The history of the church in Nesvizh. Church of the Body of God in Nesvizh

02.07.2020

Even those Belarusians who have never been to Nesvizh are familiar with the symbol of this city - at least in theory. The famous Nesvizh Castle is depicted on the banknote of one hundred rubles zero-zero kopecks, which is close to our hearts.

Let's make a deal right now. We do not have a historical portal. Therefore, we will put the enthusiasm about the wonderful legends of Nesvizh out of the brackets. And we will try to show you how the Middle Ages, socialism and communism, capitalism and imperialism, etc. coexisted in this city.

Radziwill Drive

The history of Nesvizh is a set familiar to the Belarusian Republic: ups and downs, revival and decline.

The sharp flourishing of the city began five centuries ago. Then Nesvizh was made their official residence of the Radziwills - the richest people Europe. Now, of course, they would be called oligarchs, and their photographs would not leave the front pages of any glossy magazines and portals.

Coat of arms of the Radzwills

But even then, without any yellow press, the Radziwills were gossiped all over Europe and made up incredible stories. Then the Radziwills harnessed bears to their sledges instead of horses and frightened the neighbors with wild dressage.

Then they arranged winter in the middle of summer: with sledding and carnival. For this “holy” purpose, the Nesvizh hills and roads were covered with salt. Then it was the highest chic. For several centuries ago, salt was a terribly expensive and scarce commodity. And now…

Well, who would think of arranging winter instead of summer? Something, but we had enough winters and enough. And those princely entertainments are only remotely reminiscent of the artificial surface of modern ski slopes and ski jumps. Athletes need to keep in shape. all year round. But that's not the point now, of course.

Pane Kohanku - all of contradictions

A place of honor among his Nesvizh ancestors and descendants was occupied by Karol Radziwill, nicknamed Pane Kokhanku (aka Dear Friend). So he was called for his loving nature.

And contemporaries called this man the second Baron Munchausen: for his inexhaustible imagination, cheerful disposition and passion for hunting.

Pane Kohanku

He never ceased to amaze all his life. Quite perishing in mature years took and fell in love. This lady's favorite put a marble statue in his park. And he spent all his free time around her. The most famous and beautiful women Europe, who were once solemnly met on the Nesvizh roads by thousands of lackeys, porters and torchbearers, were at a loss.

But in the end, the young ladies had to admit the victory of stone over flesh and regret to forget this land and an ardent lover. A similar plot is involved in the excellent film "Formula of Love".

Now they are trying to present him (Pane Kohanka, and not the "Formula of Love") as hardly a monster - lovers of all kinds of historical revelations. Let's not pay attention to it.

What does Paustovsky have to do with it?

Stories and legends about the Radziwills loved to listen to the young military paramedic Konstantin Paustovsky. During the First World War, he was treated in the Nesvizh hospital after being wounded. Paustovsky wrote down a lot of local traditions and legends here. Unfortunately, Konstantin Georgievich quickly established himself as a realist writer, a brilliant description of nature.

And for a classic of socialist realism, it was inconvenient to become a singer of the loving and terribly far from the people Radziwills. So he didn't become one. And it's a pity, by the way ...

Did people live

Whole volumes of adventure, romantic, historical and criminal literature could be written about the Radziwills. Five centuries ago (in the second half of the 16th century), the Radziwills made their ancestral castle a real fortress, surrounded by powerful walls and moats with water. It was a kind of military headquarters with gold and foreign exchange reserves, equipped with everything necessary for a peaceful life.

The residence of the princes in terms of beauty and luxury could leave behind almost all the royal courts of Europe.

And what about the desire of the Radziwills to make their patrimony the center of European culture? It was just irresistible.

Therefore, the castle has collected the richest collection of paintings, ancient weapons from Europe, Asia and Africa, a unique library of 20 thousand volumes. The Radziwill court theater was created in the castle, and a ballet school was opened.

By the way, it was the actors from Nesvizh that became the basis of the troupe of the first Russian Empire theater.

"Humble Cemetery"

Like any self-respecting world-class castle, Nesvizh is saturated with mystical secrets.

Here is the unique ancestral tomb of the Radziwills - farny church. There are only three such parish churches in Belarus - that is, iconic parish churches.

We talked about Grodno in the original article.

