Krevo Castle Ruins, Krevo, Belarus

Krevo Castle is one of the oldest Belarus castles and dates from the early 14th century. It is an important place in Belarus because it was the first all-stone castle to be built in the region. The stone walls were 2.5m thick and 13m high. The castle had two towers which guarded the rest of the fortress. Grand Duke Keistut was murdered in the castle in 1381, and in 1385 the famousKrevo Union (between Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania) was signed here.

During the 16th century the Tatars and the Russians tried to capture the castle but it remained intact. By the early 19th century the castle was abandoned and the buildings were mostly destroyed during World War I. Today only the ruins of the castle remain. The perimeter walls can still be seen, but only a few fragments of the towers are still intact. There is a magnificent view of the ruins from the top of nearby Yuryeva Mountain.

Many legends surround the Krevo Castle ruins, including tales of an underground tunnel from the castle to Vilnius, and a beautiful princess who was bricked up alive in the castle walls. There is a pagan temple on Yuryeva Mountain and 1 of 4 amulet boulders, which used to lie at the entrance of Krevo to protect the town against trouble and disease, still remains.

References:

Belarus.by

Miscellaneous historic sites in Belarus

Address

Н6128, Krevo, Belarus

See all sites in Krevo

Details

Founded: 14th century
Category: Miscellaneous historic sites in Belarus

More Information

en.wikipedia.org
www.belarus.by

Rating

4.4/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby

Halshany Castle (18,2 km)

User Reviews

William Vargas (4 years ago)
If you are around, why not go and visit. Very minimum ruins but historically old enough. Not much else to do that walk around a bit. Close to the road.

Leonchik#sisters (4 years ago)
so wonderful! ?

Jerry Meijer (4 years ago)
Although the Kreva castle has been destroyed at the beginning of the 20th century and only ruins remain, it is worth visiting it. Why? Because here is where the Krewo union (1835), where Jagellon (Jagiełło/Jogaila) united the Polish kingdom with both Lithuanian and Ruthenian lands. Highly important place in the history of Poland, Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine.

Alex Zakrevsky (5 years ago)
Cool old castle

Гісторыя Побач (5 years ago)
Great place!

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Photo from Flickr, copyright Christian Lauw

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Krevo Castle Ruins