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RENAISSANCE RESIDENCES OF THE RADZIWILL FAMILY IN THE TERRITORIES OF THE FORMER POLISH COMMONWEALTH

B. Zin

Abstract

On the European trail of the residences of the princely Radziwi?? family, reaching from Western Poland to the present Lithuania, Belarus, and Ukraine, there is one of the most important palaces, hailing from the times of the Renaissance. The palace in Nie?wie? in todayВ’s Belarus was built on the ruins of the former fortifications by Miko?aj Krzysztof Radziwi?? (dubbed Sierotka, the Little Orphan) in the years 1582-1604. An Italian architect, Jan Maria Bernardoni, designed the palace. The significance of that residence, which for over 350 years remained in the hands of the Radziwi?? family, up till the outbreak of the World War II, may be regarded in the categories of historical, artistic, and architectural values. The palace in Nie?wie? (Belarussian: Nyasvizh), along with the entire layout, belongs to one of the earliest Renaissance buildings in Northern Europe, but also to the first such layouts in the territories of the Old Polish Commonwealth. The stormy fates of Poland and Lithuania throughout the centuries did not spare exquisite works of architecture, such as the country houses of the Radziwi??s. Historic conflicts, the turmoil of wars, fires, and time itself caused that those stately homes endured until today in various states of preservation. That was the case of the palace in Nie?wie?, which was transformed and rebuilt several times throughout the ages, in the Baroque, Neo-Classical, and Gothic Revival style. In the year 1994 in was recognised as the national monument of history and culture by the Belorussian authorities. After 2001 restoration works, rather controversial, were begun, converting the palace into a museum. In 2005 the World Heritage Committee, in appreciation of its historic and architectural values, included the residence in Nie?wie? in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

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