Nesvizh. Alba Park and Estate.

There is a small village of Alba on the outskirts of the city of Nesvizh. Few people come here and few have ever heard of such a place. It's a pity, because here was one of the estates of the Radziwill magnates and a huge park with ponds and water channels has been preserved to our time.

 Alba has been considered a country residence of the Radziwills since the end of the 16th century. The first wooden palace here was built in the 16th century and belonged to Nikolai Radziwill 'Sirotka' (Orphan) (1549-1616). Then, over time, the buildings changed according to the type of construction and the style of the era. According to the inventory of 1636, the estate included a palace with rooms, a brewery, a kitchen wing, a cheese factory and a bakery. At that time, the manor was built in the Renaissance style.

In the 18th century, a huge park with ponds and water channels, a Dutch farm, a kennel, a pheasant garden, and a huge menagerie were created. A stone Hermitage and a stone two-storey palace were erected. The architectural and park ensemble included several "Italian" parks in the style of French classicism. The prince's rooms were built from the "Prussian wall" and there were 5 rooms and a large hall, which were decorated with linen wallpaper. In the middle of the park there was a menagerie in the center of which there was a gazebo – a domed rotunda and eight alleys radiated from it.

 In 1778, the court architects of King Stanislav Radziwill, with the participation of Italian architects, reconstructed Alba. A water system of eight channels was created. A round island has been formed instead of a menagerie. An interesting feature was the idyllic village of 180 houses. There was a landscape-regular park around the village. Karol Stanislav Radziwill, popularly known as "Pani Kohanku" (1734-1790), loved to visit this village with Belarusian peasants and at the same time he himself put on a peasant shirt and talked to the peasants in Belarusian.

In 1784, Pani Kohanku hosted the King of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Stanislaw August Poniatowski, with great pomp and celebration in Alba. The park had a greenhouse, gazebos, and greenhouses. There was even a factory for the production of Persian belts - a persiary!

Alba suffered greatly during the war of 1812 and gradually the estate fell into disrepair. The renaissance began at the end of the 19th century. The stone brovar and several other outbuildings have been preserved to our time. The park is one of the largest parks in Belarus. Century-old oak trees have been preserved in the park.