Kreva Castle (Крэўскі замак) is a medieval citadel situated in the Kreva village in Belarus. Today little remains from the former magnificent citadel that once served as a frontier fortress for the Lithuanian kingdom.
Location: Kreva village Map
Constructed: 14th century
One of the first castles in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, built in
the 14th century (there is reason to believe that construction began
at the end of the 13th century) at the confluence of the Krevlyanka
and Shlyakhtyanka rivers. The main part of the castle was erected in
the middle of a swampy floodplain, half of the defensive walls were
erected on an artificially expanded sand dune.
Kreva Castle
has been a witness and site of many historical events. Soon after
its construction, it was fired upon with stone cannonballs (they
were found during excavations near the western wall), and the battle
gallery was burned.
In 1382, in the dungeon of the castle, on
the orders of the Grand Duke Jagiello, his uncle Keistut, a
contender for the Grand Duke's throne, was strangled. At the same
time, the son of Keistut, Vitovt, managed to escape thanks to the
cunning of his wife Anna. Dressed in a woman's dress, he, under the
guise of one of her maids, was able to get away from the murderers
pursuing him and leave with his wife for Polotsk, leaving in his
place a woman portraying a seriously ill prince.
In 1385, the
terms of the Krevo Union were worked out in the castle - the
unification of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Poland under the
rule of Grand Duke Jagiello. In 1433, the Grand Duke Svidrigailo,
who claimed the throne of the Grand Duke, took possession of the
Kreva Castle. In 1503-1506, the castle was repeatedly besieged and
significantly damaged by the Perekop Tatars, but it was soon
rebuilt. In 1519, during a deep raid, Krevo was captured by Moscow
governors. In the second half of the 16th century, the fugitive
Russian prince Andrei Kurbsky lived in the Krevo Castle. Gradually
the castle lost its defensive value.
Back in the 18th century,
Krevo Castle was in good condition. Later, its destruction began,
which ended the First World War. During the war, the front line
passed through Kreva, dividing the town into two parts since the
autumn of 1915. The castle ended up on the territory occupied by the
Germans, shelters and observation posts were built here, and
positional battles were fought for more than three years. In the
summer of 1917, the last major offensive of the Russian army took
place on the Smorgon-Krevo sector (the direction of the main attack
was chosen so that, having broken through the German defenses, it
would reach Vilna). The operation was prepared very seriously - the
Russian army had never assembled more powerful artillery to the
breakthrough site - about 800 guns of various calibers (a special
narrow-gauge railway was built, and naval artillery with a range of
shooting more than 20 km). All batteries were given an additional
amount of ammunition for artillery preparation, capable of
destroying powerful German fortifications. The operation began on
July 19 and lasted four days, three of which were spent on artillery
preparation. The Russian army has never fired more powerful fire at
enemy positions. Its density increased every day and reached its
peak on July 21. During the shelling, the Prince's Tower and the
walls in the southern part of the castle were especially badly
damaged.
After the conclusion of the Riga Peace Treaty of
1921, the Krevo Castle became part of the young Polish state.
Understanding the historical value of even those ruins that remained
after the attack of Russian artillery, the Polish authorities
carried out the conservation of the remains of the Prince's Tower in
1929, but then the matter never came to restoration. In 1970, the
castle was explored by an expedition led by M. A. Tkachov. In 1985 -
headed by O. A. Trusov and M. A. Tkachov. In 1988 - under the
leadership of I. M. Chernyavsky. Conservation of the castle ruins
continued in 2004; then student volunteers mothballed the entrance
to the Keistut Tower. Later, an emergency structure was installed on
the wall, which protects this part of the wall from the effects of
precipitation.
The ruins of the castle have survived to this day.
In 2005,
the local charitable foundation "Krevo Castle" was established, the
main goal of which is to contribute to the preservation of the Krevo
Castle. The Foundation annually organizes summer and cultural events
in Krevo and other settlements.
The castle is on the verge of
destruction. Some locals and tourists allow themselves to take out
ancient stones and bricks from the castle grounds. In 2018, work
began on the conservation of the Prince's Tower, in 2019/2020,
conservation with the restoration of the western wall, in 2020/2021
- the northern wall, along with the gate, were completed. In 2022,
it is planned to restore the southeastern wall of the castle. In
July, archaeological excavations were carried out at the foot of the
southwestern wall of the fortress. Fragments of Gothic semi-circular
tiles with spikes dating back to the 14th century, fragments of
tiles and pottery were found. The design of the restoration of the
Prince's Tower has already begun, in which it is planned to create a
museum.
The castle in plan is an irregular quadrangle surrounded by stone walls. The northern wall is 85 m long, the eastern one is 108.5 m, the southern one is 71.5 m, the western one is 97.2 m. The thickness of the walls is 2.5–3 m, the height is about 10–13 m. from field stone, at a height of about 7 m from the surface along the outer perimeter, they are lined with a belt of about 2 m from large-sized bricks. The castle had 2 towers in the corners. The northern, Princely tower, almost square in plan (18.65 × 17 m) protrudes beyond the perimeter of the defensive walls. The tower had at least 4 floors and a cellar-prison at the base, the transitions between them existed in the thickness of the walls. A small tower measuring 11 × 10.65 m was added diagonally from the Prince's Tower from the inside to the castle walls. The walls were built of stone up to a level of 3 m, higher - of brick. The entrance gate was on the southeast side. In the castle courtyard there was a forge, residential buildings, there was a pond.