Castle with an interesting bridge design in Belarus. Self-guided tour by car to the best castles in Belarus. The best castles in Belarus

You can visit the medieval castles of Belarus on your own in a rented car. To do this, it is not at all necessary to pay for excursions and tours.

Usually I am against a cursory sightseeing, but today I will change my principles and advise you not to spend the whole day on a couple of castles, as advised in the guidebooks, but I will suggest seeing 7 worthy places in 1.5 days: from the super-popular restored Mir Castle, to abandoned tomb in the village of the Brest region.

You will find a breakdown of the travel budget, a description of places, an already developed route and marks on the map.

Map of castles, palaces and tombs in Belarus

The map shows all the places that we visited or plan to visit in the near future. As you can see, there are a lot of marks, so we highlighted them with color:

• green - the most, in our opinion, the coolest places that are definitely worth a visit,
• red - interesting places, but you can skip them if there is not enough time,
• yellow - where we have not been yet, but we plan to go.

This, of course, is purely our opinion. Write in the comments what you advise to watch. Let's go!

Map of castles in Belarus:

This post describes only our first day, in the second post there will be a story about less tourist attractions in Belarus.

The plan of the excursion to the castles of Belarus for 1.5 days:

• Departure from Minsk at 9:00;
• Mir Castle;
• Roman Catholic Church of the Body of God;
• Nesvizh Castle;
• Overnight in Brest;
• Brest Fortress;
• Abandoned chapel-tomb of the Ozheshko family;
• Palace of the Puslovskys (Kossovo Castle);
• Abandoned palace complex Sapieha;
• Return to Minsk at 21:00.

Mir Castle

Walking around and entering the courtyard is free.

Entrance to the castle itself: 10 BYN, for schoolchildren and students 5 BYN.

Location: Mir city.

Coordinates: 53.45115, 26.47291.

You can get there by bus on the Minsk-Novogrudok route. On the way 2 hours. By car from Minsk - 1 hour.

30 minutes for a quick inspection.

My opinion: worth a visit.

The architecture of the castle is a mix of late Gothic and Renaissance. Monumental and impregnable, the castle is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Just look how beautiful!

Mir Castle was built in the early 16th century by the magnate Yuri Ilyinich.

You can walk through the English-style park, see the defensive tiers, battle galleries, the chapel-tomb of the Svyatopolk-Mirsky family, and also look into the basement.

Opposite the sights there is a cozy alley along which to walk and walk. But I was very cold and realized why there are so few people here in the fall. Winds - horror!

There are 4 towers in the corners of the castle, the fifth tower is in the middle. The number of towers is equal to the number of men in the Ilyinich family: 4 side towers - 4 sons, 1 central tower - Yuri Ilyinich himself, after whose death no one owned the castle. As a result, the attraction fell into disrepair for many decades, and only in the 21st century, the Belarusian authorities finally decided to restore it. As you will understand later, mainly from the second post of this topic, far from all significant sights are being restored in Belarus. Many are now abandoned. So the Mir Castle was very lucky.

The courtyard, which is allowed free of charge.

Mir Castle also has its own hotel:

To be honest, I did not expect anything special from this pop attraction, but the Mir Castle pleasantly surprised me: clean, comfortable, it has its own atmosphere. If you are in Belarus, be sure to visit!

Near the castle there are stalls with souvenirs and a couple of cafes where you can buy hot coffee. Very on topic in this chilly weather. Mir Castle is only 38 km from another well-restored attraction: Nesvizh Castle. So we immediately drove there!

We drove for 30 minutes through numerous villages. In the villages, by the way, there is also something to see: the houses are bright and neat. Although the roads are not ideal, we did not get stuck anywhere, even considering that we were driving in the rain.

Roman Catholic Church of the Body of God

On the way to the Nesvizh Castle, we looked into the Roman Catholic Church of the Body of God, built in the 16th century and since then has never closed its doors to parishioners. Wars, persecutions, again wars and devastation, but this baroque temple does not care: it has been working for four and a half centuries and that's it.

Walking around and going inside is free.

Location: city of Nesvizh.

Coordinates: 53.22051, 26.68392

15 minutes for a quick inspection.

My opinion: if there is no time, you can skip it.

