Lubcha Castle ( be, Любчанскі замак) was a residential

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

of the Radziwill family on the left bank of the

Neman River The Neman, Nioman, Nemunas or MemelTo bankside nations of the present: Lithuanian: be, Нёман, , ; russian: Неман, ''Neman''; past: ger, Memel (where touching Prussia only, otherwise Nieman); lv, Nemuna; et, Neemen; pl, Niemen; ...

Lubcha Lubcha ( be, Любча, , russian: Любча, pl, Lubcz, yi, לובטש ''Lubtsh'') is a town near Neman River, in Belarus, Grodno Region, Novogrudok District, 23 km from Novogrudok. History Within the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Lubc ...

near

Navahradak Novogrudok ( be, Навагрудак, Navahrudak; lt, Naugardukas; pl, Nowogródek; russian: Новогрудок, Novogrudok; yi, נאַוואַראַדאָק, Novhardok, Navaradok) is a town in the Grodno Region, Belarus. In the Middle A ...

Belarus. The castle began its life in 1581 as a fortified residence of

Jan Kiszka Jan Kiszka (1552–1592) was a politician, magnate, patron, and benefactor of Polish brethren in the 16th century Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Kiszka served as Carver of Lithuania from 1569, Royal Deputy Cupbearer of Lithuania and Elder o ...

, a powerful

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

magnate The magnate term, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders, or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...

. It had timber walls, a single stone

tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

, and was surrounded by

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...

s on three sides, the fourth side protected by the river. Lubcha later passed to Janusz Radziwiłł,

Great Hetman of Lithuania Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...

, who expanded the castle by adding three stone towers. In 1655 it was taken and devastated by the rebellious

Cossacks The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...

under

Ivan Zolotarenko Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was Bulgari ...

. Only the

barbican A barbican (from fro, barbacane) is a fortified outpost or fortified gateway, such as at an outer fortifications, defense perimeter of a city or castle, or any tower situated over a gate or bridge which was used for defensive purposes. Europe ...

and one other tower were left standing after the Cossack incursion. The deserted estate changed owners several times, remaining untenanted until the mid-19th century, when a

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

palace was built on the grounds. The Lubcha estate suffered much damage during both

world war A world war is an international conflict which involves all or most of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World WarI (1914 ...

s. The palace was reduced to a shell in 1914 and was remodeled into a

school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compuls ...

building by the Soviets in 1947. In the early 21st century, some of the castle walls were rebuilt by a team of volunteers.

Online references

Lyubchа Castle at globus.tut.by

History and Restoration of Lyubcha Castle
{{Belarus-struct-stub Buildings and structures in Grodno Region Castles in Belarus Castles and palaces of the Radziwiłł family Navahrudak District