The Mir Castle Complex is a historic castle and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Belarus. It is located in the town of Mir, in the Karelichy District of Grodno Oblast, 29 kilometers (18 miles) northwest of Nesvizh Castle, another World Heritage Site. The castle is 164 meters (538 feet) above sea level. Built in the 16th century in the late Brick Gothic style, it is one of the few remaining architectural monuments from the former Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in modern-day Belarus. The complex is also known as Мірскі замак in Belarusian, Мирский замок in Russian, Zamek w Mirze in Polish, and Myriaus pilies kompleksas in Lithuanian.
History
Duke Juryj Ivanavič Illinič began building the Mir Castle near the village of Mir after the year 1600 in the Belarusian Gothic style. Five towers surrounded the courtyard of the citadel, and the walls formed a square that was 75 meters (246 feet) on each side. In 1568, when the Ilyinich family no longer had any members, the Mir Castle was given to Mikalaj Kryštafor "the Orphan" Radziwil. He renovated the castle by adding a two-winged, three-story building along the eastern and northern inner walls. The walls covered with plaster were decorated with limestone doorways, panels, balconies, and porches in the Renaissance style.
In 1817, after the castle had been unused for almost 100 years and had suffered serious damage during the Battle of Mir in 1812, the owner Daminik Hieranim Radziwil died from injuries sustained in the battle. The castle then belonged to his daughter Stefania, who married Ludwig zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg. Later, the castle became the property of their daughter Maria, who married Prince Chlodwig Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst.
Their son, Maurice Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst, sold the castle to Mikalaj Sviatapolk-Mirski of the Bialynia clan in 1895. Mikalaj's son, Michail, started rebuilding the castle based on plans created by architect Teodor Bursche. The Sviatapolk-Mirski family owned the castle until 1939, when the Soviet Union took control of Western Belarus.
When German forces attacked the Soviet Union in 1941, they took over the castle and turned it into a ghetto for the local Jewish population before they were killed. Between 1944 and 1956, the castle was used as a place for people to live, which caused damage to the inside of the castle.
In December 2000, the Mir Castle was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.