent Belarus.

Streets of Nesvizh

• 1st May Street
• Molodezhnaya Street
• Leninskaya street
• Engels street
• Soviet street
• Snovskaya street
• Karl Liebknecht Street
• Slutskaya street
• Kutuzova Street
• Sadovaya street
• Derzhinsky Street
• Shimko Street
• Dostoevsky Street
• Yakub Kolos Street
• Pushkin street
• Lugovaya Street
• Ozernaya Street

Attractions

Farny Church

Tower of the Benedictine monastery

• Nesvizh Castle
• The Church of the Body of God is the first monument in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the second in the world (after the Temple of Il Gesu in Rome) built in the Baroque style. Construction of the temple lasted 6 years (1587-1593), consecration took place on October 7, 1601. The church is the burial vault of the Nesvizh branch of the Radziwill family. An ancient functioning organ has been preserved in the church.
• The Dominican monastery was built in 1672 on the site of the current cinema and had a library and school on its territory, which was closed in 1835. For the last two years of its existence, the famous poet Vladislav Syrokomlya studied there, who paid a lot of attention to Nesvizh in his works. Closed in 1873, the monastery was transformed into a teachers' seminary, which began its work in 1875. Among the students of the seminary there were many people who made significant contributions to cultural history Belarus. The most important representative of the students is the Belarusian writer Yakub Kolas, who will remember the “city of youth” more than once in his works.
• The Benedictine convent was built in 1596 at the expense of Sirotka and his wife Elzbieta Euphemia and served its intended purpose until 1887. The territory of the monastery has survived to this day in the form of monastery buildings, a gateway tower and modern buildings of the pedagogical college, the main students of which, like four centuries ago, are predominantly representatives of the fairer sex. The entrance to the monastery territory is guarded by a three-tiered tower, which is crowned by a dome with a spire. The tower building was built here in the second half of the 18th century. The Orphan's niece Christina, having become an abbess and taking the name of his late wife, served here for almost half a century, receiving well-deserved respect and love from the abbess. The remains of the earthen ramparts that surrounded the monastery and played an important role in the city defense system have also reached us.

Slutsk Gate

• The Slutsk Gate is the only gate that has survived to this day, welcoming guests of the city and local residents, entering " Old city"from the east. Previously, earthen ramparts surrounding the city approached them directly from the right and left.
• Nesvizh Town Hall is the oldest surviving town hall in Belarus. The town hall building was recently restored. It was erected in 1596 and rebuilt in 1752. The monument has features of the late Baroque and Renaissance.

Cultural heritage of Nesvizh

• The basis of the city - Nesvizh Castle is included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
• In 1562, the Nesvizh printing house was opened in the city, which published the first books in the Belarusian language on the territory of Belarus (in 1562-1571, famous Belarusian educators Simon Budny and Vasily Tyapinsky printed books). In 1563, the first newspaper of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was published here - The Terrible and Compassionate Navins...
• The Belarusian writer Yakub Kolas, while studying at the Nesvizh teachers' seminary, wrote many poems and humorous stories here, which he later performed at local literary evenings.
• Nesvizh is the founder of the theatrical art of Belarus. "Comedyhouse" is the first permanent amateur theater that became professional and gave performances outside the city.
• Yevno Jacobson, a watchmaker living in the city in the second half of the 18th century, invented a calculating machine, which became the prototype of the adding machine.
• One of the most educated people of his time, Simon Budny, published his “Catechism” and “The Justification of Sinful Man before God” in the Nesvizh printing house in 1562.

Notable natives

• Brzostowski, Mikhail Hieronymus (1762-1806) - statesman of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
• Bochdahl, Jolanta (born 1942) - Polish actress
• Vitushko, Mikhail Afanasyevich (1907-2006) - Belarusian military leader
• Radziwill, Dominik Nicholas (1643-1697) - Great Chancellor of Lithuania
• Radziwill, Hieronymus Vincent (1759-1786) - statesman of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
• Radziwill, Karol Stanislav Pane Kohanku (1734-1790) - politician of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
• Radziwill, Mikhail Casimir (1625-1680) - full Lithuanian hetman
• Radziwill, Nicholas the Red (1512-1584) - Great Chancellor of Lithuania
• Radziwill, Nicholas the Black (1515-1565) - statesman of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
• Yaroshevich, Piotr (1909-1992) - Prime Minister of Poland

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

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The main city attraction is the palace and park complex of the 16th-19th centuries, located in the north-eastern part of the city. Like a number of other interesting city buildings, the complex was erected under Prince Mikolaj “The 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 approximately the same period as the palace, is the old city hall. It is considered the oldest on the territory of modern Belarus. Particularly striking is the restored Town Hall tower, which for a long time was the most high point surroundings, which made it possible to use it as a lookout.

