In Belarusian historiography, it was commonly believed that Mir was first mentioned in the so-called "Lindenblatt Chronicle" in 1395 in connection with an attack by the Teutonic Order troops, who, supporting Svidrigailo in his internecine conflict against Vytautas, invaded Novogrudok region, reached Mir, and destroyed the settlement. However, in 2014, Belarusian historian Oleg Litskevich discovered that the date of Mir's mention in 1395 was erroneous, as the source does not mention the settlement. The city that historians assumed to be "Mir" in the source is actually the Lithuanian city of Alytus. Historians had to establish a new date for the first mention of Mir. This date became May 28, 1434, when the Grand Duke of Lithuania Sigismund Kęstutaitis gifted the Mir estate and surrounding lands to his ally, the Vilnius castellan Senka Hedyholdovich. Although the charter mentions only one curia (estate) belonging to a certain Demid, archaeological materials from the early 15th century are found not only on the territory of the modern settlement of Mir but also on the other bank of the Miranka River, precisely where the Mir Castle now stands. The remains of pre-castle structures indicate that they were quite wealthy for their time. For example, in the cultural layer of the castle courtyard, remains of a stove made of pot tiles were found.

Senka, dying childless, bequeathed the Mir estates to his adopted daughter Anna Butrymovna. But Anna never married and died young. In 1476, she transferred the property to her aunt — Senka's wife Milokhna Kezgailovna, who in turn in 1490 bequeathed her estates to a relative, Yuri Ilyinich, a young but very talented nobleman.

Yuri was the son of Ivashka Ilyinich, starosta of Vitebsk and Smolensk. Ilyinich first appears in Mir only in 1495 when the Mir estates were the subject of disputes with the court marshal Litovor Khreptovich; the next year a court in Grodno ruled in favor of Khreptovich. Legal disputes continued after the 1497 military campaign to Moldavia, but again Ilyinich failed to obtain the "Mir estates." Ilyinich secured rights to Mir only 27 years later, after the death of his powerful rival neighbor. In 1522, holding the positions of Lithuanian marshal and Brest starosta, and exploiting the ignorance of Litovor's heirs and possibly even bribing witnesses, Ilyinich finally obtained legal rights to Mir Castle and its lands. It is now difficult to determine what motives guided the magnate in deciding to create a fortified residence. Almost all researchers of Mir Castle's history constantly ask what compelled a not very wealthy and not very influential official of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania to undertake large-scale construction. It is also intriguing that Ilyinich started the grand construction late in his life. Moreover, until the 16th century, private stone castles were not built in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and even very wealthy nobles usually had wooden fortified courtyards.

Among scholars, debates continue about the purpose of Mir Castle. The pretext for building the castle could have been wars with the Grand Duchy of Moscow, raids by Crimean Tatars, complicated relations with neighbors, personal aggressiveness or desire for fame, obtaining the title of Count of the Holy Roman Empire, or simply the position of Lithuanian court marshal. However, an economic component could also have underpinned the construction — the castle is located at the junction of three roads that already existed at that time, and such a location was highly advantageous. The architecture of the Church of St. Michael in Gniezno resonates with the architecture of Mir Castle.

Many researchers associate the castle's construction with considerations of prestige and Ilyinich's desire for self-assertion. For more than two decades, he engaged in legal battles for the right to the Mir estates, which ended in favor of the Ilyinich family only in 1522, when the construction of Mir Castle likely began. By that time, Ilyinich had become a wealthy magnate, profiting from managing the Brest and Kaunas starosties and castles, and also used a large sum of 10,000 gold ducats from the zemsky treasurer Abram Ezafovich Rabichkovich.

The date of the castle's construction is also debated. The castle is first mentioned in 1527 in the Lithuanian Metrica, but architectural features of Mir Castle indicate it was laid no earlier than 1510. Mikhail Tkachev believed the castle was built between 1506 and 1510; other dates include the late 15th to early 16th centuries and 1508–1510. Most historians agree that at the very end of the 15th century, there was no castle in Mir. The fact that the castle was built no earlier than the 1520s is indirectly indicated by the construction in 1524 near Volkovysk of the Church of St. Michael, whose architectural details closely resemble the castle's design. Some architectural features of Mir Castle ("crystalline vaults") also testify that the castle was laid no earlier than the 1510s. The official website of Mir Castle states the founding date as the 1520s.

