On the border of the urban-type settlement of Nemishaieve and the village of Myrotske in Bucha Raion, 38 km northwest of Kyiv, amidst an overgrown park stand the ruins of the palace of the barons von der Osten-Sacken. Of the once cozy single-storey palace with a corner tower, only the facade wall and the remains of the tower have survived, but even they give an idea of the 19th-century estate. The palace has never been officially included in the register of monuments.
The Sacken and Vorontsov-Dashkov Estate
The Mykulychi estate, which also included Myrotske, was presented to Count Karl Sacken in 1805. After him, the estate passed to Ivan von der Osten-Sacken (died 1853), and later to his son Karl. It was in the first half of the 19th century that the owners built a brick palace with a corner tower and laid out a park around it.
In 1873, the estate was bought by Yevdokia Astakhova, the wife of a Kyiv merchant; in the 1890s, it passed to the counts Vorontsov-Dashkov, and in 1904, the estate along with the palace was purchased by a peasant named Andriy Kulyk. At the beginning of the 20th century, there was a palace and two wooden buildings here, and the park featured a gazebo and an orchard. A pond with a wooden bridge was dug on the Orlyanka River, and on the opposite bank, the landlord's greenhouses operated.
From Factory Club to Ruin
After 1917, the estate was nationalized along with the palace, the park, the distillery office (1905–1906), and the workers' barracks. Unlike many other estates, the palace was not destroyed at that time. When a biochemical plant was built nearby, a factory club was opened in the palace, and early 20th-century furniture remained here for a long time.
On a night in November 2000, a fire broke out in the palace. The fire destroyed all the furniture, the building was severely damaged, and no one undertook to restore it. Since then, the palace has been gradually deteriorating: by 2012, virtually only the facade wall and the remains of the tower were left of it. The park has become overgrown, and the former workers' barracks have turned into private houses.
Nemishaieve
The settlement itself is much younger than the estate. It was founded in September 1900 during the construction of the Kyiv — Kovel railway and was named after Kladvii Nemishaiev, the head of the Southwestern Railways. Before that, these lands belonged to the counts Vorontsov-Dashkov. In March 2022, Nemishaieve was under Russian occupation for a month, and on April 2 it was liberated. The Potato Research Institute operates here, next to which stands a monument to the potato — the only one of its kind in Ukraine.
How to Get There
The easiest way is by suburban electric train from Kyiv towards Korosten to the Nemishaieve station, then on foot. By car — along the Kyiv — Kovel highway (M-07, "Varshavka"). The ruins stand on the border of Nemishaieve and Myrotske, near the former biochemical plant.
Tip
The palace is in a dilapidated state, so view it only from the outside: do not go inside, do not climb the walls — the bricks are crumbling. The best photos are taken in spring or autumn when the leaves do not get in the way. The trip can easily be combined with Bucha, Vorzel, and Borodianka, which lie on the same railway line. More about the region can be found in the article about Kyiv Polissia.
