Please Check The UNESCO World Heritage Committee names 690 buildings of ''exceptional world value '' in 122 countries, one of which is the Mir Castle Complex. Mir is a small town in the Grodno region. The town is famous for an outstanding work of stone architecture - its ancient castle. Approaching Mir, you can notice the castle at a distance. Its great towers, tall walls and a palace of three storeys keep mysterious traces of the past and look majestic now after the reconstruction. According to a legend, Mir Castle was built by some mysterious giants in BC times. Historians say that the castle called later ''the most fascinating medieval flower '' was erected by Juri Iljinitch, who was mayor of the city of Brest and a court marshal of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The builder was an unknown local master. The experts cannot agree on the date when it happened. Some are convinced it was in 1506, others think it was in 1495-1500, the rest mention the period of 1522-1526. Lithuanian chronicles prove the last version. Some peculiarities of the architecture point to the fact that the building was not founded earlier than1510. One more detail helps to identify the time when the castle was built. In 1524 , St. Nicholas Castle was founded close to the town of Volkovysk. Its architectural style does not differ from that of Mir Castle. The reason for such similarity lies in an interesting fact. The founder of the castle was married to Juri Iljinitch's niece.