In its original form, the castle was not completed; defensive buildings along the southern and eastern walls, as well as the northwest tower, remained unfinished. Nevertheless, researchers believe that at that time, nowhere in Belarus was there anything comparable to Mir Castle in size and grandeur.

The architecture of the 16th-century Mir Castle had features of Belarusian late Gothic. The castle was built as a square plan with massive towers protruding at the corners, about 25 meters high. All towers were designed as independent defense units. Wall thickness reached 3 meters at a height of about 13 meters. Numerous castle dungeons formed a complex system of auxiliary rooms, which in total area exceeded the above-ground part of the building several times. All castle towers were made alike: a quadrangular base, an octagonal dome tapering upwards.

The square plan of the towers and their placement beyond the outer wall line allowed firing at the enemy not only directly but also along the walls. For that time, this was the most advanced defense system, and only the imperfection of firearms forced the continued use of traditional defense methods with bows, crossbows, stones, resin, and tar.

Construction proceeded in several stages. In the first decade of the 16th century, walls and towers were erected, and a brick one-story residential building was built in the southwestern part of the courtyard. Only some foundation sections remain today, along with traces of masonry bonding between this building's walls and the castle walls, as well as beam socket nests on the southern castle wall.

The castle's decorative design was based on the contrast between red brick and pink plaster. The outer walls were ornamented with pilasters, bosses, niches, belts, and half-columns.

During wall construction, a three-layer masonry was used: the outer part was laid from bricks with inclusions of boulders, while the inner part was made of small stones and brick fragments bound with lime mortar. However, Yuri Ilyinich's foresight prevented the castle from becoming "just a toy" — if necessary, the castle could offer significant resistance to invaders. All four towers were built to allow convenient flanking fire along the walls and to destroy enemies approaching them. Each tower had five combat floors with loopholes and a complex system of internal passages. Two fireplaces from the first construction phase have survived. The first is on the first floor of the gate tower, used to warm the guards on round-the-clock duty. In the same flue was a second fireplace — in the chapel room on the second floor of the gate tower.

During the first construction period, Mir Castle was not completed. The upper floors of the northwest tower, castle walls, and major buildings in the southern and western parts of the courtyard, possibly intended for garrison and servants' housing, remained unfinished. According to old tradition, one tower was allocated for the feudal lord's residence, most likely the southwest one. This is evidenced by the tower's original decor: niches on its facades contain decorative multicolored compositions, so-called "occasion" paintings, possibly created to commemorate the last Ilyinich family member receiving the title of Count of the Holy Roman Empire in 1555.

The castle was built by the population of the Mir estates and peasants from other Yuri Ilyinich holdings. Brick workshops were established in the villages of Propashi and Birbashi. Limestone was brought from the village of Sverzhen. Hundreds of cubic meters of field stone were gathered in one place, where building materials were hewn and sorted by size and color.

Yuri Ilyinich died in 1526, leaving his estates to four sons. His son Shchasny (Felix) outlived his brothers and became the heir. He was married to Sophia Radziwill, daughter of Jan the Bearded, with whom he had a son, also named Yuri. The latter's uncle, Nicholas Radziwill the Black, sent young Ilyinich to Emperor Ferdinand I's court. As a result, on July 10, 1553, Yuri, as owner of the huge stone castle, received the count's title.

Thus, the dream of Yuri Ilyinich the grandfather was fulfilled, although his line died out. Yuri was unmarried and bequeathed all his wealth to Nicholas Christopher Radziwill Sirotka, son of Nicholas Radziwill the Black. After Nicholas the Black's death in 1564, Yuri Ilyinich became guardian of his children. Foreseeing an early death, on August 25, 1568, he adopted Radziwill Sirotka, made a will, and died exactly one year after having a prophetic dream — in 1569. Soon after the last of the Ilyinich line died, Nicholas Radziwill Sirotka was officially recorded as owner of Mir and Belaya. The Novogrudok voivode Grigory Tarasevich transferred these estates to him, and the old Radziwill servant Maciej Kavyachinsky, known in Reformation history as patron of Simon Budny, accepted them on behalf of Nicholas Sirotka. Thus, from 1569 and for three centuries, the castle belonged to the Radziwills.