Novogrudsky is known and blessed due to the fact that the world-class poetic genius Adam Mickiewicz was baptized in him. And we will definitely talk about Novogrudok again.

As for the Nesvizh Church, it is perhaps the best among us, despite such competition. For his model, the student and colleague of Michelangelo, the architect Bernardoni, took the Temple of Christ recently completed in Rome (at the end of the 16th century).

In the basement of the church are the mummies of almost all the Nesvizh Radziwills.

In double coffins - the embalmed remains of those who during their lifetime influenced the fate of millions; those who decided the fate of peoples and states.

Large Orphan

This story began with the legendary Nikolai Christopher Radziwill, nicknamed the Orphan. If you don’t know, you can easily clarify how this alias “stuck” to it.

Nicholas Christopher Radziwill

And I'm interested in drawing attention to this fact. It is believed that it was he who brought the recipe for embalming to his homeland, having bought it for exorbitant money in Egypt. Nicholas Christopher personally “knocked out” the permission to create this family mausoleum from the Pope.

Thanks to embalming, all the bodies of the Radziwills that were buried before the 19th century were preserved in the church crypt (tomb, in other words).

Then the secret, which was inherited, seemed to be lost, and embalming was no longer carried out.

And as proof that Radziwill the Sirotka was an incredibly smart, somewhat brilliant person, one fact can be cited.

Shortly before his own death, he ordered: all the Radziwills in the tomb of the church are buried in simple clothes, without decorations. You say, a trifle? Thanks to this rite, the crypt has survived to this day. It has not been plundered NEVER in the entire centuries-old history ...

Nicholas Christopher himself was buried in the clothes of a wandering pilgrim monk. The orphan himself came up with a creative epitaph for his monument: "In the face of death, everyone is not a knight, but only a traveler."

Coffin legendary boards

As in an ordinary rural churchyard, in this mausoleum of the Radziwills today there is silence and tranquility. Only the living do not calm down and pile up their legends around the sarcophagi.

For several centuries it was said about the famous humpbacked coffin that a very young princess was buried in it. She, they say, ran away from the ball, in frost and cold, with an ardent admirer. And she was so cold that she was frozen. They could not unbend the poor girl in order to put her in a coffin, so they buried her sitting. Fifty years ago, a curious government commission opened the coffin. And I found in him an elderly princess. A mystical hump was created by a vase of flowers. There was a secret - and there is none. It often happens.

The same humpbacked coffin

They whispered breathlessly about one of the barrels with handles in the tomb: in it is what was left of the old prince, who unsuccessfully hunted a bear. And again, excessively inquisitive scientists spoiled all the raspberries. It turns out that in the barrel is the heart of the beloved wife of one of the Radziwills, equipped with the epitaph of an inconsolable widower.

Each of these sarcophagi is worthy of a separate story.

There is no coffin here for Barbara Radziwill, the former queen of the Commonwealth. And it makes sense to dwell on this character in a little more detail.

"Black Panna NyasviMs. "

The performance based on this play by Alexei Dudarev for many years gathered a full house at the Kupala Theater. (As well as the performance "Pane Kokhanku" became the top one for the current Russian Theater in Minsk)

Moment from the play "Black Panna Nyasvizha"

It is still unclear how Barbara died. They say it all started with a domestic drama. The mother of the king from the gloomy Medici family, who always dabbled in poisons, hated her daughter-in-law for her rather vicious past. And in the end, she allowed her to stay on the throne and in the royal bedchamber for six months, and then - she simply poisoned her like that.

The rapidly widowed king could not reconcile himself to such a worldly turn. He was madly in love with his young wife and therefore undertook to call her spirit in his homeland - in the Nesvizh castle. Then the legends begin.

Death of Barbara Radziwill

When the ghost appeared, the nervous king could not resist and climbed up to hug. He completely forgot that the sorcerers involved in this séance strictly forbade him to touch anything with his hands. There was an explosion - the vision was gone.

Since then, Barbara's soul allegedly cannot return to the grave and is doomed to wander around the castle. So she became the legendary black panna of Nesvizh.

But not even this romantic tale attracts here the hearts and minds of thousands and thousands of people. The most popular myths revolve around the legendary treasures of the Radziwills.

