Rumyantsev-Paskevich Palace

The Rumyantsev-Paskevich Palace is an architectural monument of the XVIII — XIX centuries and the main attraction in Gomel. At various times, the palace belonged to two famous statesmen of the Russian Empire: Pyotr Rumyantsev and Ivan Paskevich-Erivansky. The construction of the palace began in 1785. In a big travel guide to Gomel, we wrote that on the territory of the palace park there is a tomb of some Paskeviches Princes, a Winter garden in the old sugar factory building, a ferris tower and a swan pond.

It is worth visiting the Rumyantsev-Paskevich Palace in order to get acquainted with the life of confidants close to the court of the Russian Empire. Today there is a museum here: you can visit the interior halls and several expositions telling the history of Gomel and the palace.

History of Rumyantsev-Paskevich Palace in Gomel

The history of the palace began a little earlier before Count Pyotr Rumyantsev has got these lands. In its place there used to be a wooden castle, which was built by the last Gomel elder Mikhail Frederik Chartorysky. The Czartoryski family is a Lithuanian-Belarusian princely family listed in the book of the most notable noble families of tsarist Russia. After the partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, these lands became possessions of the Russian Empire. Then on July 10, 1775 Catherine the Great presented them to Count Peter Rumyantsev. The count also received money from the treasury for the palace construction.

It is not known for certain who the author of the project was. One of the theories calls Ivan Starov the architect of the Trinity Cathedral of the Saint Alexander Nevsky Lavra in Saint-Petersburg. Construction work lasted from 1785 to 1794.

After the death of Pyotr Rumyantsev, his son, the famous diplomat and philanthropist Nikolay Rumyantsev inherited the palace. Nikolay rebuild the palace, inviting architect John Clark from England. Nikolay also kept a collection of books in the palace, which after his death became the basis for the Russian State Library in Moscow. In 1826, Nikolay Rumyantsev died, and the palace passed to his brother's second son, Sergey Rumyantsev. In 1834, he sold the palace to the treasury.

In the same year, the palace was bought by the Russian commander Ivan Paskevich. He carried out the reconstruction of the palace and laid out a park. The last owners of the estate were his son Fyodor Paskevich and his wife Irina. During the revolution, the palace was confiscated by the state. In 1919, the Gomel Regional Museum of Local Lore was created based on palace's collection.

During the Great Patriotic War, the palace was badly damaged. But after the end of the war it was restored. A museum was opened here, which is still working today. In 1995, the palace underwent global restoration process. Then it was possible to recreate the original interiors of XVIII—XIX centuries halls.

Location of palace

The Rumyantsev-Paskevich Palace is located on the territory of the Gomel Palace and Park Complex. It is situated on the right bank of the Sozh River.

Address: Lenin Square 4, Gomel

The park is open for visitors every day from 6AM to 11PM.

Distance from Minsk to Rumyantsev-Paskevich Palace

From Minsk to the Rumyantsev-Paskevich Palace, you can reach by car in about 3 hours and 40 minutes. The minimum distance on the E271 and M5 highways is 314 km.

Distance from Vitebsk to Rumyantsev-Paskevich Palace

The trip from Vitebsk to the Rumyantsev-Paskevich Palace by car will take 4 hours and 30 minutes. The closest route will be the M8 and E95 highways, the distance is 331 km.

Distance from Brest to Rumyantsev-Paskevich Palace

It will take 7 hours and 20 minutes by car from Brest to Gomel and the Rumyantsev-Paskevich Palace. You will have to drive 528 km on the M10 highway.

Distance from Grodno to Rumyantsev-Paskevich Palace

From Grodno to the Gomel Palace, you can reach in about 7 hours. The distance will be 594 km on the M6, E271 and M5 highways.

Distance from Mogilev to Rumyantsev-Paskevich Palace

From Mogilev to the Rumyantsev-Paskevich Palace you can get by car in about 3 hours. The route on the M8 and E95 highways will take 176 km.

Rumyantsev-Paskevich Palace's halls

When the Rumyantsevs and the Paskeviches lived in the palace, the first floor was considered the central and main part. There were several dress-up rooms for ceremonial events. Now all the halls of the first floor have been reconstructed with the original interior decor recreated.

The largest room in the central part of the palace is the Pillared Hall. It is two-storeyed, the most numerous receptions were held here. On the first floor of the hall there are sixteen white Corinthian columns with arches. The second floor is fenced with balconies and marble balustrades. A veranda adjoins the hall.

The second largest room of the main building of the palace is the Golden Dining Room of the Paskeviches Princes. Gold and silver dishes were displayed on its walls, hence the name of the living room. Now there are portraits of significant personalities of Gomel hanging here. Meetings at the level of Heads of Governments and States are still held in this living room.

White Reception Room

The White Reception Room is the third largest hall with an area of about 120 square meters. It had no special purpose: guests were also accepted here and events were held. The interior of the White Reception Room has not been preserved, so a chamber hall was arranged here. Nowadays, musical events are held here.

Red Reception Room

The Red Reception Room was less formal. It was a portrait room, where an organ and a piano were also set in 1870. So a kind of music salon was arranged here. The Red Reception Room was one of the favorite rooms of Princess Irina Paskevich, the last mistress of the palace.

It is one of the most beautiful halls. There are authentic objects of the owners of the estate, as well as copies of portraits of royal persons drawn by Gomel artists.