In the 1580s–1590s, during the third construction phase, a three-story palace was added to the northern and eastern walls, and the towers were adapted for residence. Most likely, Jan Maria Bernardoni supervised the initial construction. The castle walls — northern and eastern — became the palace's outer walls. Some loopholes were bricked up, and large window openings were made on the second and third floors. The wooden ceiling of the first floor was replaced by brick cylindrical vaults, and transverse walls were reinforced by brick facing on both sides. Outbuildings were built outside the castle walls. A castle chapel was built in the gate tower. The southern wall of the unfinished southern wing was crowned with a gallery with loopholes, though poorly suited for defense. A horseshoe-shaped barbican wall was erected before the gate tower. The northwest tower was completed, with upper floors resembling the southeastern tower's completion due to the arched window pediments.

The castle became the administrative center of Mir County and a princely country residence. The palace and tower walls were plastered and painted pink, contrasting with the red brick walls. Window and door openings were made of gray sandstone brought from Galicia. The basement and first floor housed utility rooms and storerooms; the second floor contained the Mir County administration, castle court, and chancellery; the third floor was reserved for the owners.

The interiors of rooms at different levels were correspondingly decorated. The basement floors were paved, walls unplastered, with only primitive fireplaces for heating; woodwork was simple. On the first and second floors, floors were laid with ceramic tiles; later, wooden floors were added on the second floor. Walls were plastered and whitewashed, stoves installed — on the first floor usually with unglazed tiles, on the second with glazed, mostly green tiles. The third floor shone with all colors, dazzling with gilding. Descriptions mention French paintings on walls (on painted friezes), coffered ceilings with carving, painting, and gilding, parquet floors, richly decorated fireplaces and stoves adorned with multicolored glazed tiles (four or more colors per tile) of various shapes depending on location. Doors made of valuable wood species were set in beautifully profiled stone frames. The interior composition was wonderfully complemented by rich furniture, artworks, and other decorative items. The personal chambers of Prince Radziwill Sirotka were upholstered with black Moravian cloth, for which black became the main color symbolizing loyalty to Counter-Reformation ideals and mourning for his beloved wife. The castle had special "treasury" rooms for valuables.

Much attention was paid to carving, especially stone. Oak ceiling beams were covered with intricate carvings or painted to imitate carving. Wall paintings were done in grisaille technique, imitating sculptural relief. The exterior walls were decorated using sgraffito technique.

Each tower has its architectural features: the lower quadrangular part transitions at different heights into an octagon, slightly decreasing in volume. The tower facades alternate plastered decorative niches and ornamental belts of various shapes and sizes, incorporating traditional local stone masonry techniques. The northeast tower's recessed niches are painted with polychrome ornamental compositions. However, Mir Castle's decor is characterized by pagan remnants. On the southern side, a small stone resembling a ram's head stands out. It is believed that under pagan influence, builders embedded a symbolic "ram's head" in the southern wall. It could have been a magical sign and warning to enemies or a reminder of the Lamb of God. According to an ancient legend, as long as this "ram" exists, Mir Castle will stand. Among numerous Christian-origin legends is one about God accepting Abel's sacrifice, who obediently offered his beloved lamb. Another explanation is that such an image in the wall is a "stafiya" or "stikhiya," meaning a ghost, shadow of a living being guarding the house and treasures.

From the Italian Renaissance, the rhythmic placement of doors and windows, equal number of floors, and stairwell spaces were adopted. Yet Gothic elements remained — the old wall system, ribbed vaults, complex transitions through towers and galleries. At the same time, simple forms, light walls, and large palace windows were outside the defensive rampart, while rich decor — balconies, galleries, porches with carved balusters, carved openings, wrought iron doors, lanterns — were inside the courtyard. All these architectural and artistic solutions allow Mir Castle to be considered a relatively rare and most vivid example of Belarusian Renaissance, combining features of late Gothic and Renaissance. Little remains of the palace decoration from Sirotka's time: a few stone window profiles and many stove tile fragments excavated by archaeologists.

