The
Ahinski Manor () is an early-nineteenth-century country house located in the village of Zaliessie (also Zalesse),
Smarhon district
Smarhon district or Smarhoń district (; ) is a districts of Belarus, district (raion) of Grodno region in Belarus. The administrative center is Smarhon. As of 2024, it has a population of 48,464.
Historically the district's center Smarhon was p ...
in
Belarus
Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...
.
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 1765 – 15 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 late Classical and early Romantic music.
Early ...
.
Under ownership of Michał Kleofas Ogiński
Michał Kleofas Ogiński, who had been in exile since the defeat of
the Kościuszko uprising, returned to the Russian Empire in 1802, following an amnesty by the
Tzar. He settled in the Zaliessie estate and began construction of a new stone manor house in a
classicist
Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...
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, Byelorussian SSR or Byelorussia; ; ), also known as Soviet Belarus or simply Belarus, was a republic of the Soviet Union (USSR). It existed between 1920 and 1922 as an independent state, and ...
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, 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, Kościuszko memorial stone
References
Palaces in Belarus
Manor houses in Belarus
Ogiński family