Belarus is a country where the cultures of the West and the East blend together harmonically. It was a land of the Polish gentlemen, Russian noblemen, grand Belarusian families. The Sapiehas, the Rumyantsevs, the Paskievichs, the Chapskis, the Tyzenhauses… Their splendid manors, palaces and mansions were the places where the Enlightenment spirit was lingering and the most educated people of that time were gathering. The owners took pride in their elaborate paintings, arms and antiquities collections, rich libraries and the greenhouses full of the carefully nurture exotic species.