Lyubcha Castle

Lyubcha castle was built from 1581 for Jan Kiszka and later held by the Radziwills, a rectangular enclosure on a bluff above the Neman with four corner towers, earth ramparts and a moat. It was destroyed in the mid-seventeenth-century wars and only two towers survived, with a neo-Gothic manor house built inside the enclosure in the nineteenth century that later served as a school. Since 2003 a volunteer foundation has been restoring the site, working with donated labour and materials over successive summers, rebuilding the gate tower and consolidating the walls, and the project is unusual in the region for being driven by volunteers rather than the state.

What you actually see

• The two towers - the surviving corner structures above the river.
• The volunteer restoration - the rebuilt gate tower and ongoing work.
• The earth ramparts - the defences around the enclosure.
• The Neman - the river below the bluff.

When to go

May to September, when the volunteer work camps run and the site is most active; the castle grounds are open at any time. Summer weekends are when volunteers are on site.

Honest expectations

The castle is a work in progress, with scaffolding and building materials part of the scene. There is no museum or formal interpretation. Facilities in the village are minimal. The visit takes about an hour.

Nearby

Novogrudok lies south; the Neman runs east and west.