History of architectural monuments of Navahradak region. Part 3. Exactly 515 years ago (July 30, 1505) there was an unsuccessful siege of Navahradak Castle by the troops of the Tatar Khan Biti-Girey

Exactly 515 years ago (July 30, 1505) there was an unsuccessful siege of Navahradak Castle by the troops of the Tatar Khan Biti-Girey and Turkish janissaries. But the castle withstood the siege of the Tatar horde. The defense of the Navahradak castle was led by the voivode Albrecht Gashtold and Maskevich. The following year (1506) there was another attempt to take the castle by the Perekop Tatars. But it also failed. One of the reasons for this failure was the fact that the castle was reconstructed in the late 15th - early 16th centuries, which were caused by attacks by Crimean Tatars on Belarusian lands.

By the way, after 1505 and 1506 the castle was fortified again: the Dazorca Tower was built and was connected with the Ščytoūka Tower. In the same period, the Meska Tower was also erected, and it was connected by new stone walls with the Kalodzežnaya Tower and the Malaya Brama. Thus, two masonry belts of defense were formed - dziadzinec, the other - on the hillside, in front of the entrance to the castle from the town. Thus, in the 16th century, the main castle boasted 7 stone towers and was one of the most powerful castles in Belarus.

In general, Navahradak Castle is a 100% unique architectural monument of its time. The castle passed the way from the usual fence-eagle to a powerful 7-towers castle. It consists of two sites: the courtyard (Castle Hill) with the remains of a brick castle and the surrounding town (the Lesser Castle). And as it was mentioned above, in the beginning, the castle was made of wood. And according to scientists, wooden walls have been rebuilt at least five times. The castle occupied its first brick tower Shield in the 14th century. And I must say that the power and impregnability of Navahrudak Castle in the late 13th and 14th centuries are confirmed by the fact that the enemy never managed to capture it. For example, the storming of Navahrudak in 1274 by Volyn and Tatar troops failed, and in 1314 the castle was stormed by the Teutonic Knights under Heinrich von Plötzke. And again it was unsuccessful.

Until the 17th century, the castle didn't experience any destruction. If you want to learn more about Navahradak Castle and about what happened to the castle from the middle of the 17th century to the present days, you can do it in our museum or by joining our guided walking tour of the town.

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