The famous Lida castle of Belarus

Lida Castle is one of the most famous monuments of architecture in Belarus. It was created in 1323 by order of Prince Gedimin. Its main purpose is to protect the lands from the crusaders of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, who liked the generous land of this part of Europe.

Construction of a castle

Lida Castle, a photo of which is presented in this article, was built in a marshy area, in a place where the Kamenka and Lida rivers meet. On its northern side was a ditch connecting the rivers and separating the structure from the city. To erect this construction, builders were able to create a sand artificial island. Further (in the 16th-17th centuries) during the period of the castle fortifications, an artificial lake was created on the north side.

Lida Castle in the plan is a quadrangle of irregular shape with 2 angled towers. Its walls were built of brick and rubble stone. By the way, the brick in Eastern Europe and Germany was very popular then. It served as the basis for the emergence of "brick Gothic", in it, in fact, the castle was completed.

Buildings

In the courtyard of the castle there were economic and residential buildings, and from the 16th century the first floor was taken under the city administrative buildings - prison, archive and court. In the courtyard was also located the Orthodox Church, transferred in 1533 to the city.

On the southern wall there are still loopholes, which were of equal height and tubeless, with different widths. There were only 3 types. The collars were necessary for shooting crossbows and bows.

In the south-western part of the castle there was a tower, close in plan to the square. The thickness of the walls was about 3 m, and its height was much higher than the 12-meter-high walls of the building.

In the north-east of the courtyard was the 2nd tower, presumably built in the late 14th century. Then in Belarus and Lithuania, castle fortifications were created, as the attacks of the enemies became more frequent and powerful. This tower also has the shape of a quadrilateral.

Castle in history

Lida Castle from the end of the 14th century survived the devastating siege of enemies. Initially, it was captured by the crusaders, partly looted it, and then - the Anglo-German army. In the 15th and 16th centuries, the castle was attacked by Crimean Tatars, Prince Svidrigaila and troops of Yuri Svyatoslavich. In 1659, the Lida Castle was stormed by an army from Moscow.

In 1394, there was one of the raids of the English on Lida, it also involved the French army. The English intended to plunder the city, but the inhabitants themselves burned all the houses and hid in the castle, thus repulsing the attack. Since the city did not have its own fortifications, the castle was a salvation for the entire local population.

The city was burnt down in 1891 due to a fire that destroyed the castle, too. Its debris the city authorities began to sell, bricks and stones went to restore the buildings of Lida. But after numerous protests by local residents, vandalism and plundering were stopped.

Restoration

In tsarist times, the restoration of the castle began. Then the archaeological Imperial Commission for restoration works allocated 946 rubles, although little has been done. In the 1920s, the restoration work was undertaken by Polish specialists, although they could do little. In the eighties of the last century, experts of the Ministry of Culture of Belarus restored the north-eastern tower and walls, where today the museum of local lore. It is worth to know, going on an excursion to the Lida Castle, the time of the exhibition halls: they are open for visitors every day, except Monday, in the morning and until 7 pm.

The most recent restoration of the building took place in 2011, but its results did not disappoint - they angered the indifferent! There is an opinion that the work was extremely hack-labored, with the sole purpose - to please the officials and withdraw budget funds allocated for the restoration.

The laying of the brick was carried out somehow, unclouded and crooked. An incredible amount of modern mortar was left on the masonry, and as a result, huge cracks remained in the walls. But the main thing is the bricks, which were also "today's", not original; In some places even hollow ceramites appeared, which they could not do in the gloomy Middle Ages. The bricks are also of different shades, while their color difference was not taken into account during the styling.

Lida Castle: reviews of tourists

Many tourists remain at a loss, having visited here. They leave feedback that they were unpleasantly surprised to see an exposition on the 1st floor, which reminds many, more likely, a nook of local lore in the school's museum. Primitive articles of everyday life, lock attributes were made. Some holidaymakers grin, talking about the table, which is laid in the main hall of the castle - it is lit only a few candles, which, in theory, should have been much larger; Apparently, and they regretted the means here. In the end, it's incredibly dark. Also, tourists leave angry reviews that in some places of the building concrete was used, while the stairs are completely made of reinforced concrete! Surely this structure will last for hundreds of years. But if people knew something about reinforced concrete in the XIV century, most likely the history of Eastern Europe and Russia would be different, and the castle would not suffer such a fate as destruction from time.