The monument of architecture in Zheludok would be reconstructed by the Russians

By Victor Andreev

Hardly more than 100 years ago, the Światopełk-Czetwertyński dukes constructed a palace in Zheludok, in present-day Shchuchin District

However, during the last few years the building has been empty. Many windows are broken and interiors are damaged. Now the former noble family’s residence has a new owner. It is the Gavrilov family from Moscow. The Russians have promised to return the monument of architecture to its former shine of modernist style. The Moscow residents paid almost one billion roubles for the building and a similar amount will be needed to invest in its restoration. In the future, it will be a tourist complex. The Gavrilov family have experience in such a business — in Riga they have their own hotel, in Moscow, a firm. They guarantee that in Zheludok, they will not only restore the ancient estate, but also will improve the adjoining park.

Gennady Tsivinsky, the Chairman of the Zheludok Rural Executive Committee, does not doubt the reliability of the buyers, and the settlement is already a magnet for tourists — the festival of flowers was held here for the seventh time. During recent years, the palace was often visited by film-makers: they shot films and clips. Since 1992, Izabella Czetwertyńska has come more than once to Zheludok, she lived in the palace till September of 1939. The new owners are already thinking of contacting nobles, who have owned a palace, in order to help to restore the authentic shape of the interiors and to fill them with original things.