In the 19th century, literally in the Polesie marshes, the Malyński family established a magnificent English park, built a modernist palace and many other buildings of high artistic value. It is said that the entire European social cream was envious of their tasteful and sumptuous estate.

Today, the village of Zhurne (ukr. Zirne) is located in the Rivne region, in the Berezno district. It is inhabited by approximately 2,500 people. Its history began in the mid-19th century, when a Polish nobleman, Michał Małyński, received a huge landed estate in the Berezno district as a bequest from his wife's relative Anna-Michał Korzeniowski. The land he inherited included 18,000 acres of forest and 700 acres of arable land. It should be noted that our compatriots played a key role in the economy of the Volyn, Podolia and Kiev Governorates, as the Kievianin newspaper wrote in 1865: " In the south-west of the country, the state of landowners is composed exclusively of Poles, speaks the Polish language and professes the Catholic faith".

In the English style
The capital of the estate was the town of Berezhne. But, for unknown reasons, Mikhail Malinsky decided to build a new estate and make it the most magnificent residence worthy of a grantor lord. This is how the village of Zhurne came into being. It is said to have been named after a prematurely deceased son of Malynsky-Zurne. However, it is not known whether this story is true. Besides, the Malinskis' biography is full of similar inaccuracies

. The site for the new village was chosen very unfortunate, because it was in a lowland wetland. There were marshes in the nearby wilderness. Malyński therefore had to hire specialists to drain the area. The initial difficulties did not discourage the owner of Żurny. In accordance with his orders, buildings were gradually erected for the servants, the seat of the manager of the Małyński estate, a power station (its generator was powered by a steam engine) cowsheds for animals warehouses. To supply the estate with water, a water tower was built, which has survived and is still in operation today.

The real highlight of the estate was the three-storey palace built in 1860s with a cork facade. Also during the construction of this building, the swampiness of the area was combated by draining it with hand dug canals. Local residents then paved the drained area. Building materials were imported from abroad. Malyński hired the best architects and generously paid for their work. The result of this work was impressive - a palace that was "actually a two-storey villa , covered with a mansard roof, with turrets and balconies, and even pseudo-Renaissance arcades at the back of the house". It had a forty-four room palace elaborately decorated with stucco and crystal chandeliers. Each room had beautiful tiled cookers for heating. Paintings by the brush of European masters hung on the walls. Malinsky's guests were delighted by the long hall, divided into two parts by free-standing columns. The owner proudly called his residence "the castle", while the servants and local peasants called it "the castle".

A beautiful park of 10 hectares (some sources say 17 hectares), one of the "most beautiful in Volhynia", was created.4 It was landscaped with old, natural trees. It was an English-style park with "wide, bright clearings fringed by a thicket of trees and bushes "5. There were no exotic trees or plants apart from a few old tules near the house. Mainly Vistula poplars, ash trees, maples, oaks, jasmine, lilacs and hawthorn grew there. In early spring primroses bloomed beautifully. Apparently the park was a gift to Anna Malinskaya from her adoring husband. The woman loved autumn, so the yellowed leaves of the trees were meant to be pleasing to her eye. At night, the park avenues were illuminated by carbide lanterns. One peculiarity was a narrow alleyway about 5 km long, laid out as a labyrinth in which one could get lost. The park was fenced in by hornbeams. It was guarded by unarmed guards.

As the park was located in a humid area, for drainage, as well as for decorative purposes, "irregularly shaped ponds were dug, with islands in the middle, connected to the mainland by graceful arched bridges." In these ponds, various species of fish were reared, including trout. The islands had summerhouses where the host and guests enjoyed spending time.

A coach house with a high tower and arcades, a water tower in the English Gothic style, was built on the estate. There were many buildings "in the character of English cottages". Thus, "the Malinsky residence, despite the lack of a unified character of the whole, was to make an impressive impression".

The Malinskis' farm was extremely profitable. Agriculture was cultivated there, its products were sold; a distillery also operated. A paper mill was established, producing, among other things, cigarette thimbles of excellent quality.

King of life Emanuel Malyński
The only thing that saddened the Malinski couple was the lack of children. But unexpectedly Anna became pregnant at the age of 46 and gave birth to a son, Emmanuel, on 8 April 1875. Of course, the boy was spoilt by his parents. Unfortunately, he lacked regularity and therefore did not receive a formal education. He was, however, a very well-read man and 'an outstanding writer and essayist. He wrote mainly in French (a 25-volume edition of his writings exists in this language)'. In Switzerland he published the journal Contre-revolution.

Emanuel spent most of his life in the Paris and London salons. He was well acquainted with, among others, Russian Prime Ministers Peter Stoylpin and Sergei Vitte or French President Raymond Poincare. He invited representatives of the cream of European society to Zhurny, and his estate hosted the French princess Cleo de Merode, an acclaimed beauty. Malyński was the owner of a private avionette - the famous "Farman", on which he made the first flight in Volhynia in October 1911. He flew a distance of 400 km. It can be said that before World War I, Emmanuel led a truly fairytale life. Roman Aftanazy characterised Malynsky's personality and behaviour as follows: "He was a man completely incapable of assessing the value of money. Having amassed an enormous fortune in real estate and millions of dollars in capital, he was able to draw on this wealth to the full until the outbreak of the First World War. For the resources at his disposal seemed inexhaustible".

During the Second Polish Republic, Malinski's wealth, which mostly resided in Switzerland, melted away. Emanuel himself was already a sick man, suffering from severe asthma. He died in1938. As he had neither a wife nor children (it is said that he did not marry, because no woman met his exorbitant demands), he gave the property in Żurnem to the Ursuline nuns, who were to establish a children's shelter there. The plan was not realised due to the outbreak of war.

In 1945, the magnificent chateau in Žurnem burnt down. The new Soviet administrators did not take care of the estate, so many objects were irretrievably lost. However, the beautiful Gothic water tower has survived. The power station building and these outbuildings house a hospital for tuberculosis sufferers (thus, although in a different shape, Emmanuel Malinsky's dream of charity work came true). Many elements from the glorious old days can still be found in the park. Most importantly, however, the memory of the Malynski family and their estate is being revived).