Lyubcha Castle or Lubcz Castle () was a residential

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

of the Radziwill family on the left bank of the

Neman River Neman, Nemunas or Niemen is a river in Europe that rises in central Belarus and flows through Lithuania then forms Lithuania–Russia border, the northern border of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia's western exclave, which specifically follows its s ...

at Lyubcha near

Novogrudok Novogrudok or Navahrudak (; ; , ; ) is a town in Grodno Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Novogrudok District. As of 2025, it has a population of 27,624. In the Middle Ages, the city was ruled by King Mindaugas' son V ...

, Belarus. The castle began its life in 1581 as a fortified residence of

Jan Kiszka Jan Kiszka (1552–1592) was a politician, magnate, patron, and benefactor of Polish Brethren in the 16th century Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth after its creation in 1569. Kiszka served as Carver of Lithuania ...

, a powerful

Calvinist Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...

magnate The term magnate, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...

. It had timber walls and a single stone

tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

, and was surrounded by

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch dug around a castle, fortification, building, or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. Moats can be dry or filled with water. In some places, moats evolved into more extensive water d ...

s on three sides, the fourth side protected by the river. Lyubcha later passed to Janusz Radziwiłł,

Great Hetman of Lithuania Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" * Artel Great (bo ...

, who expanded the castle by adding three stone towers. In 1655, it was taken and devastated by the rebellious

Cossacks The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic languages, East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borde ...

under Ivan Zolotarenko. Only the

barbican A barbican (from ) is a fortified outpost or fortified gateway, such as at an outer defense perimeter of a city or castle, or any tower situated over a gate or bridge which was used for defensive purposes. Europe Medieval Europeans typically b ...

and one other tower stood after the Cossack incursion. The deserted estate changed owners several times, remaining untenanted until the mid-19th century, when a

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

palace was built on the grounds. The Lyubcha estate suffered much damage during both

world war A world war is an international War, conflict that involves most or all of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World War I ...

s. The palace was reduced to a shell in 1914 and was remodeled into a

school A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the Educational architecture, building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most co ...

building by the Soviets in 1947. In the early 21st century, some of the castle walls were rebuilt by a team of volunteers.

Online references

Lyubchа Castle at globus.tut.by

History and Restoration of Lyubcha Castle
Buildings and structures in Grodno region Castles in Belarus Castles and palaces of the Radziwiłł family Novogrudok district {{Belarus-struct-stub