Mir Castle Complex, Medieval castle in Mir, Belarus
Mir Castle Complex is a fortified building made of red brick in Mir, Belarus, surrounded by five towers with white limestone decorations. A central courtyard connects the different parts of the compound, whose walls still show the original arrow slits.
Duke Juryj Ivanavič Illinič began building the castle near Mir shortly after 1500, in the Belarusian Gothic style, as the first privately owned castle in Belarus. In 1568, when the Ilyinich line died out, it passed to Mikalaj Kryštafor Radziwil, who added a two-winged, three-storey residence along the eastern and northern inner walls, with plastered facades, limestone portals, balconies and porches in Renaissance style.
The name comes from the small town of Mir, where the complex has formed the center of social life since the 16th century. Today visitors from many countries come here to walk through the rooms with old furniture and tapestries and get a sense of how noble families lived.
The visit takes you through forty restored rooms on three floors, where you see furniture and exhibits from several centuries. The grounds are extensive, so you should plan time for a walk around the courtyard and garden.
The castle appears on Belarus's 50-ruble banknote. Since 1989 it has been a branch of the National Art Museum of Belarus, becoming an independent museum in 2011; a museum ticket also lets visitors walk the galleries and climb the towers, where part of the exhibition is displayed.
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