Prince Nikolai Radziwill, nicknamed the Orphan, met in Europe with the architect Bernardoni, whom he invited to Nesvizh to build a European-style church. The young architect agreed, but arrived in Nesvizh only 15 years later. No, he was not deliberately so late, he, being a Jesuit, did not stop at hotels on the way, as is now customary, but at monasteries. And everywhere he stepped on the same rake: the Jesuits, having learned that he was an architect, did not let him go until he built a church for them. So it turned out that on the way from Rome to Nesvizh, Bernardoni built several sights that still exist today. Having stuffed his hand, the architect quickly erected the Roman Catholic Church of the Body of God and left for Krakow, where he died.

Nesvizh Castle

Enter the courtyard - 3 BYN.

Entrance to the castle itself: 14 BYN, for schoolchildren and students 7 BYN.

Opening hours: in the summer from 10:00 to 19:00 (tickets are sold until 18:00), from October 1 from 9:00 to 18:00 (tickets are sold until 17:00).

Location: city of Nesvizh.

Coordinates: 53.222631, 26.691949.

30 minutes for a quick inspection.

My opinion: worth a visit.

Nesvizh Castle in Belarus is located in the very popular tourist city of Nesvizh, so if you have a lot of time, in addition to the castle itself, you can visit the city hall, the complex of the former monastery, the Roman Catholic Church of the Body of God (which was mentioned above) and much more. See the cost of weekend tickets on the website niasvizh.by.

We walked a little around Nesvizh, it's cozy here. There is no discord in architecture and it is noticeable that the buildings are built in the same style, which gives the town a certain charm.

But back to the castle itself. It was built at the end of the 16th century and served as the residence of the richest family of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania - the Radziwills. At one time, Nesvizh Castle was the most powerful and perfect fortification of Belarus and withstood many attacks.

There are no prices for visiting the courtyard in the official price list, but the cunning guards charged us 3 BYN for two and allowed us to visit the courtyard. The transfer of money was reminiscent of a criminal detective with a secret transfer of drugs - “Pass, pass,” the guards whispered, “Only so that no one sees!”))

A little more about the machinations: the treasury of the castle once kept a priceless collection of 12 apostles made of pure gold, studded with precious stones. One group of robbers tried to kidnap the golden apostles, so the real statues were hidden in the dungeons, and wax copies decorated with fake stones were exhibited in the castle itself. Over time, wax figures of those robbers who tried to steal them were placed next to the apostles. This is how the world's first collection of wax figures appeared!

A moment of mi-mi-mi: on the warm hatch of the courtyard of the castle, such an affectionate handsome man was warming himself. Well, how not to stroke?

Having examined the Nesvizh castle, we move to spend the night in Brest. The road is long, 273 km. We drove for 2.5 hours by car. What to do on the road? Learn the names of passing villages! Appendages, New Popina, New Mouse, Derevnaya village and my favorite is the village of Dreams.

Overnight in Brest + 4 more attractions

For the night we stayed in a cozy apartment in the center of Brest:

In general, in Brest there are a lot of places where you can stay:

The next day we visited the Brest Fortress, the abandoned chapel of the Ozheshko family, the Puslovsky Palace (Kossovsky Castle) and the abandoned Sapieha palace complex. But more on that in the next post.

The cost of traveling in a rented car

Gasoline prices: 1.15 BYN for 92 petrol, 1.25 BYN for 95 petrol.

Car rental (Chevrolet 2014):

• 72 BYN for 1 day for the basic tariff (no more than 350 km per day);
• 80 BYN for 1 day, if you take the option with unlimited mileage.

We opted for the unlimited mileage option. From Minsk to Brest and back with a stop at 7 sights, we drove 1000 km. In total, we paid 190 BYN for renting a car for 1.5 days + for gasoline.

Meals in cafes cost us 60 BYN for two. Plus, we also bought all sorts of sweets for the festive table (celebrated the 5th anniversary of our life together).

Entrance to the territory of the castles is free (except 3 BYN for the Nesvizh Castle).

Travel features

• You can drive on Russian rights.
• Roads and trails are only partially illuminated after sunset.
• It is better not to leave the sights for the evening: it is worse to see, and the photos are so-so.
• Some sights are located right next to the highway - very easy to get to.
• The roads are good, officially cars are allowed to drive up to 120 km / h on the highways.
• Not many people in mid-October. They say that the pandemonium of people here in the summer. So choose the off-season and you will be happy!
• Private guides are on duty at the castles (but in fact they are just locals who are looking for their clients, unobtrusively offering to tell the history of the attraction).