The mystical treasures of Agra, so enthusiastically sung by Arthur Conan Doyle, are nothing compared to the real treasures of the Radziwills. One thing unites these riches - they are completely gone.

And this is another story that deserves a separate story.

According to one version, Napoleon hid all the stolen treasures (including those of the Radziwills) somewhere in the Smorgon region - leaving the lands of the "White Rus" so unkind to him.

According to another, innumerable family wealth was hidden somewhere near the castle in 1812.

The second version was very close to the German soldiers and officers, who healed their wounds in the castle converted into a hospital ... And along the way, they meticulously searched for treasure in all the discovered dungeons. True, they knew that the treasures were guarded by otherworldly forces, and when any shadow appeared, they rushed “to the wind” with cries: “Akhtung. Frau Schwarzen! Schwarzen Frau!!”.

And also about the story associated with the legendary twelve apostles made of pure gold and silver, once presented to the Radziwills by the Pope, a series was filmed in 2013. Under the original title "Traces of the Apostles".

Soviet medical modernity

In the years Soviet power the castle, as a symbol of the hated past, was handed over to the workers.

It was turned into a prestigious sanatorium.

The loudest story is probably related to the fact that in the Nesvizh sanatorium forty years ago the People's Poet of the BSSR Arkady Kuleshov left for another world (on the night of February 4, 1978) ... If anyone does not know, he is the author of the wonderful poem "Alesya", which became absolute hit in Soviet times... Thanks to the penetrating, brilliant performance of "Pesnyary".

I was struck by the fact that Kuleshov wrote such a very mature, essentially masculine work at the age of 14. This is by the way.

In general, it was mainly the party nomenclature and personnel close to it who were treated in Nesvizh. The painful places were wonderful.

Then the elite found themselves more prestigious places. And they decided to turn the castle into a museum.

Well, already in recent history Belarus Nesvizh Castle regained its former status. A campaign to restore it to its former form started in 1997. And the largest construction works already started in 2004.

Construction moment

And already in 2005 Nesvizh Castle was included in the World cultural heritage UNESCO. So to speak, in advance.

A beautiful phrase that does little to oblige. Everyone heard nodding their heads. And what this heritage gives besides shaking the air is not clear. Over in St. Petersburg, the entire center is assigned to this very List. And right up to the coming to power of Comrade Putin, there was something else behind the beautiful St. Petersburg facades - my respect. Yes, and now enough ...

But we do not want to offend Nesvizh with this verbal passage.

The restoration of the castle took more than 10 years. The money was well spent. The state control again found a lot of violations and fined many of the local subcontractors.

This poorly hidden theft during the restoration of the castle was once written and shouted a lot. Although no one was imprisoned, which in itself is humane.

But here's the time ... It's here like sand flows through your fingers.

For some reason, they wanted to open the so-called second launch complex of the castle by May 9, 2011. Then everything moved to the end of 2011.

But everything worked out well in the end.

Builders and designers should be given their due.

It is hellishly difficult to turn a hospital for German soldiers who improved their health here from 1941 to 1944, and a Soviet sanatorium that existed since 1945, again - into an architectural gem of the 16th century.

And this castle is also a natural monument to genuine Slavic bungling. Accurately on the night of Catholic Christmas in 2002, two workers almost burned to zero this "monument of medieval architecture" taken under state protection. It's gone. True, the roof burned down, the attic rooms in the central part were damaged.

Plus, on a frosty December night, firefighters poured water over the whole thing so famously that the walls cracked in the center of the castle to the very foundation. But we managed to survive such a “kunshtuk”.

After that, work to save the heritage resumed with even greater activity.

For my unenlightened taste, from the outside the castle now resembles the style of the Trinity Suburb. But experts, as they say, know better. If UNESCO recognizes it, then we can rejoice very much.

And for a snack

Nevertheless, Nesvizh is a unique place where many traditions are created and broken.

Apparently, when the medieval town hall was being restored on the Soviet (former market) square in the city center, questions arose with a typical monument to Comrade Lenin. He, as expected, stood in front of the district executive committee.

It was simply embarrassing to demolish the monument to the leader of the world proletariat without special instructions. And so they simply moved it to the side, under the shade of a cozy residential building. And from there he modestly points ... In the direction of the specialized store of the Snov agricultural complex. By the way, this is the case when one can agree with Ilyich.

