Vysokoe. The Sapieha-Pototski Palace and Park Ensemble.

The town of Vysokoe in the Kamenets district has been known since the 14th century and was supposed to be owned by different owners over its history. In the 17th – 18th centuries, the place belonged to the Sapieha magnates, who built a castle with a palace here. At the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, the castle fell into disrepair.

 At the beginning of the 19th century, Pelageya Pototska built her manor house with a classical-style palace next to the castle fortifications.

 Pelageya Rosa Pototska (1775-1846) was considered a socialite in Belarus and Poland at that time. She came from the noble magnate family of Pototski. In his first marriage, the wife of the Minsk provincial marshal Francis Sapieha, to whom she gave birth to the only son Evstafiy Kayatan Sapieha (1797-1860). Her second husband was Prince Pavel Sapieha. Pototska was a patron of the arts and an art critic. The entire territory of the Pototski-Sapieha estate covers an area of 50 hectares and during the construction of a new palace with outbuildings, the remains of castle fortifications together in the stone entrance gates became part of the palace and park ensemble.

The palace is built of stone with a symmetrical composition. The building is one-storey with a two-storey central part, which is covered with a gable roof. The main entrance is decorated with a four-column Doric portico with a triangular pediment. On the reverse side, the facade in the central part is highlighted with a risalite, in front of which there was a terrace for viewing the panorama. The palace has an internal layout of the caridor type. At the entrance there was a wide lobby, behind which there was a grand hall with access to the park. The front yard near the Palace was surrounded by two one-story stone outbuildings. 

The park near the palace began to form back in the Sapieha era in the 17th century and was further developed under the Pototski. The new park was laid out in the early 19th century in a landscape style. At the end of the 19th century, the park was divided into 2 parts by a water canal.

The entrance to the estate was decorated in the form of stone pylons with decorative vases and wrought-iron gates with monograms and initials of the owners.

During Soviet times, residential buildings and a school with household facilities were built on the territory of the estate, which disrupted the composition of the monument. In the 1990s, the development of scientific and design documentation for the restoration of the Pototski estate and the stone gates of Sapieh Castle began.

To this day, the palace and one of the outbuildings of the estate have been preserved in good condition. There are also several outbuildings, a greenhouse and part of the park with a pond and a water channel.

The ensemble was built at the end of the 18th century and became the residence for the Sapieha family, and then Pototski. It included a stone palace, two outbuildings, a service building and a landscape park. It reflects the style of classicism and Baroque, which makes it an interesting object for studying the architectural history of the region.

The complex included a palace, distinguished by elegant facades and rich interior decoration. The park surrounding the palace was designed in the English style and included ponds, alleys and rare species of trees, which created an atmosphere of privacy and harmony with nature. An orchard was laid not far from the castle, one of the largest at that time. According to the preserved data, in 1794 there were 735 trees and bushes of grapes in it. Sapieha also had greenhouses in which citrus fruits, laurel trees, yews, pomegranates, Spanish boxwood and flowers grew. Carp, tench, crucian carp and catfish were bred in the canals near the castle walls.

The last owner of the Vysokoe from 1919 to 1939 was Jakub Pototski, to whom his mother Maria Pototski transferred the estate along with the city. The Counts of Pototskis were very rich people. Maria Pototska was successfully engaged in the production of varietal seeds of cereals, root crops and herbs on her lands, selling them in the Russian Empire and abroad.

Today, the ensemble needs restoration and preservation in order to convey its historical value to future generations. For a long time, the architectural monument was sold at auction. The owner, who purchased the estate, was unable to bring his plans to life and preserve the architectural heritage.

The Sapieha-Pototski Palace and Park Ensemble is an important cultural and historical monument that attracts tourists and researchers interested in the history of Belarus and architectural heritage. This ensemble serves as a reminder to descendants of the rich history of the region.