Ruzhany Palace Ruins, Ruzany, Belarus

Ruzhany Palace is a ruined palace which was between the 16th and 19th centuries the main seat of the senior line of the Sapieha noble family. Ruzhany began its life in the late 16th century as the site of Lew Sapieha's castle, the palace being completed in 1602. The Sapieha residence was destroyed in the course of the internecine strife in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania when it was attacked by Michał Serwacy Wiśniowiecki's forces in 1700.

Ruzhany Palace was rebuilt as a grand Neoclassical residence in the 1770s by Aleksander Michał Sapieha, employing the services of the architect Jan Samuel Becker of Saxony, who set the palace in an English park landscape. Aside from the palace, there was a theatre (1784–88), an orangery and several other outbuildings. Becker also designed the local church (rebuilt in the 1850s).

By the time of King Stanisław II's visit in 1784, work on the palace had been suspended. The Sapieha estates were nationalised in the aftermath of the November Uprising (1831). Three years later, the palace compound was sold to be used as a textile mill and weaving factory.

In 1914 the palace was accidentally set on fire by factory workers. The First World War and subsequent financial hardships prevented the building's restoration until 1930, however the partially restored palace became a ruin again within fifteen years, a casualty of the Second World War. The ornate palace gate survives and has recently been restored.

References:

Wikipedia

Miscellaneous historic sites in Belarus

Address

P44, Ruzany, Belarus

See all sites in Ruzany

Details

Founded: 1602
Category: Miscellaneous historic sites in Belarus

More Information

en.wikipedia.org
www.belarus.by
www.360cities.net

Rating

4.7/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby

Synkavichy Fortified Church (34 km)
Kosava Palace (18,5 km)
Biaroza Monastery Ruins (36,8 km)

User Reviews

Alex Algorasa (4 years ago)
Nice place to visit with historical background

Igor Izhik (5 years ago)
I hope it will look as great as it once was. Amazing historical landmark.

Karolis Navickas (5 years ago)
Outstanding palace. In construction still, however must visit place in Belarus 100%. There is an option to stay at castle hotel as well.

Gleb Doro (6 years ago)
Amazing place! Very rustic and so much of it is original. I feel like I am transported back to early times. I love this palace. When I was a young boy, we drove by this palace and stopped by every time to walk and see it. This year I saw it for the first time in 15 years. It’s still just as beautiful. No need for restoration, leave it as is, it’s amazing.

David Y (7 years ago)
Ruin of a 16th century Palace. A good place to think about the transience of life. A moving experience

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Photo from Flickr, copyright Christian Lauw

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Wieskirche

The Pilgrimage Church of Wies (Wieskirche) is an oval rococo church, designed in the late 1740s by Dominikus Zimmermann. It is located in the foothills of the Alps in the municipality of Steingaden.

The sanctuary of Wies is a pilgrimage church extraordinarily well-preserved in the beautiful setting of an Alpine valley, and is a perfect masterpiece of Rococo art and creative genius, as well as an exceptional testimony to a civilization that has disappeared.

The hamlet of Wies, in 1738, is said to have been the setting of a miracle in which tears were seen on a simple wooden figure of Christ mounted on a column that was no longer venerated by the Premonstratensian monks of the Abbey. A wooden chapel constructed in the fields housed the miraculous statue for some time. However, pilgrims from Germany, Austria, Bohemia, and even Italy became so numerous that the Abbot of the Premonstratensians of Steingaden decided to construct a splendid sanctuary.

Ruzhany Palace Ruins