There are a lot of attractions in Belarus, and not only in cities - such as Minsk, Mogilev, Vitebsk and others. Here you can see the Brest Fortress, Belovezhskaya Pushcha, Mir Castle, the Mound of Glory and the Ruzhansky Castle, which is located in the village of Ruzhany, which is located 140 km from Brest. In the south-west of Belarus is the city of Brest, which is the administrative center.
Ruzhany (Belarus): description
Ruzhany was founded in 1552 and thanks to its main attractions were able to become famous throughout the world. Thousands of tourists come here to see the former residence.
The village itself was first mentioned in 1490, but only when this place began to belong to the Tyszkiewicz, they began to mention it in the documents, so it is not known when the village was founded. A little later this place passed to the Brukhalsky family, and then it was sold to the chancellor of the Principality of Lithuania Sapege, which is why the castle also bears the name "former Sapega residence".
History
Ruzhany Palace is the main decoration of the village, its construction began in the 16th century. Later it was rebuilt a couple of times and played a significant role not only for the State of Lithuania, but also for neighboring countries. Once, ambassadors were received here, several kings arrived, the treasury of the principality was kept, and proteges to the Moscow throne were preparing.
During the war with the Swedes, the castle was badly damaged, although at one time it was built as a defensive one, but by that time it had lost its significance. However, in the XVIII century, the wealthy owners of Ruzhany tried to restore the palace. But at the end of this century, they began to use it as a cloth factory.
In 1914 there was a big fire, and the Ruzhany castle was damaged. It was partially restored in the 30s of the last century, and in 1944 it was destroyed during the hostilities. Unfortunately, only the ruins, as well as arcades, exit gates and outbuildings that have been restored, have been preserved.
Initially, the castle (or palace) was defensive in nature. There, in the central part, there was a main hall and an entrance hall with two-sided stairs, in the lateral parts were living rooms, an office and a library.
Under the building there were spacious cellars, which were used to store documents, archives, products. But in the XVIII century, the architect Samuel Becker began to rearrange the palace, and in the lowlands in front of the palace a church, a monastery, a cemetery chapel and an inn were installed .
They still argue about the style of the palace: some mistakenly believe that this is an empire style, others - the French style, but in fact a mixture of two styles and eras - baroque and classicism - turned out to be also rococo elements.
After the restructuring, two of the three towers that complemented the palace disappeared, and another tower became part of the new building, which became symmetrical. To the first-order premises were added a ballroom, a lobby and a front door. Since the front rooms now began to be located on the second floor, they seemed to divide the entire building into floors: basement, front and upper mezzanines.
Museum
The Ruzhany Palace opened a museum in 2011, and according to estimates, about 15 thousand tourists visit it annually. Today there are four exhibition halls and one exhibition hall.
Interesting archaeological finds are stove tiles, part of kitchen utensils. A special exhibit is a copy of the slab built in honor of the arrival of King Vladislav IV. It was also possible to save several books from the Sapieha library.
Since the palace is destroyed and you can see only part of it, the museum presents a model of the Ruzhany castle, which clearly demonstrates how it was in previous years.
One of the halls is a story about the descendant of Leo Sapieha, Alexander, who at one time rebuilt the building into a palace, because he loved the idle life: theaters, balls, performances.
In one of the halls you can see on the wall the coat of arms, which was made of larch. For a long time he was in the warehouse, but was subsequently restored. There were two such emblems in total, one hung on the south side, the other on the north.
Legend of the underground road
It has an ancient and interesting history of Ruzhany Castle. Stories and legends can begin with the fact that ghosts walk on it, and end with the most unusual stories.
For example, the legend of the underground path is not just an underground passage when you can go from one part of the castle to another, but about a whole road 25 kilometers long that led to the town of Kosovo. It was possible not only to walk along it, but to ride a carriage drawn by six horses.
However, the researchers cannot confirm or deny this information, and someone still believes that he can find this way.
Interesting Facts
There are many interesting stories and legends about this place, some of them are backed by facts, others are still legends:
- It is believed that the cellars that are in the palace were filled up during the hostilities, and that they went to a depth of four floors.
- Leo Sapega was one of the richest people, he loved books, paintings and fishing. In his library at that time there were more than 3 thousand books, which was considered untold wealth.
- When Alexander Sapega decided to restore the residence in Ruzhany, he did it for a reason, but because of his wife Magdalena, who was the favorite of Augustus Poniatowski, it is believed that it was the king who financed the restoration.
- The theater in the Ruzhany castle was also created for the sake of the spouses, 60 actors and 40 musicians were invited there.
- Leo Sapega was once a simple clerk, but rose to the post of King Stephen Batory himself, and later became one of the richest people.
- Thanks to Leo, one of the best codes of laws in Europe was created, which was called the Statute of the Grand Duchy of 1588.
- Another of the Sapieha heirs, Pavel, bequeathed after his death all the cannons from the Ruzhany castle to be converted into bells for the church of St. Casimir, who was in Vilna.
Ruzhany today
Ruzhansky castle (Belarus) today can be seen by everyone. Although little has been preserved in its original state, fragments of the palace ensemble give the impression of grandeur and power, towering above the village.
In 2008, they began the restoration program, were able to recreate the main gate and the outbuilding. Later, in 2012, they began to restore the eastern building, and it is also planned to restore the main building of the palace.
Ruzhany castle: opening hours and how to get
As mentioned above, the castle is located in the village of Ruzhany, 140 km from Brest, from where you can get by car or bus. The fare can be about 60 thousand rubles of local currency one way.
Ruzhansky castle (Ruzhany, Belarus) in the Brest region is located at 15a Urbanovicha street.
Since 2011, a museum was opened, where two outbuildings and an entrance gate were restored, there is also one exhibition hall and exposition rooms. Entrance to the museum is paid, and for adults a ticket costs 10 thousand rubles, and for schoolchildren and students - 6 thousand, you can separately book an excursion - both group and individual.
The museum is open all days except Monday and Tuesday, from 9.00 to 18.00.