But Snov, another gem of the Nesvizh region, will require a separate story. Perhaps we will return to it in the near future.

And for today - enough lyrics and stories.

Alexander Novikov

Palace of the Radziwills
Huge five-part park
Farny Church of the Jesuits

Contacts

Nesvizh: Radziwill Palace, Corpus Christi Church and 10 more

375 1770 2 06 02

Minsk region, Nesvizh, st. Castle
National Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve "Nesvizh"

Navigation coordinates:

53.222768, 26.691699

375 1770 2 06 02

Thank you for your order! We will take you to "Nesvizh: the Radziwill Palace, the Church of the Body of the Lord and 10 other objects" as comfortably and promptly as possible!

Facts

The first Belarusian book publisher was Francysk Skaryna. But the first books directly on the territory of Belarus and on Belarusian language were published somewhat later in Nesvizh by Simon Budny. The "New Testament" with Budny's comments is considered the first case of rational criticism of the Gospel in world literature.
One of the first theaters appeared in Nesvizh, created by Frantishka Urshuley Radziwill and located in the Comedyhouse. Although performances were conducted in Polish, the theater became the first in Belarus and gave performances not only in Nesvizh, but also beyond its borders.
Right next to Nesvizh there is a watershed between the basins of the Baltic and Black Seas. On the territory of the village of Osmolovo, which is just south of Nesvizh, the Lan and Usha rivers flow. The first then flows into the Pripyat and the Black Sea, the second - into the Neman and the Baltic Sea.
The first ghetto uprising in Eastern Europe took place in Nesvizh on July 21, 1942. A memorial sign in honor of the victims of the Nesvizh ghetto was erected in Jerusalem.
Nesvizh Castle keeps many secrets. Under its ramparts there are underground passages, and the legend says that 12 statues of the apostles made of gold are hidden in the dungeons. The statues were supposedly covered precious stones, and they were lost during the war of 1812.
The most famous legend The castle is associated with the Black Panna - Barbara Radziwill, who supposedly walks along its corridors. It is interesting in this legend that Barbara Radziwill died in 1551, even before the current stone castle was laid, and she herself had never been to Nesvizh.

What to see

Palace of the Radziwills
Huge five-part park
Farny Church of the Jesuits
Perfectly preserved castle tower
Slutsk gate - part of the historical fortifications
City Hall and historical buildings

And there really is something to see here. This includes the palace and castle complex of the Radziwills, which for several centuries was the main residence of one of the richest and most noble families of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Commonwealth, and an amazing castle tower that combines the features of Gothic and Renaissance, and the city hall, built in honor of the acquisition of the city of Magdeburg rights, and the ancient malls, and the unique Slutsk gate, which welcomes guests of the historical center from the east, and much more. The streets themselves, despite the events of recent centuries, keep the rich history of the city, which can be fully felt today.

The central place in Nesvizh is occupied by the palace and park ensemble. This is not only a castle with a beautiful courtyard, a moat and fortifications, but also a park with an area of more than 90 hectares, ponds and the surrounding area. The organic interweaving of various architectural styles of the complex is striking: during its existence, it acquired various features of the Renaissance, Classicism, Baroque, Rococo, Art Nouveau and Neoclassicism. Now the castle has been completely restored, inside there is a historical and cultural museum with a rich exposition, there is a hotel and a restaurant.

The Church of the Body of God, whose construction began in 1587, became the first Baroque church in Eastern Europe. For many years the church belonged to the Order of the Isuits. The snow-white facade of the temple perfectly fit into the atmosphere of the ancient city. Already in the 18th century, a chapel was built next to the church at the expense of the landowner Bulgarin, the architect of which was most likely the Italian Maurizio Pedetti. The interior of the church is richly decorated with sculptures - bas-reliefs, busts, marble altars and monuments - and picturesque images. The main altar is decorated with a painting by the artist Xavier Gesky "The Last Supper", created in the 1750s. In the cellars of the church there is a family tomb of the Radziwills - 70 sarcophagi, 2 canopies and an urn with ashes. The church and the crypt are open to the public.

