Puslovsky Palace (Kossovo)

Story

The town of Kossovo has been known since 1494, when the Grand Duke of Lithuania Alexander Jagiellonchik gave these lands to his treasurer Jan Khreptovich. For several centuries, the owners of Kossovo were various noble families - the Khreptovichi, Sangushko, Flemings, Czartoryskis, Sapiehas. In 1821, the mansion was purchased by Wojciech Pusłowski, who founded a carpet factory in Kossovo, and in its vicinity founded or repaired about 60 churches. It was Wojciech who began the construction of the luxurious palace in 1830. Afterwards, the mansion passed to his heir, his son Vandalin Puslovsky, a major industrialist and art lover, who continued the construction of the palace.

Over the years, the Puslovskys' guests included the writer Vaclav Lastovsky, the artist Napoleon Orda, the writer Eliza Orzeszko and other eminent personalities. Wojciech Pusłowski's grandson, Leonard, sold the mansion for gambling debts. The palace was purchased by the merchant Alexandrov for 700 thousand rubles, and soon resold it at twice the price to Princess Trubetskoy. After her, the Puslovsky Palace was owned by Princess Abomalek and Prince Oldenburg.

During the First World War, the palace was looted - all valuable art objects disappeared: paintings, a collection of statues. The garden and greenhouses were destroyed. During the Second World War, 4 ghettos were located on the territory of the Puslovsky Castle of Kossovo, in which the Jewish population of the city was gradually destroyed. The Nazis did not touch the palace itself, but in 1944 there was a major fire here. It was organized by local partisans to drive out the fascist army. The rich decoration of the castle and many entire rooms burned down in the fire. Part of the walls collapsed, leaving the palace without a roof.

In the post-war period, the land of the Puslovsky Palace and Kossov was given to the forestry. Valuable garden trees were cut down, and the dilapidated castle was covered with planted pine trees. Since 2008, work has been underway to restore the 19th-century architectural monument of the Kossovo Palace and Park Ensemble, which is carried out at the expense of the state budget. The full opening took place in December 2022. The facades and interior spaces were completely restored according to the surviving drawings, new utility networks and a heating system were installed.

Architecture

At the time the palace was built, the most popular style was palace and park classicism. But the Puslovsky Palace stood out noticeably for its Gothic antiquity. This style is called “retrogothic”. In the first half of the 19th century, this style was considered a protest against the ideology of Tsarist Russia.

The palace with faceted towers of different heights sends guests back to the Middle Ages. Narrow loopholes, pointed arches, corner buttresses - all this is more reminiscent of a defensive structure than a country palace. The 12 towers were symbols of the months of the year; there were more than 130 rooms in the palace itself and on its territory. The palace halls were named by color. The White Hall was intended for lavish balls. Black is for gambling. They listened to music in the Pink Hall.

The hill on which the palace stands is artificially created. The total area of the palace and park ensemble is 40 hectares. In compliance with symmetry, the palace itself, terraces, flower beds, walking alleys, and a lake with an island are located on the territory. The park was designed according to Italian models of Renaissance gardens. In former times, more than 150 species of plants grew here. The rarest and most whimsical ones grew in a special greenhouse. Weeping willows grew along the banks of artificially created ponds. The territory of the palace was decorated with fountains, sculptures, and gazebos.