In the tower above the gates, on the second floor, was the chapel of St. Christopher, and on the third floor, a clock was installed. From the chapel, there was an exit directly to the princely chambers to the north and to the combat galleries to the south. A new combat gallery was built on the unfinished southern wall, and the old western one was remodeled. The entire building effectively turned into a palace.

Since the old walls ceased to be an insurmountable barrier to more advanced artillery, the main defensive function was taken over by earthen ramparts with bastions at the corners of the so-called Dutch type, cut by water-filled moats. The rampart's height reached 9 meters, with defensive bastions at its corners. The effectiveness of the earthworks was enhanced by an artificially created water system. The rampart was bordered by a moat filled with water from the Castle Moat and the Miranka River, allowing the creation of a cascade of ponds with watermills on dams. The presence of water enriched the landscape with an artistic composition featuring the castle's expressive reflection in the water.

Near the castle, in the early 17th century, a South Italian Renaissance-style garden was laid out. The garden was small — about 2 hectares. Initially, trees were mostly local species (apple, pear, cherry), later growing oranges, citrons, figs, myrtle, cypress, boxwood, Italian walnut, redwood, and laurel. The Italian garden was separated from the surroundings by a strip of lindens and canals, and a carpet of flowers faced the palace windows. Through a chain of ponds reflecting the castle, one could reach the manor farm.

The manor farm was established east of the castle with numerous outbuildings and servants' quarters, and three kilometers from Mir, a menagerie was arranged. Today, an oak remains where, according to legend, the menagerie's center was located, from which radial clearings extended for circular shooting; around were enclosures for animals. The manor farm allowed autonomous provision of the castle with supplies, effectively turning the residence into a self-sufficient economic unit. After reconstruction, the castle became one of the most expressive examples of private castle architecture in Belarus.

Documents preserve the name of the master who supervised construction. By order of Radziwill Sirotka, in 1575, master Martin Zabarovsky was given a house to live in Mir, where the Church of St. Nicholas was then being built, sharing architectural features with Mir Castle.

Peaceful life at the castle was interrupted by the Russo-Polish War of 1654–1667. In 1655, Mir Castle was first devastated by the troops of Zolotarenko and the forces of voivode Trubetskoy. That same year, Boguslav Radziwill brought a Swedish detachment to Mir to capture the city owner Mikhail Kazimir Radziwill, who had not joined the pro-Swedish coalition. The Swedes stormed the castle and city, burned the manor farm, destroyed mills, drained ponds, and damaged the castle.

Due to the country's turmoil and looting, the castle also suffered from its own soldiers. In 1660, Radziwill emissaries compiled a "register of damage caused in Mir County by people on behalf of Turkey." The damage was evidently significant, as the legal process lasted over a century, ending only in 1789.

The castle inventory dated August 14, 1660, notes that "the castle requires care, it leaks everywhere, windows, doors, benches are rare, in all upper and middle rooms, as well as in basements, there are no doors or windows…", and the princely manor farm and "Italian garden" were burned.

The first recorded repairs began in the early 1680s under Katarzyna Radziwill of the Sobieski family after her husband Mikhail Kazimir Radziwill's death. Most work occurred between 1681 and 1688, and the 1688 inventory describes the repaired castle. Nearly all windows and doors of the palace were restored, towers roofed, rooms brought to proper condition, and the manor farm rebuilt.

In summer 1686, Mir's clockmaker Yutsevich started the pendulum of the repaired castle clocks, which were later destroyed during the Northern War; only "a large wheel and a smaller one on it and a spring with a round plate" remain.

After restoration, Mir Castle retained its original stylistic features of Gothic and Renaissance, while damaged structural parts were simplified or not restored during repairs.