Rumyantsev-Paskevich Palace's Tower

In 1834, Ivan Paskevich became the owner of the palace. He carried out a large-scale reconstruction. The main project was a four-tiered tower in the medieval style with a height of 32 m. Here were situated the chambers of Count Paskevich, as well as his large collection of paintings, decorative and applied art, gifts from Russian emperors and awards.

Now the tower houses a museum exposition with authentic exhibits revealing the history of Gomel, the palace and the park, as well as its owners.

Owners of Rumyantsev-Paskevich Palace

Main owners of the palace were Pyotr Rumyantsev and Ivan Paskevich, as well as their children, from 1775 to 1919.

Count Pyotr Rumyantsev was a field marshal general. He was the acting commander-in-chief of the army during the Russian-Turkish War and won two battles that led to the conclusion of a peace beneficial to Russia. Count Rumyantsev was also one of the largest landowners in the Russian Empire. His wealth allowed him to constantly decorate numerous estates, among which there was also the Gomel complex. He received land and money for the construction of the palace as a gift for service and citizenship from Catherine the Great in 1775.

In 1834, Ivan Paskevich bought the palace. He owned the estate until 1851. Count Ivan Paskevich was a field marshal general. According to his main biographer, shortly after the accession of Nikolay I, "Prince of Warsaw, in terms of his importance in the state, among Russian subjects had no equal." Ivan Paskevich participated in the Russo-Turkish War, the Patriotic War of 1812, the Russo-Persian War, several campaigns and suppressions of uprisings. In all the key battles of these campaigns, he won victories.

Count Ivan Paskevich was also a diplomat. He held several government posts, including becoming governor of the Kingdom of Poland from 1832 to 1856.

The last owner of the palace was Princess Irina Paskevich, the wife of Fyodor Paskevich, the son of Ivan Paskevich. After the October Revolution, in 1919 the palace was nationalized along with all the property. It became national property and belonged to the USSR. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the palace became the property of the Republic of Belarus.

Palace in the Rumyantsevs period

The first owner of the estate, Pyotr Rumyantsev, built the palace itself. The main redevelopment of the park was also carried out. The two-storey palace became one of the early examples of Russian Palladianism. The exterior decor of the palace was entirely made in the style of early classicism.

On the ground floor, there were exclusively ceremonial rooms, on the second — living rooms, and the basement was used for household needs and accommodation of servants.

Pyotr Rumyantsev did not live in the estate for long, as he died a year after the construction was completed. His son Nikolay lived in the palace from 1965 until his death in 1826. Nikolay rebuilt the palace: connected the service wings with the main building using galleries.

Palace in the Paskeviches period

In 1845, Ivan Paskevich also began large-scale works in the park. He started planting trees and built a lake. In 5 years, the park has grown to 25 hectares. Today it is a botanical garden.

The palace has also changed a lot: the third floor was added to the northern wing, the internal layout was changed, and a tower was built on the site of the southern wing. The facades of the building were greatly changed, statues were added.

In addition, under Ivan Paskevich, other buildings appeared in the park: a sugar factory, in which a winter garden is arranged today, and a ferris tower. A tomb was also built, where the graves of eight representatives of the Paskeviches family, including Ivan Paskevich, are located.

After the death of Ivan Paskevich, his son, Fyodor, moved to the palace. There he spent most of his time doing housework. In 1880, his wife Irina Paskevich joined him. She lived in the estate until 1919.

Rumyantsev-Paskevich Palace in 2022

Opening hours: Tue-Sun from 11AM to 7PM.

Tickets: from BYN7.

Nowadays, the Rumyantsev-Paskevich Palace and its park are a museum complex. Also in its halls, ceremonial receptions of the heads of states, negotiations, meetings and conferences are held. Art exhibitions and classical music concerts are often held here.

The museum has several expositions, including archaeological and ethnographic items, a numismatic collection, collections of ancient books and icons. Personal belongings of the owners, weapons, records, paintings, sculptures are also kept here. You can take guided tours in the palace and in the park with other buildings.

Rumyantsevs-Paskevich Palace in Belarussian symbols

The Rumyantsevs-Paskevich Palace is depicted on a bill of 20 Belarusian rubles issued in 2009. Its image was also placed on old banknotes: 20 thousand Belarusian rubles issued in 2000 and 1000 Belarusian rubles in 2012.

Rumyantsev-Paskevich Palace guided tours

The Rumyantsev-Paskevich Palace is the main attraction of Gomel. It is included in all sightseeing routes in the Gomel region.

The museum itself also offers eight excursion programs.

The central part of the Palace. Visiting all the halls of the first floor.
The exposition "The Owners of the estate" with paintings, sculptures, personal belongings of the owners of the estate, documents about the history of the city and the palace.
A park tour will tell you about the architectural structures on its territory, as well as introduce you to rare plants of the botanical garden.
An archaeological tour in the park will introduce you the daily life of the inhabitants of ancient Gomel.
Excursion to the tomb of the Paskeviches.
The excursion "The World of Nature" is an exhibition of stuffed animals and birds of Gomel, as well as a collection of corals, rare shells.
A Winter Garden tour will tell you about subtropical plants and animals.
There is also an archaeological collection of more than 95,000 exhibits dating from the late Paleolithic to the XIX century.

Duration of each guided tour is 45 minutes. The relevant price list is here.

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