Near the church rises the castle tower, built at the end of the 16th century, in the architecture of which features of the Gothic and Renaissance are visible. Initially, it was part of the city's defensive structures. But already in the 18th century it began to be used as a belfry-bell tower. The tower is well preserved, and it seems that it was built quite recently. The red-brick walls and the white contours of the windows invariably attract the attention of tourists.

The excellent park is part of the palace and castle ensemble. In fact, these are several different parks created in the 19th and early 20th centuries. In just 25 years, five of them were created: Castle, Old, Japanese, English and Marysin. The total area of parks is more than 60 hectares. Each park is interesting and unique in its own way. In addition to parks, you should pay attention to the lakes: Wild, Zamkovoe, Bernardinskoe, Devichye, which are an organic part of the natural ensemble.

Almost immediately after the acquisition of the Magdeburg law by the city, the city hall was created. The construction was completed in 1596 at the expense of the citizens themselves, and Jan Maria Bernardoni supervised the work. Built like the most high point city, the town hall remains the same today: not a single building for more than five centuries has challenged its primacy. Today, the town hall has a museum exposition and guided tours.

Another excellent Baroque building is the famous Slutsk Gate. Previously, it was part of the city fortifications and the gates of the city from the side of the Slutsk tract (from the southeast). Over time, the massive oak gates were removed, and the gate was rebuilt in the Baroque style. Now the gate serves as a symbol of the power of the Radziwills, Nesvizh and the Grand Duchess of those times, a kind of triumphal arch. In the summer, the Slutsk gate is open to visitors.

The current Nesvizh State Pedagogical College. Yakub Kolas for several centuries was convent Benedictines. Despite the change in profile, buildings former monastery largely retained their atmosphere and appearance. Of particular interest is the gate-bell tower, built in the 1760s.

Urban development is of great interest to tourists. Be sure to take a stroll through the old town - you will be surprised by the variety of architectural styles.

In the castle itself and some others historical monuments Costumed performances take place regularly. See the schedule!

Story

Nesvizh was founded before the castle appeared in the city: its first mention dates back to May 31, 1223. However, archaeological excavations suggest that a settlement appeared here only in the 15th century. As a result of the revision of historical data, it is now inclined to believe that the first mention of Nesvizh still dates back to 1445.

Initially, the city and the lands around it belonged to Mykolai Jan Nemirovich, who received them from the Grand Duke. In 1492, Nesvizh fell into the hands of one of the richest people of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania - Peter Kishka. Soon the Radziwills became the owners of the city.

Nicholas Radziwill Cherny in 1547 achieved the title of "Prince of the Holy Roman Empire" for himself and his descendants. From that moment began the rapid development of Nesvizh as a cultural center and the main residence of one of the richest and most influential families of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In 1586, the Radziwills secured Nesvizh legally as an ordination - an indivisible possession, inherited only by the eldest son. The city remained in this status until 1939.

In the 1560s, a printing house operated in Nesvizh, which published the first books in the Belarusian language on the territory of modern Belarus. Philosophical and religious books in Polish were also published here, and one of the first collections of music in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania - "Kantsional". Around the same time, the first theater appeared.

The son of Chernoy, Nikolai Christopher Radziwill Orphan, turned the wooden Nesvizh into stone. Returning from a trip to Europe and the Middle East full of ideas, he began to embody these ideas in the city, fortunately, the richest kind of funds allowed him to do this quickly enough. As a result, under him, the chaotic building was replaced by a neat quarterly one, fortifications appeared around the city, and in place of many wooden buildings, stone ones appeared, created by Italian architects in the Baroque style.

The orphan removed part of the feudal obligations from the local residents, and also eased the tax burden, which contributed to the rapid growth of handicraft activities and the economy of Nesvizh as a whole. In addition, under him the city received the Magdeburg Law. Locksmith, weaving and tailoring shops began to operate in Nesvizh. In 1583, the construction of a stone castle began, which was located somewhat south of the previously existing wooden one. Soon on central square for the money of the townspeople, a town hall is being built, and stone gates (gates) are built at the entrances. During the same time, stone religious buildings appeared in Nesvizh - a Jesuit church, monasteries of Bernardines, Bernardines and Dominicans. In 1586, the city, according to the privilege of King Stefan Batory, received its own coat of arms.