According to the 1688 inventory, the bailey surrounded by ramparts housed various outbuildings ("stable with carriage house and coach house, all covered with shingles") and a "small vegetable garden." Near the gates stood a guardhouse with a stove "made of white tiles, rising upward, three benches and a window." The castle contained a princely stable with prepared hay and oats, a brewery, a bathhouse, and utility cellars. A high porch "with stairs and painted railings" opened the way to numerous palace rooms and halls. Sunlight entered through colored glass windows set in tin and wooden frames of exquisite workmanship, illuminating parquet floors, tall stoves made of multicolored tiles, copper candlesticks, fine Courland carpets ("tapestries"), and expensive weapons on the walls.

The inventory describes the "His Grace the Prince's" room, noting that it had "oak doors with a new lock and galvanized hinges. It has two windows with French glass in tin frames, each window with eighteen panes, curtains, bolts, and latches galvanized… There is a new glazed stove made of multicolored tiles with eagles, a stone open fireplace, a round linden table, two stools, one low bench, two painted shelves, new ceilings and a recently wood-paneled ceiling."

Thus, the 1688 inventory shows Mir Castle in the 17th–18th centuries as a luxurious palace-park complex, combining features of a military fortification and the splendor and grandeur of a palace. Nevertheless, economic devastation prevented the castle from regaining its former luxury. The war showed that bastion fortifications were of little use and were thus disregarded. The defensive tower in the middle of the southern wall was used as a hay storage. The carved stone lintel on the palace was not restored and replaced with a simple brick one, then plastered.

The Northern War halted restoration efforts for many years. In April 1706, Charles XII's army captured and plundered the town of Mir, and on April 27, after artillery bombardment, stormed and burned the castle. The castle's losses were greater than in the previous war. The 1719 inventory describes the destruction: devastated courtyard buildings, soot-blackened walls, absence of doors and windows, partially destroyed roofs on towers: "all chambers are ruined and empty, none have doors or iron, nor a single window… All offices are covered with shingles or tiles…".

Archival documents from 1706–1720 show no major restoration of Mir Castle. Minor works were done: by 1719, window frames were replaced with simple plaster, some windows were bricked up or boarded, roofs of the palace and towers were partially covered with shingles and tiles, and interiors (mainly courtyard buildings) remained devastated. Only in 1720, after the death of Karol Stanisław Radziwill's husband, Anna Katarzyna Radziwill began active restoration, with funds allocated for window repairs and building materials. By 1722, the new manor farm near the castle, a mill, and stable were fully rebuilt; new windows and doors were installed in the complex; roofs of the palace and towers were partially restored, and a wooden gate was installed in the main tower. Restoration involved significant interior remodeling, leading to stylistic changes. Baroque elements were introduced, mainly in interiors. For example, window openings were altered to fit baroque compositions, sometimes moved. Seventeen portraits were listed among various items for the first time.

The castle's former splendor was restored by its new owner, Prince Mikhail Kazimir Radziwill Rybonka. Instead of uniform rooms, an enfilade of halls of various sizes appeared, with internal partitions altered and staircases redirected. The castle gained a Parade Hall, Portrait Hall, and Dance Hall, decorated with oak parquet floors, gilded painted and carved ceilings, luxurious furniture by local craftsmen, tapestries, paintings, porcelain, and faience, partly produced at Radziwill manufactories. All rooms had stoves and fireplaces, stucco ceilings with gilding, parquet floors in small and large squares, paneled doors with internal French locks. The palace had sixteen fireplaces and seventeen stoves of various shapes. By 1738, restoration was complete; fire damage from September 1738 was quickly repaired.

Restoration also covered the adjacent garden, which had about 400 rare trees grown in barrels in a log-built greenhouse and displayed outdoors in summer. Today, only fragments of baroque decorative plaster on window slopes remain in Mir Castle.

Generally, housing function was served by a wooden manor house on the manor farm grounds, frequently mentioned in inventories. This matched the lifestyle of the time, when huge stone castles were unsuitable for daily living and mainly used for grand events, while family time was spent in a small cozy wooden palace.

The next owner, Rybonka's son Prince Karol Stanisław Radziwill "Pane Kohanku," after marrying in 1753, was estranged from his father and lived in Mir Castle from 1754 to 1762, hosting lavish balls and hunting parties. A description of New Year's celebrations in 1761 survives, lasting from December 23 to January 4.

