Castle "Venice" — Radziwill's whim — found at the bottom of Polesian Knyaz-Vozera
In the mid-18th century, Hieronim Florian Radziwill decided to build a castle on the lake and place a real fleet around it. Last year, underwater archaeologists discovered the remains of this stone residence and wooden structures, confirming that the magnate's whim was not a historical anecdote.
Hieronim Florian Radziwill and his "Knyazmor". Collage: "Nasha Niva"
This was reported in the abstracts of papers at the International Scientific and Practical Conference on the results of archaeological research in 2025, which began its work in Nesvizh.
According to the results of research conducted in 2025 by the diving center "Morski Pegas" (Sea Pegasus) and the Institute of History under the leadership of Andrei Likhachov, an underwater elevation with a diameter of 30–35 meters was discovered at the bottom of Lake Chervonaye in the Zhitkovichi district of the Gomel region, which historically bore the name Zhyd-Vozera (and the city itself was formerly called Zhitkovichi).
Knyaz-Vozera from a satellite image. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Rectangular wooden structures and individual logs were noticed there. The water also preserved ceramics and fragments of large-format red bricks with admixtures of coarse grit and grog. To determine the age of the object, scientists raised a part of a log to the surface. A complex technological joint — a mortise and tenon joint, one of which was shaped like the letter "Г" (G) — was preserved on its end face. Experts note that this method of log construction is known since the 16th century and is primarily found in outbuildings. A dendrochronological analysis confirmed that the wood belongs to the 18th century.
This date leads researchers to the figure of Hieronim Florian Radziwill. The owner of vast estates maintained a private army of six thousand people, comparable in number to the entire army of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The prince was also known for his great passion for art: he founded theaters in Slutsk and Biala, created the first ballet school in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, collected an art gallery and a large library.
Knyaz-Vozera, today — Chervonaye
In 1756, the magnate's ambitions reached a new level. By his own order, he renamed Zhyd-Vozera to the resounding "Knyazmor". Construction of a stone castle began on the island, which Radziwill named "Venice". According to documentary evidence, the plan envisioned the creation of a full-fledged fleet with artillery on the lake. Today's underwater finds of large-format bricks prove that Radziwill's whim indeed began to be realized.
But time made its adjustments to the ambitious plans. In 1760, the forty-five-year-old Hieronim Florian died, leaving no descendants from any of his three marriages. All his possessions passed to his brother Michał Kazimierz Radziwill Rybańka, who had absolutely no need for a military fleet in the middle of Polesie.
The name "Knyazmor" apparently transformed into Knyaz-Vozera (which in 1931 was renamed Chervonaye Polesie by the Soviet authorities), and from the unfinished "Venice", only a mound remained at the bottom of the lake.
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