Nyasvizh

Nyasvizh or Nesvizh (Niasviž, njaˈsjvjiʐ; Несвиж; Nesvyžius; Nieśwież; ניעסוויז; Nesvisium) is a city in Minsk Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative centre of Nyasvizh District. Nyasvizh is the site of Nesvizh Castle, a World Heritage Site. As of 2009, its population was 14,300. Nesvizh was first documented in 1223. It was part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania until 1793, but the Grand Duchy was part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth since 1569. In the 15th century, while still a minor town, it belonged to the Kiszka family and later to the Radziwiłł family, and remained the family's seat until 1813. In 1561 or 1562 Maciej Kawęczyński founded the print works of the Polish Brethren. The first Belarusian language book printed in Latin script, a catechism by Symon Budny, was published in Nesvizh in 1562. The Nieśwież Bible (Biblia nieświeska), one of the oldest Polish translations of the Bible, also by Budny, was completed there in 1571 and published in 1572. Nesvizh Castle was erected in 1583, and between 1584 and 1598 the Benedictines and Jesuit religious orders founded monasteries and a college. At the request of Mikołaj "the Orphan" Radziwiłł Nieśwież was granted Magdeburg town rights by King Stephen Báthory in 1586. Two epidemics affected the city early in the 17th century which led to the establishment of a pharmacy in 1627. During the Great Northern War of 1700–21, the city was significantly damaged by Swedish troops. It was rebuilt in the 1720s by Michał "Rybeńko" Radziwiłł. In the aftermath of the war, in 1740s and 1750s he founded a Pas slucki factory which was later moved to Sluck. He introduced a military school, several textile factories and restored the Corpus Christi Church and opened a print works. Michał's wife, Franciszka Urszula Radziwiłłowa, founded the Nieśwież Radziwiłł Theatre, including a choir and a ballet school. Between 1764 and 1768 the city was occupied by Russian troops, and in 1772, at the First Partition of Lithuania-Poland, the library, which comprised circa 10,000 volumes, along with paintings and other art objects, was seized and transferred to St.