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Nesvizh

Description of the Coat of Arms: The golden field in the longitudinal direction is equally divided; on the left, half of the black eagle with the outstretched wing from the middle can be seen, and in the left part the radiant bands of blue, yellow and red extend, from the bottom to the top, two parts are connected.

Engraving of Nesvizh by Tomash Makovskiy, XVI century

About Nesvizh

 Nesvizh was first mentioned in an old Russian chronicle 1466 but it was mentioned not as a castle or a town but a small reinforced yard whose residents were occupied with trade and crafts. However, its fame and glory started later when together with its surroundings it became the property of powerful feudals, the Radzivills.  Since 1513 to 1939 the town of Nesvzh and the Radzivills have been the synonyms. There were several of them: from the town of Slutsk, Olynsk, Nesvizh and etc. The first representative of the Radzivills who owned Nesvizh was Yan Radzivill, the Bearded (nicknamed so because of his long beard) who received the property as a passag of his wife Anna, daughter of the former owner of Nesvizh, a famous magnate Yan Kishka. Yan Radziviil was not a prince then. It was his son Nickolay Radzivill the Black (wearing black beard), energetic, principled and clever who in 1549 received the title of the Prince of the Roman Empire according to the Decree of the Polish king  Sigizmund August. When he inherited the property from his father he ordered a wooden castle to be built on a high bank of the Usha River and to surround it with earthen walls and a moat.

After the death of Nickolay Radzivill the Black his son Nikolay Radzivill the Orphan inherited the property together with the title of the Prince of the Roman Empire. That was the most active and talented representative of the clan who managed to raise Nesvizh to the European level turning it from a wooden town into a stone one. Nikolay Radzivill the Orphan invited an Italian architect Jovanni (Yan) Mariya Bernardoni to build a magnificent Church of Jesuits in 1593 and to substitute a wooden castle with a gorgeous palace which for the next 400 years became the residence of many generations of the Radzivills. It was also by his order and with his money that several more catholic cathedrals, the Town Hall and other remarkable buildings were constructed  and a huge park "Alba” was laid in the suburbs of the town.  

The Radzivills changed but Nesvizh remained. It was in fire many times by accident and as a result of numerous wars but then it was rebuilt and rose from the ashes as a bird Phenex. Unfortunately, that was the fate of all Belarusian medieval towns to receive the blows of numerous enemies both from the East and  from the West. In 1654 the town was destroyed by the army of the Russian tsar Aleksey Mikhailovich. In 1706 it was burnt down by the Swedes, only a few stone buildings survived, including the Church of Jesuits. In one hundred years the town was burnt by the French and then by the Russian army under the command of general Chichagov. Now the richness of Nesvish is described in the past time. However, there  remained  some unique sights to occupy your attention for a couple of hours, among which are: the Catholic Cathedral of the Divine Body, the Slutsk  Gates, the former  Bernardine convent and etc.

The Radzivills had lived through the times of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Rzecz Pospolita and then in the Russian Empire when after the third partition of the state Belarusian lands were joined to Russia.  At that time there was a court chapel, the largest ballet theater in Europe (opened in 1746), the Cadet Corps in the town and the school of naval officers in Alba (a suburb of Nesvizh) for the Radziwils’ army. There was a synagogue and seven Jewish prayer houses, two Catholic parishes and an Orthodox church. Since 1921 Nesvizh is part of the Polish state, in 1939 - in the BSSR, in 1941-1944 is under the occupation of Germany, since 1991 - in independent Belarus.

Tourist Attraction No1 in Nesvizh: Palace and Park Ensemble, the former residence of the Radzivills princes

Nesvizh Castle is a palace and castle complex, located near the small Belarusian town of Nesvizh, 120 km from Minsk (only about 2 hours drive), not for nothing is called the pearl of the Belarusian architecture of the Middle Ages. Its rich history, beautiful architecture, a Palace and a Park complex, carefully restored historic buildings have transformed the place into a historical and cultural center not only of Belarus, but of Europe in general. The town is always full of tourists coming from all over the world. In 2005, the Palace and Park Complex in Nesvizh was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Website:http://niasvizh.by/

 Interesting facts about Nesvizh and Nesvizh district

• Nesvizh Catholic Cathedral of the Diivine Body contains the largest icon on the canvas in the world , its dimensions are 4 by 8 meters. The icon was created in 1752 by court paiters of the Radzivills Ksaveriy Dominik Gesskiy and his son Yuzef.

Today's Nesvish 

Nesvizh is a city in the Minsk region of Belarus on the Usha River. The population is 15 434 people (as of January 1, 2016). Wikipedia
Industry is presented by Nesvizh plant of Medicines, Flax factory, Starch factory, garment factory,  Nesvizh dairy factory, bread-baking plant, peat enterprise" Krasnaya Zvezda " and etc..