Davyd-Haradok Castle, Medieval castle remains in Davyd-Haradok, Belarus.
Davyd-Haradok Castle was a complex of wooden defensive and administrative buildings on Zamkovaya Hill above the Horyn, on the site of an earlier Rus' citadel. A 1605 inventory records a log wall of horodni covered with shingles, a palisade section, an unroofed gate tower facing the town, old towers and five small half-ruined turrets. Entry from the forecourt crossed a long bridge to a gate with a chain-operated drawbridge.
The castle was built on Zamkovaya Hill on the site of an earlier Old Russian citadel and existed from the 14th to the 18th century. From the mid-16th century it served as the centre of the Davyd-Haradok ordination of the Radziwiłł family. In September 1655, during the Russo-Polish war of 1654–1667, it was taken by the Muscovite army; by the early 1670s it comprised two castles, the Upper and Lower, enclosed by a new oak fence. It was abandoned from 1760.
From the mid-16th century the castle was the seat of the Radziwiłł ordination of Davyd-Haradok, and the 1692 inventory records a palace in the upper gate with five reception rooms, a dining hall, an alcove and a vestibule. The town's name is linked to Prince David Igorevich, and the castle hill is still called Zamkovaya Hara.
The site sits at the edge of the settlement and is easy to reach on foot once you arrive in town. The best time to visit is during dry months, as the ground can become slippery after rain.
The castle stood on Zamkovaya Hill on the site of an earlier Old Rus citadel. In 1605 its timber walls were covered with shingles, and a roofless gate tower faced the town; entry from the outer courtyard crossed a long bridge to a gate with a chain-operated drawbridge.
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