Popular castles in Belarus: modern, medieval and ancient castles. Photos of castles in Belarus.

Any UNESCO Museum Card

Mistakenly, under the impression of books and films, many of us think that ancient castles can only be seen in Western Europe, but ancient castle buildings with a fascinating history can also be found in such a Slavic country as Belarus. And although many of them have been destroyed over the past centuries, those that have survived are undoubtedly of considerable interest to both tourists and historians. After all, they reveal many secrets in the history of Belarus.

Today, there are more than a dozen ancient castle complexes on its territory.

Mir Castle

So, the most famous castle in Belarus is the monument of the Middle Ages Mir Castle. It is located in the village of the Grodno region - Mira. Built in the 16th century as a defensive fortress, the Mir Castle Complex had four 25-meter-high towers, two rows of loopholes that provided all-round shelling, and a defensive ditch through which a suspension bridge was thrown to connect it with the rest of the territory. There were rumors that he was connected by an underground passage with Nesvizh, but they were not confirmed. Although the dungeon of this structure is really huge - much larger in area than its ground part.

Today this ancient castle complex of Belarus is under state protection.

Nesvizh Castle

The Nesvizh castle complex, which is located in the Minsk region, in the city of Nesvizh, is also very popular with tourists. It was built by the princes Radziwills in the 16th century and for a long time was both the residence of the Radziwills and their fortress.

The Nesvizh castle complex withstood the siege of the Russian troops, but it could not resist the onslaught of the Swedes and was captured during the Great Northern War in the 18th century. The Swedes turned it into their military bastion, while the building was badly damaged. In 1792, the castle in Nesvizh was captured by a Russian detachment, and in 1860 it was again returned to the Radziwills. In 1993, the Belarusian Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve was created on its territory, and in 2011 its large-scale restoration was completed.

Today the Nesvizh palace and castle complex, surrounded by beautiful gardens - English, Japanese and Castle, is included in the UNESCO List.

Grodno Castle

This oldest Belarusian castle complex was built in the 11th century as the first defensive structure in Belarus. True, in the Middle Ages it was almost completely destroyed by the crusaders. But in the middle of the 18th century, a new castle building appeared on it, which became the royal barracks in the 19th century. Today, the main exposition of the local historical and archaeological museum is located in the Old Grodno Castle, and part of the exposition of the museum and the regional library named after E. Karsky are located in the New Castle. A major renovation of the complex is planned.

Lida Castle

Located in the Grodno region of Belarus, another ancient castle that has become a unique monument of defensive architecture of the XIV century is Lida. It is located in the city of Lida, which is a hundred kilometers from the regional center.

Its construction was started on a bulk sandy hill rising between the banks of the Lideya and Kamenka rivers by the Lithuanian prince Gedemin in 1323.

During its centuries-old history, it withstood many battles and sieges, but in the 18th century it lost its strategic purpose and began to collapse. In addition, in 1891, when the central part of the city was badly damaged by fire, the stones of the castle structures were used to restore the city buildings of Lida. The conservation of the castle complex lasted for more than 60 years, and its restoration for the last 20 years. Today it is the venue for theatrical performances, knightly tournaments and festivals. It is under state protection.

Golshany castle

As a powerful defensive structure, the Golshansky Castle, which belonged to the princely family of Sapieha, was also built in the 17th century. At the same time, it served as the residence of eminent representatives of the family. Unfortunately, it did not stand the test of time, and only a third of the castle buildings have survived to this day. Interestingly, the locals call this place “black” and claim that the ghost of a black monk roams in the surviving ruins. According to another legend, the ghost of a young beauty lives here, walled up in the castle walls.

Undoubtedly, this place is the most mysterious castle building in Belarus.

Krevo Castle

Thanks to many legends, the Krevo Castle in the village of Krevo is also attractive for tourists. Unfortunately, only ruins remain of this oldest Belarusian castle building, created at the beginning of the 14th century. Although at the time of construction it was the first castle in the country, completely built of stone. The thickness of its powerful walls was 2.5 meters, and the height was from 12 to 13 meters. It had two tall watchtowers.

The history of this place is also interesting, because it was here, in 1385, that the famous Kreva Union was signed here between Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

Today, from the former power of the building, which withstood the siege of the Tatar and Moscow troops, only fragments of walls and towers have survived.

