Ruzhany palace

In 1598 the chancellor of Grand Duchy of Lithuania Lev Sapieha bought the estate of Ruzhany. On his order, in the beginning of the 17th century a large-scale construction began here. Sapieha chose a great spot for his new castle, since at the time Ruzhany stood on the trade route to Moscovia. Famous Italian architect Santi Gucci was invited here to work on Sapieha family's new residence. Thanks to him, a three-tower castle soon was built in Ruzhany. At the end of the 18th century, the castle was remodeled and rebuilt into a luxurious palace surrounded by gardens and parks. The remodel was done under the supervision of Jan Samuel Becker, Sapieha familiy's court architect. The architectural style of the new complex presented a mixture of baroque and classical revival.

One of the additions to the palace was a separate theater building, which was visited several times by the last monarch of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth - king Stanisław August Poniatowski. The Ruzhany palace also housed the largest library in all of Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Even the underground parts of the palace were truly impressive. People still tell stories about a 25-kilometer tunnel, wide enough for a carriage, which supposedly linked the palace in Ruzhany to a nearby palace in Kosava. For his architectural masterpiece, Jan Samuel Becker was awarded a life-long pension by the Sapiehas.

After the 1831 uprising, Ruzhany were confiscated from the Sapiehas. During World War 1 the palace was badly damaged by a fire. The interwar period saw some renovation attempts, but they were never completed, and the palace was totally ruined during World War 2. Nowadays, only the main and the eastern buildings, the main entrance gate and the annexes remain standing. Every summer an open-air festival “Ruzhanskaya Brama” is held on the palace grounds. Nowadays, the central gate and its side wings are restored. The Ruzhany palace, even in its ruined state, still impresses the visitors with its magnificence.