Nesvizh Castle

Nesvizh Palace is considered the country’s most beautiful palace by the people of Belarus. Its richly diverse architecture and attractive gardens make it one of the most popular tourist attractions in Belarus.

The history of Nesvizh Palace

The estate and town was acquired by the Radziwil family in the middle of the 16th century, and they stayed there until 1939 when they were expelled by the invading Red Army.

The foundation stone of Nesvizh Palace was laid in 1584. It was rebuilt many times and as a consequence has features of manyarchitectural styles including:

• Renaissance
  Baroque
  Rococo
  Classicism
  Neo-gothic
  Modernism

In 1770 Nesvizh Palace was seized by Russian forces and the Lithuanian Archive removed and sent to Saint Petersburg where it remains to this day. Much of the artwork was distributed among Russian nobility.

In the late 19th century Nesvizh Palace was restored by the Radziwil family who also designed one of largest landscape gardens in Europe on the estate.

After World War 2 Nesvizh Palace was used as a Sanatorium and the gardens became neglected.

In 1994 the estate was designated the national historical and cultural reserve and in 2006 it was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Nesvizh Palace today

Nesvizh Palace is considered the most beautiful palace in Belarus and attracts thousands of visitors every year. The gardens are a particular attraction, with ornamental lakes, and beautifully landscaped gardens.

Nesvizh Palace went through an extensive renovation programme to restore it to its former glory.

After intensive restoration works (since 2004), Nesvizh Palace reopened its doors for visitors in June 2012.

Black Panna

One of the most famous ghosts lives in Nesvizhsky castle. This is the spirit of Barbara Radziwill. The legend of the black lady, just so it is called, is considered one of the most romantic and sad.Barbara was the daughter of Yuri Radzivil. She was very beautiful and many famous men of Belarus fought for the heart of the girl. But at age 17, Count Gasteld led her under the crown. Only family happiness did not last long - after six years, the man died.After some time, the beautiful Panna met Sigismund Augustus, who was the heir to the Polish king. And though at that moment he was married, passion flared between them. To become the wife of Sigismund, Barbara went to the trick: she arranged for her brothers to find them on a secret date. So it became pointless to open it and the couple got married, however, in secret from everyone.After Sigismund was crowned, the marriage with Barbara was revealed. The relatives of the husband took the young bride in hostility and did not want to accept their relationship. The mother of Monarch Bona Sforza from the Medici family treated her especially negatively.But Sigismund paid no attention to this. He loved his wife and got her recognized as queen. Only this happiness did not last long: Barbara felt worse every day and died a year later. There is a version that Bon Sforza put her hand to her death.Sigismund was heartbroken. And then he decided to resort to the help of the then-famous sorcerer-warlock Tvardovsky and to call the spirit of his beloved by means of a seer. The medium forbade touching the spirit of Barbara, but when the queen in white clothes appeared in the room, her husband could not stand it and rushed to embrace her. At that moment the mirrors were scattered into small pieces, the robe of the spirit turned black and it dissolved in the air.Since then, the black panna has been roaming the castle. Most often she was noticed before the misfortunes. For example, the last time she appeared to people was in front of a fire in 2002, during which most of the castle suffered.

The Black Nun

Here, in Nesvizh, another historical object enjoys mystical fame - the complex of the former Benedictine monastery, on the territory of which Nesvizh State Pedagogical College is now located. I. Kolas. They say that it’s creepy to be indoors at night, so the students try not to linger: they hear footsteps, tapping, an obscure whisper of a local ghost - the Black Nun, who can push, pinch, and most of all likes to break mirrors.