Mir Castle Complex

The Mir Castle Complex (Belarusian: Мірскі замак, romanized: Mirski zamak; Russian: Мирский замок; Polish: Zamek w Mirze; Lithuanian: Myriaus pilies kompleksas) is a historic fortified castle and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Belarus.

[1] It is located in the town of Mir, in Karelichy District of Grodno Oblast, 29 kilometres (18 mi) north-west of another World Heritage site, Nesvizh Castle.

[2] Erected in the 16th century in the late Brick Gothic style, it is one of the few remaining architectural monuments of the former Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in contemporary Belarus.

Duke Juryj Ivanavič Illinič (pl:Jerzy Iwanowicz Ilinicz) began construction of the castle near the village of Mir after the turn of the 16th century in the Belarusian Gothic style.

When German forces invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, they occupied the castle and converted it to a ghetto for the local Jewish population, prior to their murders.

View from the courtyard
Drawing by Napoleon Orda , 1876