The Old

Grodno Grodno (russian: Гродно, pl, Grodno; lt, Gardinas) or Hrodna ( be, Гродна ), is a city in western Belarus. The city is located on the Neman River, 300 km (186 mi) from Minsk, about 15 km (9 mi) from the Polish b ...

Castle (also known as the ''Grodno Upper Castle'' and ''Bathory's Castle'') originated in the 11th century as the seat of a dynasty of

Black Ruthenia Black Ruthenia ( la, Ruthenia Nigra), or Black Rus' ( be, Чорная Русь, translit=Čornaja Ruś; lt, Juodoji Rusia; pl, Ruś Czarna), is a historical region on the Upper Nemunas, including Novogrudok (Naugardukas), Grodno (Gardinas) a ...

n rulers, descended from a younger son of Yaroslav the Wise of

Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

History

Construction

The first wooden castle was built in the 11th century at the confluence of the Neman and the Gorodnichanka rivers. The 13th-century

keep A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in c ...

of the castle belonged to a type of Belarusian defensive tower represented by the

Tower of Kamyanyets The Tower of Kamyenyets, often called by the misnomer the White Tower ( be, Белая вежа, transliteration: ''Bielaya Vieža'' or ''Belaya Vezha''), is the main landmark of the town of Kamyenyets in Belarus. The name ''Bielaja Vieža'' (alte ...

. Vytautas the Great rebuilt the castle in stone and added five

Brick Gothic Brick Gothic (german: Backsteingotik, pl, Gotyk ceglany, nl, Baksteengotiek) is a specific style of Gothic architecture common in Northeast and Central Europe especially in the regions in and around the Baltic Sea, which do not have resourc ...

towers in 1391–98, transforming it into one of his main residences. Casimir IV Jagiellon also favoured Grodno over Lithuania's official capital. It was there that the Polish Crown was offered to him, and it was there that he died in 1492. The next notable tenant of the castle was Stephen Báthory who envisaged Grodno as the capital of his vast empire in Eastern Europe. He engaged Scotto of Parma to replace the Vytautas Castle with his own residence in the advanced Renaissance taste of Northern Italy. After Bathory's death in Grodno in 1586, his pet project was abandoned. The citadel was devastated by the Russians during a Russo-Polish War in 1655.

Reconstruction

The castle's revival took place in 1673-78 due to

Krzysztof Zygmunt Pac Krzysztof Zygmunt Pac ( lt, Kristupas Zigmantas Pacas; 1621–1684) was a nobleman and statesman of Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Chancellor (1658–1684) of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. He was the brother of Michał Kazimierz Pac, the Gr ...

who raised sufficient funds to finance the refurbishing of the royal residence. The restored castle was selected by King Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki of Poland as the location for every third Sejm of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The castle suffered extensive damage during the Great Northern War, forcing the royal court to move into the

New Grodno Castle The New Castle in Grodno, Belarus is a royal palace of Augustus III of Poland and Stanisław August Poniatowski where the famous Grodno Sejm took place in 1793. New Grodno Castle is above sea level. The royal residence was built on the high bank ...

. After the

partitions of Poland The Partitions of Poland were three partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place toward the end of the 18th century and ended the existence of the state, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland and Lithuania for 12 ...

the castle was given over to the

Russian army The Russian Ground Forces (russian: Сухопутные войска �В Sukhoputnyye voyska V, also known as the Russian Army (, ), are the Army, land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Gro ...

and housed a

barracks Barracks are usually a group of long buildings built to house military personnel or laborers. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word "barraca" ("soldier's tent"), but today barracks are u ...

. The authorities of interwar Poland restored the chamber of the ambassadors and the Sejm Hall.

XX-XXI centuries

At present the castle serves as a historical and archaeological museum with a collection of more than 200,000 artifacts, one of the largest in Belarus. The newest reconstruction began in 2017. The restoration of the Old Grodno Castle was criticized due to the lacking of historical authenticity. For instance, the contemporary viewpoint was added near the central gates. Some specialists disputed the restoration project, they found significant mistakes in documentation that appeared because the constructor couldn’t read historical inventory descriptions written in Polish and German. For example, the shape of the dome above the central tower, added levels between towers and galleries. Some authentic 16th century walls were demolished.

References

Literature

* Ф. Д. Гуревич. "Древности Белорусского Понеманья". Ленинград, Изд-во Академии наук СССР, 1962. *

External links

Virtual Tour of The Old Grodno Castle

The Old Grodno Castle Official Website

Restoration
process, 2019
Video
report about the reconstruction (in Russian) {{Castles in Belarus Buildings and structures in Grodno Region Castles in Belarus Castles of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania Residences of Polish monarchs Royal residences in Belarus Tourist attractions in Grodno Region 11th-century establishments in Europe Buildings and structures completed in the 11th century