Pałac Radziwiłłów w Połoneczce, Palace in Połoneczka, Brest Region, Belarus
Pałac Radziwiłłów in Połoneczka is a stone palace built in the first half of the 19th century to a design by an unknown Italian architect. Its symmetrical three-part composition has a two-storey central block linked by galleries to square one-storey pavilions. On the main facade, herm pilasters topped with sculptures of ancient Greek philosophers support a massive entablature; the triangular pediment and wing herms are lost.
The estate was formed by the Radziwiłł family from the second half of the 18th century; the first owner was Prince Maciej Radziwiłł (1749–1800), and his son Konstantin (1793–1869) built the surviving palace in the first half of the 19th century. In 1777 the satirist Denis Fonvizin visited Maciej here, and in 1845 the editorial office of the journal "Narod i czas" was housed at the estate. The palace burned in 1917 and 1943, was restored after the war and later held a boarding school.
Konstantin Radziwiłł, who built the palace, headed an anti-serfdom Patriotic Society in Belarus and was linked to Russian Decembrists. In 1845 the estate housed the editorial office of the journal "Narod i czas", published by Jan Filipowicz; only its first issue appeared. Writer Władysław Syrokomla visited Konstantin here.
The building stands in a condition requiring significant restoration work due to years of neglect and deterioration. Visitors should expect limited access and exercise caution when exploring the grounds around the structure.
Edward Chłopicki, who visited the estate in the mid-19th century, noted that the library held about 4,000 volumes and that its centre table, covered in green cloth, carried maps, globes, engravings and bronze medals of Polish-Lithuanian kings. The medals vanished from the estate in 1917.
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