On the memorable places of the Sangushko family.

The Sangushko princely family, one of the most powerful and wealthy magnate families of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, has left a deep mark on the history and architecture of Belarus.

As Gediminovichi (their ancestry goes back to the son of Grand Duke Algirdas), the Sangushko owned vast lands on which castles, churches, monasteries and manors were built, many of which have survived to the present day.

Initially Orthodox, since the 16th century the Sangushko converted to Catholicism, which did not prevent them from actively supporting various denominations on their lands.

Their contribution to the development of culture and education was significant. For example, Bishop of Smolensk Jerome Sangushko played a key role in the emergence of the Jesuits in Minsk, who became their first sponsor in the middle of the 17th century and helped found the collegium, which provided the city with the best education of its time.

Smolyany Castle, known as the "White Kovel", is the most famous among the Belarusian possessions of the Sangushko.

This majestic Renaissance-style residence was built in the 17th century by Prince Semyon Sangushko, and even centuries later, being in ruins, it impresses with its scale.

In the same agro-town of Smolyany, on the initiative of the family, a Dominican monastery with a Baroque church of the Virgin Mary was founded.

In the town of Rakov, the stone building of the Dominican church and monastery was built with funds from the Sangushko in the 18th century, and their financing allowed the construction of a Dominican church in Kletsk, which later became the Church of the Resurrection.

A new church in the Vilno Baroque style was built in Tolochin.

The secular heritage of the family is the Sangushko Palace in Grodno, built in 1742 for Pavel Karol Sangushko, the great Lithuanian marshal. Although the building was later owned by other owners, it was the Sangushko era that left the main mark on its architectural appearance.