In 1655 and 1660, the troops of the Moscow Tsar unsuccessfully stormed the castle. In 1706 Nesvizh was completely plundered by the Swedes. However, after a few decades, he shone again. In the era of Mikhail Kazimir Radziwill, nicknamed Rybonka (1702-1762), a theater, a printing house, a cadet corps, a number of manufactories operated in Nesvizh, the palace was restored, the church was restored, and the family tomb was ordered.

In the course of the struggle for power and influence between Karol Stanislav Radziwill, nicknamed Pane Kochanka, and the princes Czartoryski, the latter resorted to the help of the Russian Empress Catherine II. As a result, in 1764 and 1768 the city was occupied by Russian troops. After the second partition of the Commonwealth, it became part of the Russian Empire, but remained in the possession of the Radziwills.

In 1921, Nesvizh became part of Poland, in 1939 - the USSR, and from 1941 to 1944 was under German occupation. In the post-war period, Nesvizh Castle was turned into the Nesvizh sanatorium, which was subordinate to the KGB, and later to the Fourth Main Directorate of the Ministry of Health of the BSSR and the Mezhkolkhozzdravnitsa department. With the collapse of the USSR, the castle was taken over by the Ministry of Culture of Belarus, after which a large-scale restoration began. It ended in 2012, and the official opening of the castle took place on July 20 of the same year.

1) The Church of the Body of the Lord (Farny) in Nesvizh - an architectural monument of the early Baroque, the first Baroque church and the first Jesuit church on the territory of the Commonwealth, the family burial vault of the Radziwill princes.

2) The church was built by the Italian architect Giovanni Bernardoni in 1584-1593. in conjunction with the Jesuit College, which existed until 1826. The prototype of the church is the Roman temple of Il Gesu, built in 1584.

3) Giovanni (Jan) Maria Bernardoni himself (Gian Maria Bernardoni; 1541-1605) was a Jesuit monk who became the first Baroque architect in Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. He was born in northern Italy, worked as a bricklayer, and at the age of 23 came to Rome to join the Jesuit order and become an architect. The Jesuit brothers sent him to build the main order temple in Rome, Il Gesu, where he worked for 6 years. The construction was led by a well-known Italian architect, inspector of the buildings of the order (consiliarius aedificorum) J. Tristan.

4) Since 1573, Bernardoni has been working on the construction of churches in Naples, Abruzzo. The chief vicar of the province wrote about him to the general of the order: "We rejoice that God has blessed us by giving us a master who was so needed to help Father Giovanni."
Bernardoni then works as an architect in Sardinia. It was he who in Cagliari at the end of 1578 founded the church of St. Michael.
In 1583, Bernardoni, by order of the order, went to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Prince Nikolai Radzivil the Orphan has long been asking the Order for an architect. However, he failed to reach his new destination. On the way, Bernardoni was intercepted in Lublin by the rector of the Jesuit Collegium there, Christopher Warshewicki, who was very influential in Poland. Bernardoni spent three years in Lublin, completing projects for the Lublin Collegium and churches for Poznań, Kalisz, and a project for the restoration of the Brigitte Church in Gdansk after a fire.

5) After persistent reminders from Prince Radziwill to the order about the architect, in 1586 Bernardoni arrived in Nesvizh and stayed here for 13 years. The task of the architect was the construction of the Jesuit church. It had to be designed and built. The prototype of the church was the main order temple of the Jesuits in Rome.
Work in Nesvizh progressed quickly, although Bernardoni faced a difficult task: in addition to the need to adhere to appearance new construction of the model adopted by the Jesuits, it was also necessary to reckon with the wishes of Prince Radziwill Sirotka. In addition, the temple was also built as a tomb for the Radziwills. The multifaceted purpose of the church required an accurate alignment of its project. For example, four staircases were laid in it to provide a separate path to the lodges and choirs for members of the princely family, priests, students of the collegium and parishioners. Two separate entrances to the crypt-dungeons were also laid, where the coffins of princes, monks and eminent parishioners were placed in their different parts.

6) In November 1593, the construction of the church was completed and on November 1 of this year, the first divine service took place.
The Jesuit church in Nesvizh is considered to be the 1st building in the territory of the Commonwealth in the Baroque style only because it was completed faster than others laid down much earlier. This happened due to the exceptional interest of Radziwill, who did not allow interruptions at the construction site, who gave money in a timely manner and, in the end, adding more than the previously agreed amount.

