Ruzhany Palace (, )Ruzhany Castle at the Official Website of the Republic of Belarus
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palace A palace is a large residence, often serving as a royal residence or the home for a head of state or another high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome whi ...

compound in

Ruzhany Ruzhany, also spelled ''Rozana'' or ''Ruzhana'', is an urban-type settlement in Pruzhany District, Brest Region, Belarus. As of 2025, it has a population of 2,642. Geography Ruzhany is situated on the river Ruzhanka and surrounded by pictu ...

village, Pruzhany District, Brest Region, Western

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

. Between the 16th and 19th centuries Ruzhany, then called Różany, was the main seat of the senior line of the

Sapieha The House of Sapieha (; ; ; ) is a Polish-Lithuanian noble and magnate family of Ruthenian origin,Энцыклапедыя ВКЛ. Т.2, арт. "Сапегі" descending from the medieval boyars of Smolensk and Polotsk. Vernadsky, George. ...

noble family, known as the '. The castle is currently undergoing systematic reconstruction, with the palace ornate gate and entry building being already restored.

History

Ruzhany began its life in the late 16th century as the site of

Lew Sapieha Lew Sapieha (; ; 4 April 1557 – 7 July 1633) was a nobleman and statesman of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. He became Great Secretary of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1580, Great Clerk of the Grand Duchy in 1581, Crown Chancellor in 1 ...

's castle, the palace being completed in 1602. The Sapieha residence was destroyed in the course of the internecine strife in the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...

when it was attacked by

Michał Serwacy Wiśniowiecki Prince Michał Serwacy Wiśniowiecki (; 13 May 1680 – 18 September 1744) was a Polish- Lithuanian nobleman, magnate, politician, diplomat, general, a successful military commander and the last male representative of the Wiśniowiecki family. ...

's forces in 1700. Ruzhany Palace was rebuilt as a grand Neoclassical residence in the 1770s by Aleksander Michał Sapieha, employing the services of the architect

Jan Samuel Becker Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Num ...

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

, who set the palace in an

English park English Park is a football (soccer), football stadium in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is the home stadium of Canterbury United, which competes in the ASB Premiership, as well as Western AFC which currently compete in the Mainland Premier League. ...

landscape. Aside from the palace, there was a theatre (1784–88), an

orangery An orangery or orangerie is a room or dedicated building, historically where orange and other fruit trees are protected during the winter, as a large form of greenhouse or conservatory. In the modern day an orangery could refer to either ...

and several other outbuildings. Becker also designed the local church (rebuilt in the 1850s). By the time of King Stanisław II's visit in 1784, work on the palace had been suspended. The Sapieha estates were nationalised in the aftermath of the

November Uprising The November Uprising (1830–31) (), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in Russian Partition, the heartland of Partitions of Poland, partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. ...

(1831). Three years later, the palace compound was sold to be used as a

textile mill Textile manufacturing or textile engineering is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful good ...

and

weaving Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal ...

factory. In 1914 the palace was accidentally set on fire by factory workers. The

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and subsequent financial hardships prevented the building's restoration until 1930, however the partially restored palace became a ruin again within fifteen years, a casualty of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The ornate palace gate survives and has recently been restored.

References

External links

Photos at Radzima org.

{{coord, 52.860, 24.896, display=title Former palaces Castles in Belarus Buildings and structures in Brest region Ruins in Belarus Palaces in Belarus Ruined palaces Sapieha family

History

See also

References

External links