About Castle in Bielsk Podlaski
In Bielsk Podlaski, on the Biała River, in a place called Łysa Górka or Castle Hill, there was a defensive Ruthenian stronghold in the Middle Ages. It was built on an artificially raised hill, probably in the 12th century. The first mention of the stronghold existing here comes from 1253. It was a wooden stronghold with earthen and wooden fortifications.
In the 1420s, the lands on which Bielsk is located were finally taken over by Lithuania. Lithuanian rulers strengthened the stronghold, which became part of the border defense system in Podlasie. Jagiełło, the Grand Duke of Lithuania, and later the King of Poland, visited Bielsk several times, and at the end of that century, he rested here while traveling between Vilnius and Krakow.
In 1408, Jagiełło gave Bielsk to the Grand Duke of Lithuania, Vytautas. The stronghold lost its defensive function. In 1430, Vytautas established his governorship in Bielsk. The Grand Duke also ordered the construction of a wooden manor house, which was to serve as a local administrative center. A magnificent manor house, the so-called Vytautas Castle, was built on the other side of the river, a few hundred meters from the castle.
The settlement of Bielsk was established near the castle, which became the seat of the starost. At the end of the 15th century, the city was founded under a privilege issued by the Grand Duke Alexander Jagiellon. The Grand Dukes of Lithuania and Polish kings enjoyed staying at the Bielsk manor house, which provided all the amenities.
In 1564, during the session of the Lithuanian Sejm with the participation of King Sigismund Augustus, the wooden building complex burned down in a fire caused by a lightning strike. A new, less impressive seat of the starost was built in another nearby location. Vytautas Castle in Bielsk was never rebuilt.
Currently, the area where the castle probably stood is located within the city limits of Bielsk Podlaski (the area formed by today’s streets: Zamkowa, Józefa Poniatowskiego, and Gabriela Narutowicza). This area has been intensively used for economic purposes for centuries. No remains or more detailed descriptions have survived. It is not known what Vytautas’ castle looked like.
During numerous fires and wars in the 17th century, the remains of the former stronghold on Castle Hill were also destroyed. In the 19th century, the Prussian authorities first built a gunpowder magazine on the site, and then the Russian authorities demolished it and erected a chapel for soldiers stationed in Bielsk.
In interwar Poland, the chapel was demolished. Castle Hill and its surroundings took on their current appearance during the German occupation in World War II. The shape of the hill was leveled, park alleys were marked out, and canals and a pond were dug. Today, Castle Hill is seven meters high, the lower part has a circumference of 213 m, and the upper part has a circumference of 124.6 m.
Address: ul. Zamkowa 14A, 17-100 Bielsk Podlaski
Useful tourist information:
Tourist Information for Bielsk Podlaski – https://umbielskpodlaski.pl/dla-turysty/
Museum of the Two Nations in Bielsk Podlaski – https://muzeumpodlaskie.pl/oddzialy/muzeum-obojga-narodow-w-bielsku-podlaskim/