The central attraction of the urban village of Smilovichi is park complex Moniuszko, including the former Palace of Moniuszko-Vankovichi and some outbuildings. The town of Smilovichi is mentioned in the chronicles as early as the middle of the 15th century, and for a long time the owners here were Zavishy, Shemety, Oginsky. Since 1791, the estate passed to Stanislav Moniuszko, whose descendants will bring the greatest contribution to the development of Smilovichi. Will build the palace Alexander Monyushko, and his work and undertakings will be continued by the husband of his only daughter - Leon Wankovich.
The palace in Smilovichi consists of 2 parts - the older one, built in the first half of the 19th century, and the new one, completed to the main volume by 1900.
The old part is a two-story building with a pseudo-Gothic tower.
The new one was built with features of neo-gothic and modern architectural styles. Between themselves, these parts of the buildings were connected by corridors forming a rather unusual palace.
During the revolutionary events of the 20th century, the estate was plundered three times: in 1906, 1914 and 1917. After there was a German occupation and a series of destructions - all these events dramatically influenced the fate of the estate and the palace.
In the Soviet years, the territory of the park complex began to be built up and used for the needs of the local technical school. So in 1973, a kind of vestibule was added to the neo-Gothic part of the ruined palace. In the same period, the planning structure of the building changed - partitions for classrooms were erected.
In 2014, an epic began with the restoration of an architectural monument. The entire territory is still surrounded by a fence, which modestly rests on a residential building, a former outbuilding (as of 2023, no one lives in it anymore).
The neo-Gothic part of the palace was almost completed, but suddenly the work stopped. For a long time, the situation with the old wing and tower remained unclear. As a result, they did not begin to restore them. I would like to believe that the old tower of the palace will still be able to be preserved - this object has a huge tourist potential.
An alley of old trees leads from the gate and the gatehouse to the palace.
On the outskirts of the park there are curious ruins of a two-story building. Perhaps this is a part of the former Vankovichi brovar, or some kind of outbuilding of the late 19th century.
Smilovichi is located not far from Minsk, the distance is about 30 kilometers. Below is a point with the location of the estate-palace on the map:
In the center of the urban village, the massive church of St. Vincent used to be located. If you're in the area, it's worth checking out palace in Rovanichi, but more sights of Belarus search on the map.
