Lutsk Castle ( uk, Луцький замок, ''Lutskyi zamok'', Polish: Zamek w Łucku), also locally known as Liubart's Castle (''Замок Любарта'', ''Zamok Liubarta'') or Upper Castle (''Верхній замок'', ''Verkhnii zamok''), began its life in the mid-14th century as the fortified seat of

Gediminas Gediminas ( la, Gedeminne, ; – December 1341) was the king or Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1315 or 1316 until his death. He is credited with founding this political entity and expanding its territory which later spanned the area ranging from t ...

' son

Liubartas Demetrius of Liubar or Liubartas (also ''Lubart'', ''Lubko'', ''Lubardus'', baptized ''Dmitry''; died ) was Prince of Lutsk and Liubar (Volhynia) (1323–1383), Prince of Zhytomyr (1363–1374), Grand Prince of Volhynia (1340–1383), Grand Princ ...

(Lubart), the last ruler of united Galicia-Volhynia. It is the most prominent landmark of

Lutsk Lutsk ( uk, Луцьк, translit=Lutsk}, ; pl, Łuck ; yi, לוצק, Lutzk) is a city on the Styr River in northwestern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Volyn Oblast (province) and the administrative center of the surrounding Lu ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

and as such appears on the 200 hryvnia bill. (Another city castle, called ''Lower Castle'', built by the

Czartoryski The House of Czartoryski (feminine form: Czartoryska, plural: Czartoryscy; lt, Čartoriskiai) is a Polish princely family of Lithuanian- Ruthenian origin, also known as the Familia. The family, which derived their kin from the Gediminids dyna ...

family since the 14th century, is now a ruin.) The Kievan town of Luchesk had a wooden wall as early as 1075, when Boleslaus the Bold laid siege to it for six months.

Yury Dolgoruky Yuri I Vladimirovich ( rus, Юрий Владимирович, Yuriy Vladimirovich), commonly known as Yuri Dolgorukiy or the Long Arm ( rus, Юрий Долгорукий, Yuriy Dolgorukiy, meaning "Far-Reaching", c. 109915 May 1157) was a Rur ...

failed to take Lutsk after a six-weeks siege in 1149. In 1255, the walls of Lutsk were stormed by Khan

Jochi Jochi Khan ( Mongolian: mn, Зүчи, ; kk, Жошы, Joşy جوشى; ; crh, Cuçi, Джучи, جوچى; also spelled Juchi; Djochi, and Jöchi c. 1182– February 1227) was a Mongol army commander who was the eldest son of Temüjin (aka G ...

's grandson Kuremsa. The current castle, towering over the

Styr River The Styr (; ; ) is a right tributary of the Pripyat, with a length of 494 km. Its basin area is 13,100 km2 located in historical region of Volhynia. The Styr begins near Brody, in the Ukrainian Oblast of Lviv, then flows into Rivne Ob ...

, was built mostly in the 1340s, although some parts of the earlier walls were used. It repelled sieges by numerous potentates, including Casimir the Great (1349), Jogaila (1431), and

Sigismund Kęstutaitis Sigismund Kęstutaitis ( lt, Žygimantas I Kęstutaitis, pl, Zygmunt Kiejstutowicz; 136520 March 1440) was the Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1432 to 1440. Sigismund was his baptismal name, while his pagan Lithuanian birth name is unknown. He was ...

(1436). It was there that the Lutsk Conference of 1429 took place, attended by

Emperor Sigismund Sigismund of Luxembourg (15 February 1368 – 9 December 1437) was a monarch as King of Hungary and Croatia ('' jure uxoris'') from 1387, King of Germany from 1410, King of Bohemia from 1419, and Holy Roman Emperor from 1433 until his death in ...

Vasily II of Moscow Vasily Vasiliyevich (russian: Василий Васильевич; 10 March 141527 March 1462), also known as Vasily II the Blind (Василий II Тёмный), was the Grand Prince of Moscow whose long reign (1425–1462) was plagued by the ...

, Jogaila,

Vytautas the Great Vytautas (c. 135027 October 1430), also known as Vytautas the Great ( Lithuanian: ', be, Вітаўт, ''Vitaŭt'', pl, Witold Kiejstutowicz, ''Witold Aleksander'' or ''Witold Wielki'' Ruthenian: ''Vitovt'', Latin: ''Alexander Vitoldus'', O ...

, and the voivode of

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and s ...

. During the long reign of Vytautas, Lutsk Castle was further fortified to guard against

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

and gunfire. The principal entrance, now bricked in, was from the west and adjoined a

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

over outer moat. Three main towers, now named "Lubart", "

Švitrigaila Švitrigaila (before 1370 – 10 February 1452; sometimes spelled Svidrigiello) was the Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1430 to 1432. He spent most of his life in largely unsuccessful dynastic struggles against his cousins Vytautas and Sigismund K� ...

" (both after Lithuanian princes) and the "Bishop", were built up in the course of the 16th and 17th centuries. The walls of the castle formerly enclosed St. John's Cathedral, a palace of the

grand dukes Grand duke (feminine: grand duchess) is a European hereditary title, used either by certain monarchs or by members of certain monarchs' families. In status, a grand duke traditionally ranks in order of precedence below an emperor, as an approx ...

, and an episcopal palace. Of these buildings, only the Neoclassical palace of the bishops still stands. On 2 July 1941 1,160 Jews were murdered within the walls of the castle.Timothy Snyder: ''The Life and Death of Western Volhynian Jewry, 1921-1945.'' In: Ray Brandon,

Wendy Lower Wendy Lower (born 1965) is an American historian and a widely published author on the Holocaust and World War II. Since 2012, she holds the John K. Roth Chair at Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, California, and in 2014 was named the dire ...

: The Shoah in Ukraine. Indiana University Press, 2008, , , S. 92 There is no monument or marker for this tragedy in the castle.

References

* Памятники градостроительства и архитектуры Украинской ССР. Киев: Будивельник, 1983—1986. Том 2, с. 48.

External links

* {{Castles in Ukraine Castles in Ukraine Buildings and structures in Lutsk Gothic architecture in Ukraine Tourist attractions in Lutsk Castles of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania Holocaust locations in Ukraine