Pane Kohanku's excesses angered the nobility; soon the prince was exiled, and his numerous estates were leased to creditors to recover debts. Rampant plundering of wealthy estates began. Mir County was held for nearly 15 years by a certain Grabovsky, who greatly enriched himself.

Details of former interiors are given in the 1778 inventory, compiled after Karol Radziwill's return from exile: "The parade hall had two oak doors, a round stove made of white tiles, a French fireplace with gilded stucco above, a brick stove, and on one side gilded tiles, oak parquet laid in large square patterns. The portrait hall with six unglazed windows had small oak parquet, a stove made of coffee-colored tiles with gilding, and a collapsed ceiling decorated with gilded stucco…"

Gypsies settled in Mir: in 1778, the prince introduced the title of Gypsy King and by his charter confirmed townsman Jan Martinkevich as king of the gypsies. The gypsy leader in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was granted rights to manage all gypsy affairs and jurisdiction over gypsies. Thus, Mir was unofficially declared the gypsy capital.

After Pane Kohanku's death in 1790, all his hereditary estates passed to his nephew, Prince Dominik Jerzy.

In April 1792, Russian Empire troops entered Belarus, and in June near Mir defeated the Grand Duchy of Lithuania forces led by Yuditsky. During the Kościuszko Uprising, Tadeusz Kościuszko's troops defended Mir Castle against the Tsarist army. After siege and artillery bombardment, the castle was stormed. The castle declined, as detailed in inventories of that time. The 1778 and 1794 inventories differ only in noting the number of broken window panes and doors: "The portrait hall, with six windows without glass, is completely devastated, the ceiling with French stucco has entirely collapsed." The Italian garden's orangery description matches the overall state: "The roof is partially repaired with straw, the rest covered with shingles, very old, supported only by props; the garden wall has twenty-six windows with completely broken glass."

The last known castle inventory from 1805 states about the palace's third floor: "Two halls, fourteen chambers, eight large, four smaller, and two completely collapsed — only walls remain. Ceilings in halls and twelve chambers are plaster, mostly fallen. Floors in six chambers are wooden, others have no floors at all."

Dominik Radziwill, who sided with Napoleon during the Patriotic War of 1812, died in France in 1813. Fierce battles took place near the castle from July 9 to 14, 1812, between the rear guard of Bagration's 2nd Russian army — cavalry under General Platov — and Marshal Davout's French cavalry. Bagration ordered Platov to delay the French as long as possible to give the main forces rest in Nesvizh. Platov's Cossacks, aided by cavalry, delayed the French vanguard led by Emperor Jerome Bonaparte's brother. The "Platov Cossacks' action near Mir" was the first serious clash in the 1812 war; Bagration's troops rested two days near Nesvizh and then proceeded to Slutsk.

Mir Castle is briefly mentioned in the diary of Polish General Kalachkovsky, who marched with French troops after Bagration: "The castle near Mir, ruins of which still remain."

On November 11, 1812, a battle occurred near the castle walls between Admiral Chichagov's troops and a scattered group of French soldiers and officers; Chichagov's forces burned Mir Castle, blew up the powder magazine in the northeast tower; the palace was looted and burned, and external bastion fortifications damaged.

There is a widespread belief that Mir and Nesvizh castles are connected by a tunnel over 30 km long, through which a carriage drawn by three horses could freely pass. When Russian troops captured Nesvizh in 1812, loyal Radziwill servants supposedly hid Nesvizh treasures in the underground tunnel and blew up the entrance. These treasures have never been found, and among them are believed to be golden figures of the twelve apostles. However, research and even helicopter surveys of the supposed tunnel line have yielded no positive results.

After Dominik Radziwill's death, his estates were divided by imperial decree on March 17, 1814. One part, including Mir and Nesvizh, went to the son of Dominik's former guardian, Antoni Radziwill; the other to Dominik's daughter, Stefania, who in 1828 married Tsarist adjutant Lev Petrovich Wittgenstein, son of a Patriotic War hero, to whom the castle rights passed after Stefania's death in 1832.

