This post is included in the #TeamChallenge series about Belarus from #TeamBelarus.
All posts of our team are available by the link: #TeamBelarus, Blue-Eyed Belarus, the Country Under White Wings
I continue the story of my mother-in-law’s excursion, the first part you can see here. So, she went on a trip to the village of Krasny Bereg, and I was so impressed by her story and photographs that I hastened to describe all for you (all photos here belong her). Manor of the Kozel-Poklevsky was the second point of her trip, it’s situated near to the described in the first part Memorial Complex “For Children - Victims of the Second World War”.
This magnificent estate at different times was owned by different owners. At one time, even the participants in the Decembrist uprising of 1825 and the rebels of 1863 owned it. In the mid-1880s, Lieutenant General Gatovsky bought the estate, but he soon presented it to his daughter Maria as a dowry for the wedding. The husband of Maria V.A.Kozell-Poklevsky became the person who determined the fate of the future estate.
He traveled a lot and dreamed of building a palace that combined all the architectural styles and techniques he liked. During the trips, he even made sketches, which he subsequently handed over to the European architect Schröter, who was involved in the development of the palace plan.
The highlight of the estate is that each room (there are 36 in all) is decorated in a different style. Here are 12 styles, from neo-Gothic to neo-Moorish alhambra style. In this way, the estate is unique.
During the Second World War, there was first a German hospital (it was here that children were brought for medical examinations from pre-concentration camp for children, described in the first part), and then a Red Army hospital. Largely due to this, the complex was not destroyed. They say that the estate was preserved in its original form by about 70%. Forged metal products, ceramic tiles and parquet on the floor, all stucco molding, trees in the park are original. Only pieces of furniture were almost completely lost. But in the halls you can see furniture of the same era, the corresponding style, provided by collectors and confiscated at customs. Most of the furniture and other interior items belong to the collector from Gomel, Sergey Putilin, the other part was confiscated at customs. In 2015, restoration work was completed, and the estate opened its doors again.
Once upon a time there was a garden in which exotic trees and flowers grew. It exists now. The plants in it are already different, but still beautiful.
When you walk around the rooms, look at the ceilings - real works of art!
Since my mother-in-law is fond of making handmade dolls, she could not calmly pass by the collection of dolls presented on the estate.
More photos you can see by the link.