Pishchalovsky Castle

However, often the Belarusian castle buildings carried not only a defensive function. So, the Pishchalovsky Castle, which is in the center of the capital of Belarus, is also called the “Belarusian Bastille”, because this ancient building, erected in 1825, has been used as a prison throughout its history. And today there is a pre-trial detention center.

Wednesday - arrival in Minsk, meeting at the station at the car number 5 of your train with a yellow sign "BELAYA Rus' tour", transfer to the hotel, accommodation at the hotel (from 00.10). Issuance of an information package (a memo with a detailed program, a map of Minsk). Breakfast buffet.

10.00 Excursion Sula - Rubezhevichi (8 hours). Manor and park complex Sula History Park created on the site of the estate of the gentry family of the Lenskys, conquers with the colors of nature and ancient buildings that, after restoration, received a modern purpose, but also retained the charm of the old architectural forms. The interactive format of the tour will allow you to turn from a passive listener into an active participant. At the entrance to the estate with music, a horse escort of riders in historical costumes meets. And then the journey through the ages begins: megalithic culture, an ancient man’s site, wooden idols of ancient gods, a Viking settlement – ​​the whole history of these places on the sites of the History Park! And immersion in the medieval history of Belarus, when Belarus was called the country of castles, begins with an inspection of the rubble stone built of hewn Sulsky Castle, built according to all the fortification rules of the Middle Ages. Then a visit to the weapons workshop - forging edged weapons and a demonstration of saber combat. Further, your gaze will open the majestic building of the "Royal Assembly", where you will see the hall of knightly glory with a collection of tapestries and paintings; attracts attention and a truly royal size fireplace. The performance of musical works on the bagpipe-dude and the harmonium of the 18th century, learning the dance will add color to the excursion. When visiting the brovarny and spirits tastings we will talk about the traditions of food and drink, which have been polished in Belarusian estates for centuries. And you can learn about the rich history of the Lenskys during visits to the Lensky Museum, inspection of the manor house and the chapel in the form of an ancient rotunda temple. A visit to this estate will become an immersion in an enchanting world where the boundaries between the material and the spiritual are erased, the lost connection with the past is restored. The unhurried course of the Sula river running through the park, flowing into a full-flowing and clear lake, a lot of colorful buildings on a vast territory will allow you to take beautiful photos; and at the end - LUNCH in a picturesque restaurant.

Next, we go to the former place Rubezhevichi known since the thirteenth century. The name Rubezhevichi comes from the word "frontier" - the place repeatedly found itself near the border of one or another state. In the Middle Ages, the eastern border of Lithuania passed here; and until 1939 the border between Poland and the Soviet Union stretched beyond Rubezhevichi. In Rubezhevichi there is an old pharmacy of medicinal herbs, called the Belarusian phyto-medical mecca. An ancient Jewish cemetery has been preserved here, restored by the whole world - with the participation of US students. Built of hewn limestone squares and proudly placed on a hillock, the 2-tower church of St. Joseph immediately captures the attention of visitors. The organ composition within its walls will complete our journey into the past, open today ... Overnight in Minsk

The treasures of the powerful magnates Radziwills, which are still kept in northern Paris, the village of Golshany, along with the Bermuda Triangle, are listed in the encyclopedia of mysterious places on the planet, a huge number of secrets and legends - you can learn about all this by going on a fascinating journey through Belarus.

castle country

The Belarusian lands, through which the largest trade routes passed, were often attacked, since there were many who wanted to take possession of this territory. This was the reason for the appearance of a large number of defensive structures here. That is why in the Middle Ages Belarus was called the country of castles.

Forerunners of castles were hill forts. The appearance in the 13th century of isolated stone fortifications by the 14th-15th century turned into a massive construction of stone castles along the border.

Castles in Belarus are shrouded in mystery and have great historical and architectural significance along with many other European historical monuments.

Mir Castle

One of these monuments is the Mir Castle (Mir) in Belarus. It is located in The earliest buildings of this masterpiece of defensive architecture date back to the 16th century. The castle was founded by Prince Illinich, and in 1568, by coincidence, passed to Nikolai Radziwill, who completed it in the Renaissance style. This wealthy Polish-Lithuanian-Belarusian family owned the Mir Castle until 1891.

