Lubart's Castle, Lutsk: description, history, attractions and interesting facts

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:47

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 in first place in the ranking of "7 Wonders of Ukraine". It is famous for its interesting history, amazing architecture, amazing resilience, a huge collection of old bells, jousting tournaments and much more. And the fortress was also honored to be depicted on the 200-hryvnia banknote.

Lubart's Castle: history

Today it has three names: Lutsk (the most common), Upper (since there is another half-destroyed one in Lutsk - Lower), and Lubarta.

The castle was founded by Rurik in the XI century. It was first mentioned in the annals in 1075, when the fortress withstood the siege of the soldiers of Boleslav 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 owners an advantage in battles with the invaders. Between 1340 and 1350, whenVolhynia was ruled by Lubart Gediminovich (son-in-law of the Galicia-Volyn prince Andrei II Yuryevich), the fortress was completely rebuilt into a brick one. New walls were erected around the old ones, which increased the area of \u200b\u200bthe building. In addition, the water level around the castle was increased by building a special dam. And to pass through the moat, a special drawbridge was made.

At the end of the XIV century, Prince Vitovt came to power, who made Lutsk the southern capital of the Principality of Lithuania. Under him, the city flourished and became a powerful political, religious and administrative center of Volyn, and Lubart's castle received the shape that it has to this day. It was in the princely palace of the castle that the congress of European monarchs took place in 1429. It resolved the issue of protecting Europe from the Ottoman invaders and other international issues. When Vytautas died, his brother Svidrigailo became prince, during whose time perestroika was fully completed. That is why the Lutsk fortress is often called the castle of the three princes.

Siege Resistance

It's amazing, but Lubart's castle in Lutsk is still in good condition, despite the fact that it has withstood many sieges over its centuries-old history. After Boleslav the Brave, the wooden citadel in 1149 tried to capture the Rostov-Suzdal and Kyiv prince Yuri Dolgoruky, and literally a year later the Galician prince Vladimir Vladimirovich intended to besiege the fortress. Five years later, his brother, Yaroslav Vladimirovich, spoke out with the same goal. After 100 years, in 1255, the Golden Horde governor attacked the Lutsk castle of LubertKurems. He was not the last to try to destroy the wooden citadel.

After the castle was rebuilt, Polish kings tried to conquer its stone walls: Casimir in 1349 and Jagiello in 1431, as well as the Lithuanian prince Sigismund in 1436.

The legend of the defense of the castle from King Jagiello

When the Polish king tried to seize Volhynia and besiege Lubart's castle after fierce battles, the fortress was still able to withstand the onslaught and defend the independence of the region. According to 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 running out, the locals decided to catapult the decaying animal corpses to the Poles. Under fire from dead animals, the Poles nevertheless retreated.

Late use of fortress

Lutsk castle of Lubart and its defenders were able to resist even the invasion of the Mongol-Tatars. In 1569, when the Union of Ljubljana was concluded and the Commonwe alth was formed, the castle became a royal residence. By the 17th century, the fortress began to lose its defensive capabilities. By this time, the castle housed: courts, the residence of the bishop, the office, and outbuildings. On the territories of the Upper and Lower castles there were Latin and Orthodox departments, which made it possible for the gentry of both faiths to gather. And the Lutsk Tribunal had power not only over Volyn, but also over a number of other provinces.

From the middle of the 19th century, the complex began to fall into decay altogether. And inIn 1863, officials decided to dismantle it and sell it as a building material. The exit tower and the adjacent wall "went under the hammer" for 373 rubles. Fortunately, they did not manage to sell the fortress, because in 1864 the Kyiv commission forbade the demolition of the complex. But the Lower Castle was waiting for a sadder fate.

In 1870, the fire brigade settled in the castle, built a booth over the Lord's tower, from which control over the city was carried out. In 1918, a summer theater with a wooden pavilion and foyer was built on the territory of the Castle. Here they showed the so-called "living pictures", which at that time were considered the rage. And so one of the first cinemas in Lutsk appeared.

Today Lubart's Castle, or Lutsk Castle, is a historical museum and national monument.

Towers

The fortification of the fortress has the shape of an irregular triangle, in each corner of which there are towers: Vyezdnaya, Vladychya, Styrovaya. On the west side, there is the Vyezdnaya tower, which is climbed to view the city from a bird's eye view. The elements of the tower reflect various historical facts. For example, on the main facade above the main entrance there are two arches. Previously, they had passages that could be accessed from a drawbridge located above the moat. Today, the arches are walled up, and instead of a bridge, a regular entrance has been built.

There are two spiral staircases inside the tower. The tower has several floors, each of which houses an exposition of ancient engravings and paintings dedicated to this castle, as well as old mapsVolyn region. On the top floor there is an exhibition of old toys, keys, bottles and other items. The Lord's Tower also contains exhibitions dedicated to the city and the stronghold.

Execution Ground

In front of the Visiting Tower, in the courtyard, there are weapons 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 place of execution on this site, where people were executed, usually by cutting off their heads.

Other buildings

On the territory of the fortress there are: dungeons, the prince's palace, the county treasury and the house of the gentry courts. Partially preserved is also the Cathedral of St. John the Theologian, which was the first Christian church in Lutsk. It is said that Prince Lubart was buried here.

There is an exposition of old tiles and bricks near the remains of the temple. Here you can see a brick of different sizes and times. Some copies even have ancient inscriptions. You can also see the remains of wooden buildings and old metal objects in the courtyard.

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

Wall Graffiti

During the existence of the fortress, people left many inscriptions on its outside. In fact, all the walls between the towers are covered with various words. Basically, these are the names of people and dates. The oldest writing on the wall dates back to 1444. Inscriptions are inherentvariety of fonts, scratching methods and calligraphy. Among them are records of famous people, such as Lesya Ukrainka's sister, Olha Kosach, from 1891.

Conclusion

So we got acquainted with such a colorful and fascinating attraction of Western Ukraine as Lubart's castle. Lutsk welcomes its guests with many more interesting places, among which, by the way, are the remains of the Lower Castle. Well, Lubart's castle 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 wish to visit the tower and listen to the tour will have to pay 50 UAH (within 130 rubles). Come to Lutsk and touch the centuries-old history with your own hands!