| Duration: | 1 Day(s) - 0 Night(s) |
| Tour Category: | Half Day Tour |
Mir Castle is one of the most important tourist attractions in Belarus
The Mir Castle Complex built in the beginning of the 16th century was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2000. The successful blend of Gothic, Baroque and Renaissance architecture makes Mir Castle one of Europe’s most impressive castles.
The Mir Castle complex (Mirsky Zamok) is an outstanding example of 16th-century fortification art. It’s located in the town of Mir in the Grodno region of Belarus.
The construction of the Gothic style castle was started in the 1520s by Duke Ilinich.
In 1568 the castle belonged to Mikolay Radziwil, who completed it in Renaissance style.
A three-storey palace was built along the eastern and northern walls of the castle which had forty fretted rooms. Earth walls were built around the castle with bastions at the corners, surrounded by a water moat.
An Italian garden was laid to the north of the walls and an artificial lake was established to the south. The Radziwills owned the castle for several centuries.
During the Napoleonic wars the castle was severely damaged.
In 1891, the castle was bought by Nikolai Svyatopolk-Mirsky who started bringing order to his new property. His son continued his father’s work, led by renowned architect Teodor Bursze.
The successful blend of Gothic, Baroque and Renaissance architecture makes Mir Castle one of the most impressive castles in Europe.
In 1992 a subsidiary of the National Art Museum of the Republic of Belarus was located in the castle .
Following intensive restoration works, Mir Castle was reopened to the public in December 2010.