Despite its monumentality and power, the castle does not look intimidating, although it was built as a defensive structure, like all castles in Belarus. The structure was a square, one side of which was 75 meters, and the width of the walls reached three meters at the base. The height of the walls was 10 meters, and the towers with loopholes reached 25 meters.

The castle, striking in its splendor, is surrounded by an earthen rampart nine meters high. A ditch was dug around the shaft, filled with water thanks to the Miranka River and a new pond.

The princely chambers were located on the third floor of the castle, built in the courtyard. The second floor was reserved for lackeys and the administration, while the first floor was used as a food warehouse and armory.

Today, the Mir Castle, where restoration is actively taking place, is a museum. It is called the "Mir Castle Complex", it is open to visitors.

in Belarus

Another possession of the Radziwill princes was the Nesvizh Castle. According to one of the legends, a tunnel was built between it and the Mir Castle, about 30 kilometers long and such that a carriage drawn by a troika could easily pass through it. But to date, there is no confirmation of this.

The foundation of the Nesvizh Castle was laid in 1583. Due to numerous rebuildings, the palace combines many architectural styles: neo-gothic, baroque, renaissance, rococo, classicism.

Due to the anti-Russian position of the owner of the castle in 1764-1768, Nesvizh was occupied by Russian troops. The library, archive and all valuables were confiscated and taken to St. Petersburg.

The Radziwills finally left the castle in 1939, when the Red Army entered Nesvizh. After World War II, the park and palace complex fell into disrepair.

Restoration and restoration work that began in 2004 brought this magnificent castle back to life. Nesvizh in Belarus was recognized as the cultural capital, and the palace and park complex was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The largest landscape park in Europe, founded in the 19th century, decorative lakes, shady alleys and a palace ensemble made this place very popular with tourists.

Brest castle

Belarus became famous all over the world for the steadfastness of the defenders of the Brest Fortress, located in the south, near the border with Poland. Brest itself has almost a thousand years of history. The geographical position was the reason for the numerous wars that took place on this land. The Brest castle survived many sieges, and as a result was almost completely destroyed. Part of its bastions was used in the construction of the fortress of the same name.

The photo above shows the Kholmsky Gate of the Brest Fortress.

Historians and archaeological groups are working to find the remains of the castle itself. As a result of excavations on the Volyn fortification, a supporting wall of the bastion was found, built in the 16th or 17th centuries. The very same residence of the rulers of those times, archaeologists are still hoping to discover.

Legends of the Golshany Castle

In the small town of Golshany, there are the ruins of a once majestic palace that belonged to the noble Sapieha family. Its outlines are similar to Mir Castle. The architectural complex, which is a prominent representative of the work of Dutch architects, was built by Pavel Sapega in 1610. Today, only ruins remain of its former glory. Severe destruction occurred during the last two wars.

However, it is very popular with tourists. Many are attracted by the halo of mystery and numerous legends that have survived to this day.

According to one of them, in the ruins of the mill, located at the very beginning of the town, the creaking of millstones, the neighing of horses and the voice of the main miller are heard at night. How true this is, you can check for yourself by visiting the Holstein Castle.

Bykhovskaya fortress

In the city of Bykhov, there is the only fortress in Belarus that has survived to this day. The first mention of it dates back to the 14th century. It was then that the first fortifications appeared. Bykhov, surrounded by a rampart with bastions and a deep moat, was famous for its impregnability. The castle itself was built in the 17th century under Jan Karol Hadkevich, who used it as a country residence on the right bank of the Dnieper River. In 1619 the construction of the castle was completed.

Since then, he has experienced many military battles. Peter the Great besieged the fortress of Bykhov twice. At the beginning of the 18th century, the castle fell under the onslaught of the Russian tsar. Having become part of the Russian Empire, Bykhov lost its strategic purpose, turning, like many castles in Belarus, into a historical architectural monument.

Today, only a few fragments of its former glory remain. The regional authorities have developed a plan for the restoration of a unique architectural structure, the cost of restoration will be borne not only by local, but also by the republican budgets. So far, only the ruins of the great castle of Sapieha are available to the gaze of travelers.

Castles in Belarus open up for tourists the eventful historical past of the people of this country, the spirit of which was not broken by numerous wars and troubles. The preservation and restoration of the castles of Belarus is evidence that the peaceful and freedom-loving Belarusian people remember the history of their ancestors.