Description of the attraction
The palace and park complex of the Valovich magnates is located in the village of Svyatsk. The palace for the Valovich family was built by the famous Italian architect Giuseppe Sacco in 1779.
The unique masterpieces of Giuseppe Sacco successfully combine the features of the Baroque and Classicism styles. The palace was built in the vicinity of the Augustow Canal, in an area full of water bodies: canals, rivulets, ponds. The landscape park successfully combines the features of the area and the majestic structure of the palace.
The central building is connected to the wings by semicircular galleries. In the central building there is an octahedral ceremonial hall and a wide marble three-flight grand staircase. On the sides there are study rooms and small halls. Some of the magnificent interiors have survived, combining moldings, statues, niches and paintings from the 18th century. All interior decoration was supervised by the architect Giuseppe Sacco, so it organically blends with the architecture of the palace complex. The current Catholic chapel-tomb of the Valovichi is located in the park.
Unfortunately, at the moment the Valovich Palace is in a deplorable state. In Soviet times, there was a sanatorium for the rehabilitation of tuberculosis patients. After its closure, the building remained ownerless.
A ghost lives in the Valovichi castle. A family drama once played out here. The noble father of the Valovich family had a beautiful daughter who fell in love with a young groom, who grew up next to her since childhood. The young lovers were taken by surprise. The offended, angry father ordered the boy to be drowned and his own daughter immured alive in the castle wall. Now the ghost of a girl walks around the castle and groans, looking for her lover and cannot find him. Sometimes it touches with icy hands to an unwary visitor, or it is showered with an icy gust of draft.