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

The landscaped city parks are beautiful, which were created over hundreds of years under various princes Radziwill.

Unfortunately, not much of the rest of the religious buildings in Nesvizh has survived to this day. The former complex of the Benedictine monastery is used today by the teacher training college, and of its buildings, only the tall narrow gate tower, built in the Baroque style by the same Bernardoni, remains the same. Only one building has survived from the Bernardine monastery. The tiny chapel of Bulgarin dates back more than three centuries - this is a small rectangular chapel a couple of steps from the Farny Church, built into its fence.

The urban development of old Nesvizh was more fortunate: in the city you can still see old and interesting houses of varying degrees of preservation. For example, the plebania building is from the 17th century. (the house where the priest lived). Also interesting is the craftsman's house in the city market: it is believed that this is the only urban residential building left in the country with a facade made in the Baroque style. The house was built in the 18th century. and was remodeled several times, but the interesting facade with a complex and majestic profile can still 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 the stone fulfills the wishes of those who touch it or leave money on it.

Also interesting is the inn building, built at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries, and the shopping arcade buildings on the town hall (aka market) square. The rows were added to the Town Hall at the same time as its construction, separated from it by passages for the delivery of goods. Some of the shops were located even in the Town Hall itself, but today they remain only in these neighboring pavilions.

The landscaped city parks are also beautiful, which were created over hundreds of years under various princes Radziwill. These are the Old Park with the “Wishing Stone”, 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, Antonia Park (the least well preserved of all) and the Japanese Park, the newest and unfinished .

• Where to stay: directly in Minsk - although the choice of hotels is small, everyone can find a “gatel” to their liking. For those who came to improve their health and conquer ski slopes, the resorts of Logoisk, Silichi and the Yakut Mountains are ideal, where all conditions are created for active rest not only in winter, but also in summer. It’s worth spending a couple of days to see the historical sights

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. The heir to a huge fortune, he could have spent his life in idleness, but he travels around Europe and the Middle East, and even writes travel notes about what he saw. Having received a wooden manor from his father and small town under her, he erects a stone castle, rebuilds the city, turning it into a European one: 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 ( total area 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, a trusted servant hid the treasure somewhere in underground passages, and he himself perished 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).

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. Large settlements there was no one 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 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.

Hotel "Nesvizh".

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 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.

The house next door.

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.

Let's take a look inside.

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 World Heritage UNESCO. 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.

Let's go ashore.

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.

Let's take a walk in the park.

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.

Let's go to the museum, now housed in the castle. I think that its interiors are the main and most interesting exhibits.

Tell me please, is this a fireplace?
- Yes, and, moreover, original.
- Did you even survive the war safely?
- Not only the war, but also the time when there was a sanatorium here.
- Do Belarusians have a place to get treatment today if the sanatoriums are repurposed?
- Maybe there is.
- But here the situation itself helped to recover...
- Perhaps, but not everyone ended up here.
- Of course, not all... The best weavers, steelworkers and other workers...

The hunting hall is full of trophies.

I approach the caretaker.
- You know, I have already examined the entire castle. You could say he penetrated a little into the lives of its inhabitants. And I can’t imagine what they were doing other than hunting? The fact that we had lunch is understandable...
- Well, of course! They played billiards... And did other things...
A bear skin was thrown onto the floor. I don't like hunting. When it is a means of obtaining food, it is completely harmonious and natural. But in this case, the animals were killed for fun. He leaned towards his shaggy head, “Well, Toptygin, where did they take you at gunpoint? Did you feast on raspberries or honey and got carried away? Okay, don’t be upset. But you spent the next years in a noble society, among interesting people. And this is worth a lot. Next time you'll be smarter..."