7) Upon completion of his work in Nesvizh, Bernardoni left for Krakow in 1599 to build the church of Sts. Peter and Paul. In addition, he also completed projects for the monastery of St. Bernardin in Kalvar Zebrzydowska and the Church of St. Casimir in Vilna.
The ensemble of murals of the Farny Church is an example of the significant use of Rubens' compositional schemes and occupies a special place in the history of monumental painting of the 18th century.
The consecration (episcopal consecration) of the temple was carried out on October 7, 1601 by the papal nuncio Claudio Rongoni.

8) C interior I was exceptionally lucky, because the caretaker of the church did not allow taking pictures and vigilantly watched people with a camera at the ready. I had to be smart.
In the interior decoration of the temple, painting and carving were used to a greater extent, and architectural plastics were used to a lesser extent.
The main altar of the church is decorated with the painting "The Last Supper" by the artist Gesky. He also carried out the restoration of the under-dome space in 1752-1754. Near the temple is the Bulgarin Chapel, built in 1747 by the Italian architect Maurizio Pedetti for the grandfather of the writer Bulgarin.

9) The Farny Church itself is a three-nave domed basilica with one apse. The middle longitudinal nave is covered with cylindrical vaults with lunettes, the side naves, divided into squares, are cross vaulted. Six massive pillars take the load of the walls of the middle nave. The side aisles are lower than the main one and include five-sided chapels (the northern one is St. Trinity, the southern one is St. Peter). The height of the main nave is 17.8 meters, under the dome it almost doubles.

One of the most unique architectural monuments on the territory of Belarus. Built at the end of the 16th century and is the first creation in the early baroque in the Commonwealth - Farny Church in Nesvizh. The architect is a talented Italian Bernardoni, who was invited by the owner of the Nesvizh lands Radziwill Orphan. The temple complex served as the prototype of the building Il Jesu in Rome, which was built by architects Vignola and Porto.

A specialized collegium entered the complex to the Jesuit church.

The monastery of the Jesuits has a cross-domed basilica with three naves made of stone, on the sides of the apse there are two-story sacristy and chapels.

The main front part with the Latin saying “ I will worship Your holy house in Your fear” ends with a triangular pediment. In the recesses of the niches, one can observe sculptural images of saints.

photo of the middle of the 20th century, (Jan Bulgak)

The interior component is distinguished by the splendor of the decorated parts, frescoed domes and vaults. The altar was decorated by the painter Heskey with the composition “The Last Supper”. Experts have identified more than forty works in the entire temple painting. The majestic organ is located above the main entrance to the church, frescoes with saints are also located there.

Of the sculptures, the altars of Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, elegantly made of marble parts, monuments to the owner - Radziwill, his offspring are noteworthy.

The temple complex became the tomb of the Radziwill family, the embalmed remains of a noble family are buried in underground rooms. The tomb in question is recognized as the only Eastern European necropolis comparable to the Habsburg crypt, Madrid's Escoriale castle.

The church is located on Mickiewicz Street, Nesvizh city, Nesvizh district, Minsk region

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The building of the church is not very impressive, but beautiful. The then ruler of Nesvizh, Prince Mikolay "Orphan" Radziwill, traveling around Europe, was impressed by the churches of the Holy Land and Rome and wished to see something similar in his fiefdom. By type, the built church was a basilica with three naves, and its snow-white facade is undoubtedly associated with Italian examples of religious architecture. The façade is highly decorated with the curved silhouette of the upper tier and two niches with sculptures.

The interior of the church, which is decorated with numerous frescoes, deserves special attention. Thanks to them, the fame of the church spread far across Europe.

These murals were created in the middle of the 18th century, when the church was being restored, and it is believed that their authors adopted a lot from Rubens in their work. Particularly curious are the images of the columns under the dome: the perspective in the murals is verified very carefully and creates the complete impression that the columns are real.

During the last restoration in 1902, the murals were renewed, and today they can be admired in all their glory. The most interesting is The Last Supper by K. Hessky; also interesting are the icons of the side altars depicting St. Ignatius and St. Francis Xavier.