Lubarta Castle, Lutsk: description, history, sights and interesting facts

Lubart's castle is the main symbol of the city of Lutsk, symbolizing the power of the Volyn region. This is one of the oldest and largest castles in Ukraine, which is on the first place in the rating of "7 Wonders of Ukraine". It is famous for its interesting history, amazing architecture, amazing stability, a huge collection of ancient bells, knight tournaments and much more. And the fortress was awarded the honor of being portrayed on a 200-hryvnia bill.

Lubart's castle: history

To date, it has three names: Lutsky (the most common), Upper (since there is another half destroyed in Lutsk - Lower), and Lubart.

The castle was founded by Rurik in the 11th century. In the chronicles he was first mentioned in 1075, when the fortress withstood the siege of the soldiers of Boleslaw the Brave, which lasted 6 months. Initially, it was a relatively small wooden fortification. It was located on an island surrounded by swamps. Such an advantageous position gave the advantage to the hosts in the battles with the invaders. In the period from 1340 to 1350, when Lyubart Gediminovich (son-in-law of Prince of Galicia-Volyn Prince Andrey II Yurevich) ruled in the Volyn region, the fortress was completely rebuilt into brick. New walls erected around the old, which increased the area of construction. In addition, around the castle increased the water level, erecting a special dam. And for the passage through the ditch a special lifting bridge was made.

At the end of the fourteenth century Prince Vytautas came to power, who made the southern capital of the Lithuanian principality from Lutsk. Under him, the city blossomed and became a powerful political, religious and administrative center of Volhynia, and the castle of Lubart received that outline that he has to this day. It was in the princely palace of the castle in 1429 that the congress of European monarchs took place. It addressed the issue of protecting Europe from the Ottoman invaders and other international issues. When Vitovt died, the prince became his brother Svidrigailo, at the time of which the perestroika was completely completed. That is why the Lutsk fortress is often called the castle of the three princes.

Resistance to siege

It's amazing, but Lubart's castle in Lutsk is still in good condition, despite the fact that in his long history it has sustained a lot of siege. After Boleslaw the Brave, a wooden detinec in 1149 tried to capture the Rostov-Suzdal and Kiev prince Yury Dolgoruky, and literally a year later the Galician prince Vladimir Vladimirovich was to besiege the fortress. Five years later his brother Yaroslav Vladimirovich came out with the same goal. In 1005 years, in 1255, the Golden Horde voivode of Kurems attacked the Lutsk castle. He was not the last one who tried to destroy the wooden detynets.

After the reconstruction of the castle, its stone walls were tried to conquer the Polish kings: Kazimir in 1349 and Jagiello in 1431, as well as the Lithuanian prince Sigismund in 1436.

The legend of protecting the castle from King Jagiello

When the Polish king tried to seize Volhynia and take Lubart's castle to siege after cruel battles, the fortress still managed to withstand the onslaught and defend the independence of the province. According to the legend, not only the reliability of the fortress helped the defenders to win, but also their personal ingenuity. After a long and exhausting siege, when the ammunition was already over, the locals decided to catapult the decaying corpses of the animals to the Poles. Under the shelling of dead beasts, the Poles nevertheless retreated.

Later, the use of the fortress

Lutsk castle Lubart and his defenders were able to resist even the invasion of the Mongol-Tatars. In 1569, when the Ljubljana Union was formed and the Rzeczpospolita was formed, the castle became a royal residence. By the XVII century the fortress began to lose its defensive abilities. By this time in the castle were located: the courts, the residence of the bishop, the chancery, the economic buildings. In the territories of the Upper and Lower Castles there were Latin and Orthodox Chairs, which made it possible to assemble the gentry of both confessions. And the Lutsk Tribunal had power not only over Volhynia, but also over a number of other voivodeships.

From the middle of the XIX century the complex began to decline completely. And in 1863, officials decided to disassemble it and sell it as a building material. The exit tower and the adjoining wall "went under the hammer" for 373 rubles. Fortunately, the fortress did not have time to sell out, because in 1864 the Kiev commission forbade the demolition of the complex. But Lower Castle was waiting for a more sad fate.

In 1870, the fire team settled in the castle, built a tower over the Vladyka Tower, from which the city was controlled. In 1918, a summer theater with a wooden pavilion and foyer was built on the territory of the Castle. It showed the so-called "living pictures", which at that time were considered a squeak of fashion. So one of the first cinemas of Lutsk appeared.

Today the castle of Lubart, or Lutsk castle, is a historical museum and national monument.

Towers

Strengthening the fortress has the form of an irregular triangle, in each corner of which there are towers: Visiting, Vladycha, Styrovaya. From the west, there is an exit tower, which is raised to view the city from a bird's eye view. Elements of the tower reflect various historical facts. For example, on the main facade above the central entrance there are two arches. Previously, they had passages, which could be accessed from a lifting bridge, which was located on a moat. Today, the arches are walled up, and instead of a bridge, an ordinary entrance is built.

Inside the tower there are two spiral staircases. In the tower there are several floors, on each of them there is an exposition of ancient engravings and paintings dedicated to this castle, as well as ancient maps of the Volyn region. On the top floor - an exhibition of old toys, keys, bottles and other items. The Vladyka Tower also contains expositions dedicated to the city and the stronghold.

The place of execution

Before the exit tower in the yard there are guns used for both siege and defense, as well as various devices that have been preserved since the Middle Ages. In the 16th century there was a frontal place on this site where people were executed, as a rule, through the chopping off of the head.

Other buildings

On the territory of the fortress there are: dungeons, a princely palace, a county treasury and a house of gentry ships. Partially preserved is the Cathedral of St. John the Theologian, which was the first Christian church in Lutsk. They say that it was here that Prince Lubart was buried.

Near the remains of the temple there is an exposition of the old tile and brick. Here you can see a brick of different sizes and times. On some specimens there are even ancient inscriptions. In the courtyard you can see the remains of wooden buildings and old metal objects.

Lubart's castle is also famous for its large collection of ancient bells (the only one in Ukraine), the printing museum and a collection of weapons.

Inscriptions on the walls

During the existence of the fortress, people left a lot of inscriptions on its outer side. In fact, all the walls between the towers are covered in different words. Mostly these are people's names and dates. The oldest record on the wall dates back to 1444. The inscriptions are inherent in a variety of fonts, methods of scratching and calligraphy. Among them there are also records of famous people, for example the sisters of Lesya Ukrainka, Olga Kosach, from 1891.

Conclusion

Here we are and met with such a colorful and fascinating landmark of Western Ukraine, like the castle of Lubart. Lutsk welcomes its guests with many more interesting places, among which, by the way, are the remains of the Lower Castle. Well, the castle of Lubart is waiting for tourists every day from 10:00 to 18:00. The entrance fee is only 10 UAH (about 25 Russian rubles) for an adult and 2 UAH (about 5 rubles) for a child. Well, those who want to visit the tower and listen to the tour, you have to pay 50 UAH (within 130 rubles.). Come to Lutsk and touch the centuries-old history with your own hands!