Orša Castle, Medieval castle in Orsha, Belarus

Orsha Castle no longer stands: it was a stone and timber fortress at the confluence of the Dnieper and Orshytsa, built from 1398 to 1407 under Vytautas with a mason from Königsberg. Its walls, about 2 m thick and up to 8 m high on the north and west, enclosed a perimeter of 354 m. In 2003 archaeologists found its foundation, a lime cushion mixed with clay, sand and broken brick.

Grand Duke Vytautas founded this fortress between 1398 and 1407 to protect the region during the Grand Duchy of Lithuania period. It served as part of a larger defensive network that monitored and secured the frontier.

The castle's name survives only in records: sixteenth-century townspeople kept 101 wooden horodnia cells against the walls, where citizens, nobles and peasants of the castle volost stored goods in wartime. Orsha residents were also obliged to maintain the secret passage to the Dnieper water and dig a pit under the drawbridge.

The castle itself no longer stands; only the foundation base found by archaeologists in 2003 remains, so look for the excavation site at the confluence of the Dnieper and Orshitsa. The area is open ground with no visitor facilities, and the location can be identified by the rivers and the high right bank.

A wooden secret passage, the "taynik", was built down to the Dnieper to supply the garrison with water during sieges. The castle also had a large bell with a clapper, hung near the gate, rung to raise the alarm. In 2003 archaeologists found the foundation: a lime cushion mixed with clay, sand and broken brick.