The is located in central Belarus. The Radziwill dynasty, who built and kept the ensemble from the 16th century until 1939, gave birth to some of the most important personalities in European history and culture. Due to their efforts, the town of Nesvizh came to exercise great influence in the sciences, arts, crafts and architecture. The complex consists of the residential castle and the mausoleum Church of Corpus Christi with their setting. The castle has ten interconnected buildings, which developed as an architectural whole around a six-sided courtyard. The palaces and church became important prototypes marking the development of architecture throughout Central europe and Russia.

Brief synthesis

The in central Belarus exercised great influence in the sciences, arts, crafts and architecture of Central and Eastern europe. The efforts of the Radziwill dynasty, which built and kept this ensemble of buildings and their associated landscape from 1583 until 1939 and which included some of the most notable personalities in European history and culture who introduced novel concepts based on a synthesis of Western traditions, led to the establishment of a new Central European school of architecture. The Radziwill family complex – and in particular the domed basilica Corpus Christi mausoleum-church represents an important stage in the development of building typology in 16th and 17th century Central European architecture.

The Radziwill family complex consists of a residential castle and the Corpus Christi mausoleum-church, along with their landscaped setting. The compact castle has ten interconnected buildings, including a palace, galleries, residence, family archive and arsenal, all of which were developed as a single architectural ensemble around a six-sided courtyard. The buildings are set within the remains of 16th century fortifications comprised of four bastions and four curtain walls in a rectangular plan, surrounded by a moat. An earthen dam with a stone bridge connects the castle to Corpus Christi Church in the adjacent urban area of Nesvizh. The ensemble of buildings, interspersed by artificial reservoirs and canals of the river Usha, is in a picturesque 100 ha landscape that includes a series of thematic parks and ponds.

Over the centuries the Radziwills supported activities in various spheres of science and culture, and also invited important cultural personalities, architects, artists and craftspersons to the small town of Nesvizh. These interactions introduced the latest architectural innovations from Southern and Western Europe and became seminal in synthesizing and transmitting these trends to Central and Eastern Europe. An architectural school emerged here that consisted of artists from Belarus, Poland, Italy, and Germany who developed sophisticated construction and building techniques. The buildings of the Radziwill family complex became important prototypes in Central Europe, and exercised considerable influence in this region.

Criterion (ii):

The was the cradle for the introduction of new concepts based on the synthesis of Western traditions, leading to the establishment of a new architectural school in Central Europe.

Criterion (iv):

The Radziwill complex represents an important stage in the development of new a building typology and in the history of Central European architecture during the 16th and 17th centuries. In particular, this concerns Corpus Christi Church with its domed basilica typology.

Criterion (vi):

The Radziwill family was particularly significant for its association with the interpretation of influences from Southern and Western Europe and the transmission of ideas within Central and Eastern Europe.

Integrity

All the elements that sustain the Outstanding Universal Value of the are located within the boundaries of the 120 ha property, including the residential castle, the Corpus Christi church-mausoleum, and the landscaped parks and ponds. The property is therefore of adequate size to ensure the complete representation of the features and processes that convey its significance. There is also a 292 ha buffer zone. The state of conservation of the interrelated elements is good.

Authenticity

The overall historical authenticity of the property has been maintained regarding its location and setting, form and design, and materials and substance. The territory of the castle complex and the surrounding natural landscape have largely been preserved. Drawings and maps of Nesvizh from the 16th to the 18th centuries reveal a high degree of authenticity in the design of the complex. The castle and the church-mausoleum include construction materials, structures and craft, dating from the 16th to 18th centuries. The fortifications were destroyed in the 17th century, and more recently there has been some reconstruction (e.g. the bell tower). The landscaped park, with its romantic features dating mainly from the 19th century, has suffered from neglect, though it has been subject to some clearing and replanting in recent decades. As a whole, the landscape has maintained all its essential components, especially in the immediate surroundings of the castle and the Corpus Christi Church.

The castle's Eastern Gallery was demolished and rebuilt in 2006-2010 and a heating system has been planned for the mausoleum-church, both without benefit of an overall conservation plan. Some concerns have been raised about these and other recent rehabilitation and modernization works, and in general about the balance between repair and renewal.

Protection and management requirements

The castle, the church-mausoleum and the causeway that links them are in state ownership. The church-mausoleum, which has a religious function, is managed by the Ecclesiastical Council, while the causeway is under the management of the Nesvizh Region Executive Committee. The , which is a Property of National Significance, is administered by the National Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve “Nyasvizh”, formed in 1996 in accordance with a Decree of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus. In general, all activities related to the protection of the property are coordinated by the Department for the Protection of Historical and Cultural Heritage and Restoration in the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Belarus. The Nesvizh General Plan (2007) controls the central part of the town and insures that the scale of development and the adaptation of buildings respect the character of the historic buildings. There is a Management Commission for the property established in 2005, and a Management Plan adopted by the decision of the Methodological Council on Historical and Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture in 2006, and modified in 2010. The Management Plan seeks to organize the collective work for the protection of the Nesvizh urban landscape and the visual impact of interventions on the integrity of the urban environment within the property's buffer zone. The Management Plan for the property requires revision to respond to a very significant increase in the number of visits to the property and other pressures.

Sustaining the Outstanding Universal Value of the over time will require revising the Management Plan to address the significant increase in visits to the property and to clearly set out approaches for conservation, restoration and renewal, in particular concerning rehabilitation and modernization works, as well as to ensure that appropriate planning measures (such as a conservation plan) are in place and adopted in order to prevent interventions that could have a negative impact on the values, authenticity and integrity of the property.