Ruzhany. Sapieha Palace.

In 1598, Ruzhany was bought by the great Lithuanian chancellor Leo Sapieha. He built a castle here in 1602 with three towers, which had more of a defensive function. The name of the architect is unknown, but ancient Ruzhany records dating back to 1602 mention large-scale construction work, without indicating the location of the development. Most likely, the castle was built on the site of the old Tyshkevich estate, to whom the estate previously belonged.

Initially, the palace had a defensive character - a two-story stone volume, cross-shaped in plan, was complemented by three tetrahedral towers. In the central part of the palace there was a state hall and a vestibule with a double-sided staircase, in the side parts there were living quarters, an office, and a library. The suite of rooms on the first floor was covered with vaulted ceilings, and on the second floor with beamed ceilings. Under the building, in large vaulted basements, there was an arsenal, an archive, and provisions.

In 1784-1788 court architect Sapeg Jan Samuel Becker rebuilds the ancient palace-castle. At the same time, the architect erects a parish church and a Basilian monastery, as well as a cemetery chapel and a tavern, in the lowlands in front of the palace. For his talented work, Becker received from Sapieha a lifetime pension of 2,150 zlotys. The two towers of the ancient palace were dismantled, and the western one was included in the overall volume of the new building, which became symmetrical in composition. The main building took on the appearance of a compact two-story rectangular building under a high mansard “French” roof. The main facade with thirty windows in the central part was distinguished by a wall portico raised to the second floor of two pairs of columns and pilasters, completed by a high triangular pediment, filled with sculptural bas-relief and crowned with grotesque sculpture at the corners. On the rear facade, the portico corresponded to a wide ten-column terrace, onto which the windows and doors of the ballroom opened. Tall windows on the upper floor in a baroque-raical profile frame indicate its ceremonial purpose.

J. Becker also designs a regular radiant park with canals, ponds, and trimmed trellises. The park was blocked by a reservoir parallel to the palace on the Ruzhanka River. The perspective from each of the trimmed linden alleys was closed by a pavilion. Adjacent to the landscape area was a menagerie in the form of a forest cleared through clearings. There was also a private theater in the palace from 1765 to 1791.

The complex was conceived as a combination of the main and two auxiliary buildings, united by a powerful arcade, and a monumental entrance gate-arch between the wings. In the enclosed space of the vast front courtyard (its area is about 1.5 hectares), the central place was reserved for the main building. The general baroque character of the architecture is intertwined with elements of classicism.

During the period of ownership of Ruzhany, Evstafiy Kajetan Sapega took part in the uprising of 1830–1831. Because of this, he was deprived of all his possessions. In the 19th century, the palace was leased to the Jewish family of the Pines, who organized a weaving factory in it. Over the next century, the buildings of the palace complex were damaged by fire. After these events, an attempt to restore the palace was made only in the late 1980s. But she was not crowned with success.

Since 2008, large-scale restoration work has been carried out in the Ruzhany Palace complex. By 2011, the restoration of the entrance gates, eastern and western wings was completed. Now they house a museum. Also in 2012, restoration of the eastern building began. Work is still ongoing.