The Mir castle

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Mir Castle is a unique monument of Belarusian architecture; it was built by duke Ilinich in early 16th century near village Mir (Grodna Region) instead of wooden feudal farmstead, which existed there in 15th cenlury.

This is a sqare-planned building with towers at the turners. The firth tower had a drawbridge and a forged grille chersa which could urgently stop a sudden attack. The casile was well adapted for gunshot defence. Its walls had two rows of loop-holes, and its towers were intended for heavy cannon shooting from them,

The basis of the volumetric castle's composition is its high towers which jut out beyond the wall-line. All of them have the same structure — tetrahedral core with octahedral top, but they are differently decorated value gives original decorative value and beauty to the castle.

The representational means, characteristic fur Belarusian Gothic, were used for plastic decoration of the Mir Castle: Gothic bricklaying (alternation of lung and short sides of bricks) with walled up bricks, division of walls with plastered niches of various forms ornamental brick belts.

Since 1568 the Mir Castle was owned by Dukes Radziwils, who finished its building in Renaissance style. A threestoreyed palace was built along the eastern and northern walls. Its plastered facades were decorated with limestone portals, plates, balconies and porches. During excavations they collected a lot of glared tiles with vegetable and geometrical ornaments, and coats of arms of the castle's owners.

Earth walls were made around the castle with bastions at the corners; a water moat surrounded them. To the north of the walls an Italian garden was laid, to the south — an artificial lake-Despite numerous destruction's (the heaviest were during 1812 war) the Mir Castle survived till now; and at present it is being successfully restored. This monument is under UNESCO's auspices.

Oleg Trusov. Candidate of Historical Sciences