Mir Castle Complex
{{Short description|Castle in Mir, Belarus}}
{{expand Belarusian|date=February 2024|topic=struct}}
{{Infobox UNESCO World Heritage Site
| WHS = Mir Castle Complex
| Image = Комплекс Мирского замка.JPG
| Location = Mir, Belarus
| Criteria = Cultural: ii, iv
| ID = 625
| Year = 2000
| Area = 27 ha
| Coordinates = {{coord|53|27|4.46|N|26|28|22.80|E|type:landmark_region:BY|display=inline,title}}
| locmapin = Belarus
| Website = {{URL|http://mirzamak.by/en/}}
}}
The Mir Castle Complex ({{langx|be|Мірскі замак|Mirski zamak}}; {{langx|ru|Мирский замок|Mirsky zamok}}; {{langx|pl|Zamek w Mirze}}; {{langx|lt|Myriaus pilies kompleksas}}) is a historic fortified castle and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Belarus.{{cite news|title=21 World Heritage Sites you have probably never heard of|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=4 February 2016|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/10999939/21-World-Heritage-Sites-you-have-probably-never-heard-of.html|publisher=Daily Telegraph}} It is located in the town of Mir, in Karelichy District of Grodno Oblast, {{nowrap|{{convert|29|km|mi}}}} north-west of another World Heritage site, Nesvizh Castle. Mir Castle Complex is {{nowrap|{{convert|164|m|ft}}}} above sea level.{{Cite web|url=http://elevationmap.net/cyrvonaarmiejskaja-vulica-mir-belarus?latlngs=%2853.451386,26.473441999999977%29|title = Cyrvonaarmiejskaja Vulica Mir Belarus on the Elevation Map. Topographic Map of Cyrvonaarmiejskaja Vulica Mir Belarus}} Erected in the 16th century in the late Brick Gothic style, it is one of the few remaining architectural monuments of the former Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in contemporary Belarus.
History
File:MIR CASTLE COURTYARD - BELARUS.jpg
Duke {{ill|Juryj Ivanavič Illinič|be|Юрый Іванавіч Ільініч|pl|Jerzy Iwanowicz Ilinicz}} began construction of the castle near the village of Mir after the turn of the 16th century in the Belarusian Gothic style. Five towers surrounded the courtyard of the citadel, the walls of which formed a square of {{convert|75|m|ft}} on each side. In 1568, when the Ilyinich dynasty died out, the Mir Castle passed into the hands of Mikalaj Kryštafor "the Orphan" Radziwil, who refitted it with a two-winged, three-story stately residence along the eastern and northern inner walls of the castle. Plastered facades were decorated with limestone portals, plates, balconies and porches in the Renaissance style.
Image:Mirski zamak. Мірскі замак (N. Orda, 1880).jpg, 1876]]
In 1817, after the castle had been abandoned for nearly a century and had suffered severe damage in the Battle of Mir (1812), owner Daminik Hieranim Radziwil died of battle injuries and the castle passed to his daughter Stefania, who married Ludwig zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg. Later the castle became a possession of their daughter Maria, who married Prince Chlodwig Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst.
Their son, Maurice Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst, sold the castle to Mikalaj Sviatapolk-Mirski, of the Bialynia clan, in 1895. Mikalaj's son Michail began to rebuild the castle according to the plans of architect Teodor Bursche. The Sviatapolk-Mirski family owned the castle until 1939, when the Soviet Union occupied Western Belarus.
When German forces invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, they occupied the castle and converted it to a ghetto for the local Jewish population, prior to their murders. Between 1944 and 1956, the castle was used as a housing facility, resulting in damage to the castle's interior.
In December 2000, the Mir Castle was listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.{{cite web |url = http://landofancestors.com/travel/statistics/resources/culture-and-arts/287-landmarks-historic-and-cultural-and-natural-sites-of-the-republic-of-belarus-on-the-unesco-world-heritage-list.html |title = Landmarks, historic and cultural, and natural sites of the Republic of Belarus on the UNESCO World Heritage List |publisher = National Statistical Committee of the Republic of Belarus |year = 2011 |website = Land of Ancestors |accessdate = 12 October 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160610080452/http://landofancestors.com/travel/statistics/resources/culture-and-arts/287-landmarks-historic-and-cultural-and-natural-sites-of-the-republic-of-belarus-on-the-unesco-world-heritage-list.html |archive-date = 10 June 2016 |url-status = dead }}
Related World Heritage Sites
Gallery
File:Mir castle in spring.JPG
File:Mir Castle Complex 107.jpg
File:Mir Castle Complex church.jpg
File:Мірскі замак. Выгляд на палац.JPG
File:Кабінет. Мірскі замак.jpg
File:Бальная зала. Мірскі замак.jpg
File:Castle of Mir, Byelorus.jpg
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|Mir Castle Complex}}
- {{official|http://www.mirzamak.by/en/}}
- [http://www.belarus.by/en/travel/belarus-life/mir-castle Mir Castle] on [http://www.belarus.by/en/ official website of the Republic of Belarus]
- [http://www.panoramas.lt/index.php?page_id=133&pan_type=240&cat=247&subcat=149&type=33 Castle in Mir]
- [https://whc.unesco.org/sites/625.htm Official UNESCO site]
- [http://www.data.minsk.by/history/mir/ The Mir Castle]
- [http://szlachta.io.ua/album47476 Jurkau kutoczak — Юркаў куточак — Yury's Corner. Старажытнае дойлідства Міра]
- [http://map.f4-group.com/#lon=26.4729202&lat=53.4512442&zoom=19&camera.phi=-46.352 Mir Castle on 3D F4 Map]
{{World Heritage Sites in Belarus}}
{{Kresy Castles}}
{{Castles in Belarus}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Castles and palaces of the Radziwiłł family
Category:Gothic architecture in Belarus
Category:Buildings and structures in Grodno region
Category:Tourist attractions in Grodno region