Dvorets Puslovskih in Kossovo
Until a few centuries ago, there were dancing at a ball organized musical evenings , kept a huge library , enjoying the beauty of the exotic plants in the artfully designed park . It would seem that only a legend can be a mighty castle , called "Knight of dreams"
Brest Region is famous for multiple historic monuments and big names once inhabiting these lands. Puslowski palace in Kossovo is a major gem thereof.
A borough under rather uncommon for Belarus name Kossovo has been known since the 15th century. Initially it was Chreptowicz family domain, but not once sold and transferred in the following. Chartoryski and Sapieha families, nobles of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, were among manor's owners throughout its history.
The 19th century brought another life for Kossovo. Count Wojciech Puslowski took the manor over in 1821. He established a carpet factory in the borough, built and restored about sixty temples nearby. Wojciech's son Wandalin Puslowski, a patron and sponsor of the arts, founded a new palace in Kossovo. Famous Polish arhitect Franciszek Jaszczold and Puslowskis themselves designed the estate and supervised construction.
The Palace
The palace was an equal to major Western European architectural masterpieces owned by royal families. A spectator could easily admit its close similarity to the Hohenzollern Castle in Kamieniec Zabkowicki. The facade 120-meter long between two side wings was particularly fascinating, but the most peculiar feature were twelve towers, one per each month of a year.
Higher central towers stood for harvesting months - May, June, July and August - and resembled a medieval castle with its merlons. Like any Gothic structure rising up to the sky, the towers looked impressively grand. It was particularly important to locate the palace correctly against the sun. They believed that every of - just imagine! - 132 rooms were sunlit within two days and a half.
Most distinguished personalities of their age visited the Puslowskis in their residence, namely: artist and composer Napoleon Orda, authors Henryk Sienkiewicz and Eliza Orzeszko, politician Jozef Pilsudski, historian and ethnographer Waclaw Lastowski...
In their notes they described luxurious halls of the palace, each one specifically dedicated to certain type of activity. Thus, musical parties were arranged in the Pink Chamber, balls were given in the White Chamber, gentlemen played cards in the Black Chamber. The Ceremonial Chamber was the most peculiar one - rumor had it, though unproven, that there was a glass floor with fish swimming in algae underneath.
A prototype of central leating system was another engineering advance: uninterruptedly heated huge water tanks in the basement supplied hot water through a pipeline to warm the upper floors.
A menagerie on the first floor of the palace comprised rare animal species. Puslowski palace was famous for its art collection and a library of ten thousand volumes.
A nymphaeum in the central part of the building was a special pride of the family members. There were evidence of musical stairs and walls "signing" while the masters were going downstairs.
A fairytale image and splendour brought to the palace the fame of a "knight's dream". It was legendary. It is hardly known today what was fiction, and what was the truth. They said, a lion patrolling palace passages at night guardedmasters' sleep. Further, Countess Puslowski was rumoured to be fond of driving in a sleigh, and Count Puslowski was alleged to arrange rides even in summer in order to please her. Then park terraces were covered with white cloth abundantly sprinkled with salt - quite expensive matter at that time.
A legend circulating since the age of Puslowskis tells about an underground passage 25 kilometres long leading to Sapieha palace in Pruzhany and allowing two carriages pass each other.
Tne Park
A park surrounding the residence embraced the area of 40 ha. Wladyslaw Marconi, Italian graduate from Petersburg University, designed it following Italian gardens of the Age of Renaissance with a system of refined terraces featuring fountains. Wide-crown trees like oaks and larches formed alleys.
The park was decorated with sculptures to fancy visitor's eyes. The Puslowskis brought over 150 rare plant species from abroad to inhabit their manor and accommodated most precious ones in a greenhouse. The park went down to three artificial lakes separated with a dam and surrounded with weeping willows on their banks. The Isle of Love was a special landmark inhabited with all trees in pairs and swans as a symbol of fidelity. This kingdom of love could be accessed over a bridge.
As a rule, a garden of the Age of Renaissance adjoined forests. Thus, accurate internal geometry gradually transformed into virgin beauty of local lands that were going beyond the horizon as dark woodland. Manor territory was partly fenced with a wall three metres high featuring an entrance gate.
Losses
Unfortunately, the estate had to go through dark days, as well. It all started with gambling out by Leonard Puslowski, a grandson of the palace founder, to some merchant from Petersburg. Later it changed many other hands. The manor was plundered during World War I. In 1921 it became the residence of district administration and a beekeeper school. A disastrous fire during World War 2 completed destruction of palace interior, only massive brick walls survived. The gorgeous park faced the same sad fate.
Restoration works have been started in the year 2008 to turn Kossovo palace into a landmark of culture and tourism. It is already taken into account by current excursions over Belarus. It is intended to revive the largest terraced park in Belarus as magnificent as it once was.