Staroborisov. The Romanov Estate

When leaving the city of Borisov in the direction of the town of Zembin, after a few kilometers there will be a right turn on Staroborisov. There were once defensive fortifications of the ancient Borisov, and an archaeological site has been preserved to our time.

The place is dominated by a hill, on which the stone building of the Romanov estate can already be seen from the highway. The original owners here were the Radziwill magnates, under whom the wooden estate was built. The palace housed collections of paintings, coins and weapons. In 1776, the last king of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Stanislav August Poniatowski, handed over Staroborisov to Prince Michal Jerome Radziwill, who was married to Elena Przezdetskaya. After the partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Radziwill swore allegiance to Catherine II and retained his property. During the war of 1812, Napoleon Bonaparte, along with his staff and retinue, stayed at the manor in November.

After the Crimean War, the Radziwills sold the estate, which passed to the royal family to the Grand Dukes Romanov. At the end of the 19th century, a stone palace was built, a good highway and a telephone were built. During the First World War, when Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich became commander-in-chief of the Imperial army and the so-called Great Retreat began in the spring of 1915, the transfer of the headquarters from Baranovichi was also considered as an option to Staroborisov. But the city of Mogilev was chosen for the bet.

During the Great Patriotic War, in early August 1941, a military meeting of the German command was held in this estate. The meeting was attended by Adolf Hitler himself, Colonel-General Guderian and other commanders of the Wehrmacht.

The stone palace is two-storied. The building was bought by a private owner and is currently being restored. There is a beautiful lake near the estate.