Meanwhile, the castle's condition worsened. When in 1827 the Tsarist government began collecting information about antiquities in the western provinces, the Nesvizh administration sent a brief reply: "Mir Castle is now completely ruined and abandoned, uninhabited, belonging to Antoni Radziwill." The first castle survey was also made then, but it has not survived. The 1830 Radziwill estate inventory records the castle's sad state. On the 1830 Mir County map, the castle's decline is evident: roads bypass the building, and no paths lead to the castle gate.

Legal disputes between the Wittgensteins and Antoni Radziwill ended only in 1846, when Mir estates were transferred by special commission decision to Lev Wittgenstein. According to his 1853 will, the castle was to first pass to Peter Wittgenstein, who was to immediately transfer it to his sister Maria, recorded in a marriage contract with Prince Khlodwig Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst, who later served as Chancellor of the German Empire from 1894 to 1900.

The castle itself was in severe decline. As noted in the "Geographical Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland and Other Slavic Countries," in 1885 "the only resident of the castle was a watchman living in a somewhat habitable tower."

By mid-century, the castle faced the threat of complete destruction. In 1860, the newspaper "Vilnius Courier" published a letter from poet Vladislav Syrokomlya reporting plans to demolish the monument. But disaster was averted; soon the same newspaper published a letter from Matej Jamont, general administrator of Wittgenstein's estates, assuring that the castle walls had not and would not be touched by pickaxes.

In 1870, temporary roofs were installed on four towers, except the blown-up northeast one, considered the first example of architectural monument conservation in Belarus. However, archival documents, photographs from the 1920s–1930s, and numerous researcher testimonies from 1915–1938 show significant architectural and artistic losses suffered by the castle during the 19th century.

The new castle owners, German princes Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst, leased its territory. One tenant, Antoni Putyata, planted luxurious gardens with walking alleys and paths near the castle, but his "flower" dreams failed: after spending all his savings, Putyata left Mir.

According to the 1887 Russian law, foreigners could not own land in the Russian Empire. Therefore, Lev Wittgenstein's daughter Maria Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst was forced to sell her vast land holdings of a million desyatinas.

The first printed images of Mir Castle date to mid-century. In Sabeshchansky's book, published in Warsaw in Polish in 1849, alongside a drawing of the castle appeared its first architectural monument description by Warsaw architect Bolesław Podczaszyński. Podczaszyński was the first to note different styles in the castle's architecture and studied Mir Castle so well that his architectural essay was used by all major publications until the early 20th century. His father, the famous architecture professor at Vilnius University Karol Podczaszyński, after the university's closure by Tsarist authorities, worked as an estate manager near Nesvizh.

Four years later, Vladislav Syrokomlya dedicated several pages to Mir Castle in his book "Travels through My Former Neighborhoods," which also included a romantic drawing of the castle by the poet's friend, artist Kanuty Rusetsky.

In the late 1860s, Mir Castle was depicted by the well-known graphic artist and landscape and architectural monument painter Napoleon Orda. The castle was drawn fitting the romantic elegies of the era: atop a hill, against a dark sky, the jagged outline of a semi-ruined castle, below an idyllic scene with a bridge, wooden fences, a wattle-and-daub house with a thatched roof, a lively horse, weary travelers on the bridge, and a lady with a child strolling under a spreading tree. Behind the castle, a fruit garden is visible. Orda's drawing is one of the best mood pieces in the artist's rich legacy. It is unsurprising that some Mir Castle researchers took the drawing literally and tried to restore tower battlements and multi-tiered wall loopholes that the castle never had.

Sales of Wittgenstein property caused unprecedented excitement among Russian aristocracy. In 1891, these lands were purchased by the appointed Cossack Ataman of the Don Host, Prince Nikolai Ivanovich Svyatopolk-Mirsky, for a significant sum of 414,000 silver rubles; to pay, he mortgaged almost all his real estate in Novgorod and Podolia provinces. Perhaps the prince was attracted by the name's similarity to his surname: although the Svyatopolk-Mirsky family were nobles of Minsk province, they had no relation to the castle; nevertheless, Mir was planned as the family's ancestral seat.

