Lutsk castle, or the castle of Lubart: description, history, interesting facts

Lubart's castle has long become a visiting card of ancient Lutsk. Its walls constantly remind of themselves and the inhabitants of the city, and tourists who visited this amazing land. It is often called the Lutsk castle. The image of this architectural masterpiece can be found at every step - from merry magnets with the inscription "Lutsk" to the emblems of various organizations and commercial enterprises.

From three princes born

Lutsk castle, or the castle of Lubart, a description of which is found in all the guidebooks of Volhynia, has a long-standing origin. For the first time the name of the castle appeared in the chronicles of the late XIX century. Then still old people remembered the ancient name of the building - Vitoldov Castle. Its erection was associated with the surname of the legendary Witolds, who more than once held the management of the Lithuanian lands.

Originally this building was made of wood. Already in our time, archeologists have found traces of wooden buildings, the oldest of which date back to the beginning of the 12th century. Unfortunately, the exact year of foundation of the Lutsk castle could not be found, but already in 1100 it was known and mentioned in ancient medieval notes of merchants and travelers. The names of the architects and builders of the fortified structure disappeared in the depths of time and remained unknown to future researchers. In many respects Lutsk castle in style resembles the castles of Western Europe of that time: for example, the castle in Czerka, which is located in the Mazovian province, can be considered the brother of the Lutsk fortification. The appearance of these buildings has quite a lot in common, and it is possible that both buildings were built on the same project.

Entrance tower

Because of the unreliability of the tree, the castle often burned, and as a result, it was decided to strengthen it with brick walls. In the middle of the fourteenth century, a part of the tower was already built, which now bears the name of the Entrance, and most of the fortification wall. Participation in the construction of this fortress was taken by the ruler of the Galicia-Volyn principality Lyubart Gediminovich. It is interesting that the entrance tower of the Lutsk castle carries traces of completion. After completion of the construction, the prince decided that the height of the main tower was not sufficient to observe the surroundings or conduct military operations. He ordered the completion of the tower a few meters higher. Well, the height of the old structure can easily be determined by the battlements. They surround the walls of the Entrance tower of Lutsk castle of Prince Lubart (x v c). In addition to the Entrance, in the castle there are two more towers - Styrovaya and Svidrigailova.

The construction of the castle continued after the death of Lubart. Vytautas - the new prince of Galicia and Volhynia, made Lutsk the beautiful southern capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It was during his reign that the city flourished full life, and Lutsk Castle acquired its modern outlines. In the after Vitovt's death, his brother Svidrigailo came to power, who completed the reconstruction. And the lock looked like the one we see now. It was thanks to these three princes that the Lutian stronghold survived to this day.

Church of St. John the Evangelist

Lutsk Castle was the heart of Volyn, its administrative, religious and political center. Few people know that the front pad of the castle was used as a place to pronounce sentences, and in the walls of the ancient building the court worked. There, for a long time, the Orthodox cathedral church was in operation. John the Divine, the remains of which can be seen when visiting the dungeons of Lutsk Castle. This is the first Christian church in Volhynia and the oldest stone building of Lutsk, which, unfortunately, is preserved only partially. The walls of the Temple were laid out of the plinth - the so-called flat and wide slabs of rocky material, which were often used to build churches and temples in Kievan Rus and Byzantium.

Forgotten for many centuries, the dungeons of the Lutsk castle store many secrets. For the first time researchers penetrated into their depths at the end of the XIX century. Conditionally they can be divided into two parts - the churchyard of the church of I. Bogoslov and a complex of wide corridors. Perhaps, it is at this graveyard that the tomb of the legendary Lubart, the founder of the castle, is located. Tourists are allowed to inspect some corridors with exhibited exhibits. The rest of the church is closed to visitors.

Interesting Facts

The autonomous Galicia-Volyn principality existed until 1452. After the death of Svidrigailo, the keys to the Lutsk castle, and from the entire principality as a whole, were transferred to the city elder, Pan Nemyr. From this moment the princedom loses its independence, and its rulers become vassals of the kings of Lithuania, Poland, and then Russia.

In the XVI century Lutsk fortress stood on the way of numerous Tatar raids. Already in 1508 the fortified castle of Lubart was able to successfully stop the Tatars - the high walls of the fortress were defended by infantrymen captain Lukasz Moravts.

By the middle of the 16th century the castle had lost its status of a princely residence, but it retained its importance in the administrative hierarchy. The main structure of the serfdom was the house of the lord, in which the representatives of the church lived. The cellars of the towers were used as prisons, and condemned to death awaited payment in the Market or Castle squares of the city.

Destruction and rebirth

In 1795, Lutsk became part of the Russian Empire. Lutsk Castle lost its administrative significance and gradually began to collapse. In the XIX century, the city authorities even issued a special decree, allowing to take a stone for their own needs. The fact that the fortress was not completely destroyed, once again shows the conscientiousness of the builders of Lubert - the masonry was so strong that it was almost impossible to dismantle the walls. In 1885, the view of the old castle changed, and it was even called a historical heritage. Having survived two wars, Lutsk Castle was gradually restored, and serious restoration work was carried out already in the second half of the twentieth century.

Castle today

Currently, Lutsk Castle - a large museum complex, covering the period from the XIII century to the present. There are regularly held masquerades, conferences and knight tournaments. The main attraction of the city of Lutsk is open to tourists and visitors. For visitors there are various entertainment and educational programs, from which you can find interesting facts about the life of the castle for several hundred years. Visiting this landmark will be interesting for people of all ages and nationalities.