1. About us
2. Excursions
3. Mogilev
4. Zhilichi -the largest Palace of Belarus

Zhilichi -the largest Palace of Belarus

Welcome to Zhilichi "Versallies"!

Being in Mogilev take a chance to visit an agrotown of Zhilichi in the Mogilev region (distance from Mogilev 117 km.). You might be surprised but the largest palace of Belarus is situated in this small village. The Bulgaks were wealthy landowners - they built an estate with a park, sculptures and all kinds of small architectural forms on the banks of the Dobosna River: pools, bridges, outbuildings and other structures. In the features of the estate, you will see similarities with French palaces - according to a legend; Ignatius Bulgak “spied” how to build similar buildings in France, when he reached Paris with the Russian army in the war of 1812. Returning home, Bulgak began to build a family nest in the French spirit. The reconstruction has not been finished yet but the Zilichi historical complex-museum has been already opened  in the reconstructed part of the palace.

The Bulkakov's Palace (firts half of the 19th century) 

The palace in Zhilichi or “Zhilichi Versailles” began to be built in 1825 at the direction of the nobleman Ignatiy Bulgak. The construction did not stop until the beginning of the 20th century. The palace was intended to become the residence of the Bulgaks and was to surpass all the palaces and estates of Belarus in the splendor of its exterior and interior decoration.
 
The main building of the palace in Zhilichi is built in the shape of a U-shaped horseshoe and has two tiers. The landscape park is spread over an area of more than 18 hectares and is filled with many exotic species of plants and trees, so there are silver maples, pencilwan ash, European larch and many other rare plants. One wing of the palace in Zilichi was given over to the Catholic Church, and the second housed an orangery. Rare southern plants such as oranges and cypresses were grown in the orangery, which were taken to the park for the summer.
 
The owner of the “Zhilichi Versailles" was a big music lover and as a result, the palace received excellent acoustics in all rooms, each having its own.
 
The estate successfully survived all military operations of the First and the Second World wars: not a single shell hit it and not a single bomb fell, in the palace, fortunately, not a single fire happened and as a result we can observe the palace almost in its original form.

The interior of the palace was decorated with luxury: all the ceilings are in elegant stucco molding (which, incidentally, has been perfectly preserved to this day), expensive furniture and carpets, parquet floors from different types of wood. Moldings and ornaments in some rooms were also present on the walls.

Ignatius Bulgak, by the way, was a great lover of works of art: the walls of the main hall were decorated with paintings with the seal of the Hermitage, also in the palace there was a collection of antique sculptures and Slutsk sashes with gilding.