The
Ahinski Manor ( be, Сядзіба Агінскіх у Залесьсі) is an early-nineteenth-century country house located in the village of Zaliessie (also Zalesse),
Smarhon district
Smarhon' District ( be, Смаргонскі раён) is a district (rajon) in Grodno Region of Belarus. As of the Belarus Census (2009), 2009 census the population was 55,296.
The administrative center is Smarhon’.
Main sights
* Ogiński ...
in
Belarus
Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...
.
Early years of the estate
The estate was originally acquired by the
Ahinski (Oginski) family in the early eighteenth century. At that time it included a wooden palace, farmyard, pond, mill and a brewery. It had passed through several generations until the early nineteenth century when it was bequeathed to
Michał Kleofas Ogiński
Michał Kleofas Ogiński (25 September 176515 October 1833) was a Polish diplomat and politician, Grand Treasurer of Lithuania, and a senator of Tsar Alexander I. He was also a composer of early Romantic music.
Early life
Ogiński was born in ...
.
Under ownership of Michał Kleofas Ogiński
Michał Kleofas Ogiński, who had been in exile since the defeat of
the Kastsiushka uprising, returned to the Russian Empire in 1802, following an amnesty by the
Tzar
Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the ter ...
. He settled in the Zaliessie estate and began construction of a new stone manor house in a
classicist
Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...
style by architect .
The works completed by 1815 and included a park in the style of Romanticism with trails and bridges across the local river.
Under the ownership of Ogiński the manor became a venue for musical concerts and literary events and was described as 'Northern Athens' by contemporaries. In Zaliessie, Michał Kleofas Ogiński created many of his works, including the famous polonaise in A minor "”.
After Michał Kleofas Ogiński
After the death of Michał Kleofas Ogiński, the estate was owned by several generations of his descendants. It fell on hard times in 1924 and was broken up and sold outside the family.
In
Soviet Belarus
The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, or Byelorussian SSR; be, Беларуская Савецкая Сацыялістычная Рэспубліка, Bielaruskaja Savieckaja Sacyjalistyčnaja Respublika; russian: Белор ...
the estate was used as a holiday resort and a nursing home.
At the beginning of the twenty-first century the manor was in a poor state; however, between 2011 and 2015, large scale restoration works were undertaken.
A museum dedicated to the life and work of Michał Kleofas Ogiński was opened on the premises after completion of the restoration.
[{{Cite web, title=Zalesse, url=https://vedaj.by/index.php/en/towns/grodno/smarh/zalesse, url-status=live, access-date=2021-07-19, website=vedaj.by, language=en-gb]
Gallery
File:Сядзіба Агінскіх у Залессі 11.JPG, Restoration works
File:Сядзіба Агінскіх у Залессі 037.jpg, Palace
File:Сядзіба Агінскіх у Залессі 40.jpg, Mill
File:Сядзіба Агінскіх у Залессі (2014).jpg, Orangery
File:Сядзіба Агінскіх у Залессі 033.jpg, "American" Orangery
File:Zalieśsie Ahinskija manor 207.JPG, Amelia's Gazebo
File:Сядзіба Агінскіх у Залессі 20.jpg, St Mary's Chapel
File:Фото путешествия по Беларуси 246.jpg, Kastsiushka memorial stone
References
Ogiński family