Chapel-tomb of Svyatopolk-Mirsky

Designed by architect Robert Marfeld in 1904-1910 at the expense of Cleopatra Svyatopolk-Mirskaya, the chapel was consecrated in honor of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. In subsequent years, six members of the Svyatopolk-Mirsky family were buried in the crypt. During the Second Republic, Prince Mikhail Svyatopolk-Mirsky planted rare coniferous trees and roses around the building. With the advent of Soviet power, church property was looted, but some of it was transferred to a neighboring church. In the post-war period, the chapel was used as a granary of the distillery and was in disrepair for many years. In 2004, restoration work began, completed by December 1, 2008, when the chapel opened to the public. In 2014, the first services were held here: a memorial service and the Divine Liturgy.

Most researchers attribute the chapel-tomb to the Art Nouveau style. From an architectural point of view, the building is characterized by a dynamically asymmetrical composition, innovative for its time. Its component parts include the narthex, the chapel hall, the apse and the dominant — a high belfry tower. The tomb is rich in plastic and coloristic elements, such as the coat of arms-cartouche of Svyatopolk-Mirsky and a large mosaic panel depicting Christ the Almighty, which is the central element of the chapel's decoration. Inside, the building is divided into two levels: a crypt and a service hall. The chapel itself is also a small architectural form of the Mirsky Park.

Initially, the altar part of the chapel was separated by an iconostasis with "7 old icons". This iconostasis, like the chapel itself, was designed by R. Marfeld. Subsequently, the iconostasis with icons and church property was moved to the cemetery of St. George's Church, but this did not save it. In March 1966, the iron grating in the window of the church was broken open, and unknown people entered the temple, damaging the iconostasis. In 1994, the iconostasis was moved to the church of the Zhirovichi Icon of the Mother of God in the urban settlement of Berezovka, Lida district. The original iconostasis has crumbled, and not all its details have been preserved. A new one was made in the Paksbor workshop in the city of Baranovichi, which was a copy of the original. Its installation in the chapel-tomb took place in the autumn of 2009. The icon painters were artists A. Vakulich, Y. Piskun and S. Samusenko.

In October 2013, the Belarusian sculptor Vladimir Slobodchikov returned to the chapel the original cross, which was located above the royal gates. He discovered the cross in 1975 and took it out for preservation. Slobodchikov dated the cross to the beginning of the 20th century and determined that it was made mechanically, since there are no traces of a chisel on it. Since another cross had already been installed above the tsar's gate, this one was planned to be included in the permanent exhibition of the museum. The cross is in good condition and does not require restoration.

An icon of the New Testament Trinity with an attached metal lamp was chosen for the highest place in the altar. In the center of the altar part there was a wooden altar, an altar and an altar metal seven-branched candlestick. Also mentioned are a wooden kiosk, two metal standing candlesticks, metal banners, a wooden candle box and a cabinet for the regent. A metal alarm clock was fixed under the arch.

The family chapel-tomb was built in the palace landscape (English) Mirsky Park, laid by Svyatopolk-Mirsky near the castle in the late XIX — early XX century, next to the eastern defensive rampart on an elevation. Having become part of the park composition, the chapel was one of the accents of the long-range perspective from the palace and the small architectural form of the park. The most valuable section of the park in dendrological terms is located right next to the tomb.

Initially, by order of K. Svyatopolk-Mirskaya, the tall trees between the Svyatopolk-Mirsky Palace and the chapel were not planted, as she liked to look at the mosaic panel in the evenings. Later, decorative coniferous trees were planted in front of the chapel: black pine, prickly spruce, Siberian larch and false Menzies grass. In the last years of his life, many roses of unknown varieties were planted around the tomb of M. Svyatopolk-Mirsky, which, according to the memories of local residents, were of Finnish origin. Work was also carried out on the decoration of the clearing in front of the chapel, where coniferous exotics such as Fraser fir, Weimutov pine, Douglas gray, Engelman spruce and others were planted. Next to the tomb there was a chestnut alley with a house, the so-called "Tashkent". 

Of the coniferous exotics planted near the chapel, only European and Siberian larches, false Menzies and black pine have been preserved. Due to freezing in the winter of 1939-1940 and logging in the war and post-war period, the Fraser fir, Siberian fir, Engelman spruce, prickly spruce and Siberian cedar pine disappeared.

In Soviet times, the park was one of the main prospects for walking routes, and the view of the chapel opened both from the side of the former palace and from the side of the open coastal meadow.