Liahavichy Castle, Medieval castle ruins in Liahavičy, Belarus

Liahavichy Castle is a fortified stone structure that once stood on a hill near the Vedz'ma river in this region. The site features remains of thick defensive walls, a water-filled moat fed by a dam, and traces of a central residential building where residents lived.

The hetman Jan Karol Chodkiewicz built this fortress in the late 16th century to strengthen the region's defenses. During the Eastern conflicts of the 1654-1667 period, it remained unconquered while other fortresses fell.

The castle's name comes from the town of Liachavičy, first recorded in 1572 when Jan Karol Chodkiewicz acquired the estate. After the 1660 siege, contemporaries called it the "Lithuanian Częstochowa" for withstanding Moscow's troops. The four-tiered gate tower held a clock and a bell used to sound alarm.

The ruins sit on a hilltop and require walking through grassland to reach them. The site is open and accessible, though you need to look carefully at ground-level remains to understand how the old defensive layout functioned.

The castle's 1660 defence against Muscovite troops earned it the name "Lithuanian Częstochowa". After the siege was lifted following the Muscovite defeat at Polonka, the fortress was compared to the Jasna Góra monastery, which had withstood a Swedish siege in 1655.