There are a great number of castles in Belarus. Some of them represent a cultural value for our country, the histories of many are covered with mysteries and legends, and only stories and historical summaries remained of some of them.

A castle site is one of those places where once great castles towered, which were inhabited with the town’s heads. There was a large castle built of wood in David-Gorodok in the XIV-XVIII centuries. Today there is a complex of wooden buildings which once were defensive, but were destroyed over time.

According to the national documents, the castle hill of David-Gorodok is located in the eponymous town in Stolin district, Brest region.

The history of the castle in David-Gorodok

The first mention of David-Gorodok castle dates back to the year of 1605. There was a wooden building, hidden fr om prying eyes with a long timbered fence on the spacious territory at that time. One of the sectors was half-opened, there was a paling instead of the fence.

The castle was in seclusion, therefore the only road led to it fr om the town. A tower-belfry stood at the entrance of private territory, so that the residents could see clearly who headed to their estate. It wasn’t covered with roof for the purpose of a good visibility. Here again the guards greeted the first guests arrived to the castle.

In order to avoid the intruders’ coming, five small towers were located along the perimeter, parts of which still exist. It was necessary to cross a long drawbridge to get to the castle. Its lowering and lifting were controlled with massive chains.

There were two castles on David-Gorodok territory: Upper (“Mountain”) and Lower (“Partite”) at the end of the XVIII century. The Upper castle was surrounded by a huge moat. However, there were no significant buildings on that place. The only wooden structure here was a kitchen, but it was burned down too during the Polish-Russian war in 1654-67 years.

Historical summaries of David-Gorodok castles

The first castle hasn’t preserved in David-Gorodok to the present day, but you can see the castle site on the place wh ere it once stood. The very first building was burned down in 1655 during the Russian-Polish war. Later Upper and Lower castles were built there.

The constructions were originally intended for the city's defense. They were surrounded by high stone walls, and there was a water-filled moat inside of it. The total length of castle fortifications was a little less than a kilometer.

There were a garden and a wooden church in front of the Lower castle. The church survived the military operations in 1655, but was destroyed later – in 1839. The first place wh ere you could get, while going out of the castle, was a trade square.

Anyone could leave the estate, but getting inside was difficult. The stone walls were interlocked with the massive gates, which prevented the intruders from entering into the private property. When David-Gorodok was building up again, the new streets were being formed starting at the Lower castle gates.

The castles decayed in course of time, it was impossible to reconstruct them. However, there were no intentions to neglect the constructions, so they were converted from the defensive buildings into the residence. After that, the Radzivil family settled there.