About Kremenets Castle
Kremenets Castle is known as an impregnable fortress from the time of Vytautas. The castle was built in the 13th–14th and 16th centuries on the top of a mountain overlooking the town of Kremenets, which Vytautas received from King Władysław II Jagiełło in late 1394. The castle consisted of defensive walls and three towers – the Entrance Tower, the Cherlena Tower, and the tower erected above the residential palace. The square two-tiered gate tower, the Gothic entrance arch, parts of the side defensive walls, and the tower above the new house have been preserved.
Vytautas mentions Kremenets and the castle in the Lithuanian-Polish treaties of 1352 and 1366 and in the 1392 agreement with Prince Skirgaila. In 1409, Vytautas imprisoned his rival, Prince Svidrigailo Olgerdovich, in the dungeon of Kremenets Castle, keeping him under the guard of the German Konrad Frankenberg. Svidrigailo managed to escape only in 1418 with the help of allies.
In the 1420s, Vytautas hosted guests from foreign countries at Kremenets Castle, including representatives of France and England. The English and French envoy, the Frenchman Guillebert de Lannoy, visited Vytautas at Kremenets Castle in 1421 and recorded this in his memoirs. The memoirist noted that at that time, a Tatar prince, a large number of Lithuanian nobility, and knights were also present at Kremenets Castle. As a gift to Vytautas from his homeland, de Lannoy brought greetings and insignia from the English King Henry V. In gratitude, Vytautas seated the esteemed guest at a festive table laden with a variety of fish and meat dishes. Next to de Lannoy sat the Tatar prince. When the traveler left Kremenets, Vytautas provided him with accompanying documents ensuring safe passage through the country. These documents were in three languages: Tatar, Rus`, and Latin.
In 1648, Kremenets Castle was destroyed after a six-week siege by the Cossack troops of Maksym Kryvonis. Subsequently, the castle lost its significance and was never rebuilt.
Today, the castle remains in ruins. It is an architectural monument of national significance and is part of the Kremenets-Pochaiv State Historical and Architectural Reserve.
Tourist Information: Address of the historical and cultural reserve: 6 Kozubsky St., Kremenets 47003; diazkre@gmail.com; +380 66 425 1723.