Manor houses of Polish-Lithuanian nobility

The manor houses of Polish-Lithuanian nobility are mansions that were historically owned by the szlachta of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, and later by Polish and Lithuanian nobles between the Partitions of Poland and the aftermath of World War II.

The architectural form of the manor house evolved around the late Polish Renaissance period and continued until the Second World War, which, together with the communist takeover of Poland and Soviet occupation of Lithuania, spelled the end of the nobility in both nations. A 1944 decree nationalized most mansions as property of the nobility; few were adapted to other purposes and many slowly fell into ruin. A vast majority of such mansions remain unused and are slowly deteriorating.

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