Kreva Castle

Kreva was built in the 1330s as one of the first stone castles of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, an irregular enclosure of fieldstone and brick with a large tower at one corner, standing on low ground between two streams. The Union of Krewo was signed here in 1385, the dynastic agreement by which Jogaila accepted Christianity and married Jadwiga of Poland, binding the two states together for the next four centuries; the document is a foundational text of the region's history. The castle was ruined in the First World War when the front ran through the village, and what stands is fragments of wall and the base of the tower, partly consolidated in recent years.

What you actually see

• The wall fragments - the surviving sections of the enclosure.
• The tower base - the remains of the large corner tower.
• The consolidation work - the recent stabilisation of the ruins.
• The village - Krevo around the castle site.

When to go

May to September for the approach and the light; the site is open at any time with no gate. Low sun early or late suits the masonry. Grass is high in summer.

Honest expectations

Very little stands and the ruin takes reading to understand. Interpretation on site is minimal. There are no facilities in the village. It is a short stop rather than a destination.

Nearby

Halshany lies south; Smarhon is northwest.