The new owner did not restore the monument: he built a new palace east of the castle for residence, which burned down in 1917. The palace was built in neoclassical style: a two-story stone manor house with an outbuilding, nearby agricultural buildings, and an English-style landscape park between the new palace and the castle. In 1898, a new pond was dug on the site of overgrown water bodies, destroying bastion fortifications on that side. The apple orchard growing there was ruthlessly cut down during flowering. A family chapel-tomb of the Svyatopolk-Mirsky family was built in the park. Nikolai Ivanovich Svyatopolk-Mirsky died at his Zamirye estate on the night of July 14–15, 1898, aged 65. The estates passed first to his wife, Princess Cleopatra Mikhailovna, then to their son Mikhail.

The next owner, Mikhail Nikolaevich Svyatopolk-Mirsky, who had served in the Russian embassy in London, decided to restore not the new palace burned in 1917 but the old castle. Restoration began in 1922 and lasted 16 years. During floor openings and restoration, two skeletons were found, later reburied by the owner's order in the Orthodox cemetery. Legend says that at New Year's midnight, one can hear clashing swords and then a prolonged moan there.

Between 1922 and 1929, the southwest tower and eastern palace walls were fully restored. After the economic depression, from 1934 to 1939, five spans of the eastern palace wing and two towers — southeast and part of northwest — were restored.

Of all halls designed by Warsaw architect Teodor Bursche, only the Ivory Hall was completed. Water and electricity were installed, sewage and telephone worked. Implementation of the original plans was far from literal. For example, wall breaches in the eastern wall were filled with a spiral staircase with a balcony, called "Stefan's staircase," proposed by student architect Stefan Pysevich. A small balcony was built on the southern outer castle wall, becoming the prince's favorite resting place. Surviving fragments and ruins were first regarded as cultural value.

Prince Mikhail had no family or heirs; in 1937, he adopted nephew Alexander Dmitrievich, who inherited the castle in 1938. Alexander, holding a Romanian passport, married a Polish woman, 22-year-old Countess Katarzyna Bnin-Bninska, in 1938 to obtain Polish citizenship. After the Red Army occupied Western Belarus in September 1939, they were arrested but avoided deportation thanks to diplomatic connections.

In 1939, a production cooperative was housed in the castle walls.

After Mir's liberation in July 1944, local fire victims took refuge in habitable rooms; the last family left the castle in 1962. In the 1960s, the castle was neglected; only some rooms were used as warehouses.

In the 1950s, architect A.Ya. Mityatin worked on the castle. In 1968, Special Scientific Restoration Workshops were created, with Mir Castle as one of the first objects. The monument was studied for restoration, and in 1971, temporary wall conservation was done.

In October 1978, the Council of Ministers of the Belarusian SSR issued a decree on restoring Mir Castle and building an art vocational school in Mir. A comprehensive group was formed to study the architectural-historical ensemble and address preservation issues. The group's work culminated in a restoration and use project in 1981, approved by UNESCO expertise in 1991. In 1992, the first museum exhibitions opened on six floors of the southwest tower. Restoration and final conversion into a museum were completed on December 16, 2010. Currently, the "Castle Complex 'Mir' Museum" has 36 exhibitions in 42 halls, some with recreated 17th–18th-century interiors. The permanent exhibition in the northern wing features one of the world's largest architectural sondages, displaying all styles, periods, and epochs on one wall.

Mir Castle has a rich cinematic history. Its first film appearance was in 1928 in the silent film "Pan Tadeusz." The full cinematic history includes: war drama "Through the Cemetery"; war drama "Eastern Corridor"; war film "The Five Brave"; fairy tale film "Fear of Misfortune is No Happiness"; film "Three Merry Shifts"; war drama "Pani Maria"; film "Szlachcic Zawalnia, or Belarus in Fantastic Tales"; series "Yermolovs"; war drama "Sniper. Weapon of Retribution"; film "1812: Uhlan Ballad"; and in 2016, the mini-series "Love Out of Competition."

Sources:

https://zviazda.by/ru/news/20210112/1610443813-pravda-li-po-mirskomu-zamku-brodit-prizrak-malenkoy-knyazhny-sonechki

https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Мирский_замок

http://unesco.ru/news/mir-castle/