Description of the attraction
The White Kovel Castle in Smolyany is the residence of the Volyn princes Sangushek, built in 1626 on the border of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Russia. In the 17th century, border skirmishes between the two states happened constantly, so it was very important that the prince's residence could survive an enemy attack and even a siege, but still it was a prince's residence, not a fortress, because the castle was built in the Renaissance style. The construction was supervised by a Dutch architect.
The White Kovel Castle looked like the now famous reconstructed Mir Castle - the territory of the castle, 100 x 200 meters, was surrounded by water on all sides. The castle was surrounded by high walls made of large bricks and wild stone. The walls were 1.5 meters thick. In every corner of the walls there were watchtowers, in which, in addition to defensive ones, there were also living quarters.
The internal buildings of the castle were three-storeyed with large windows decorated with platbands with Dutch ornament. The whole castle looked more like a Dutch one, not a Belarusian one.
The name "White Kovel" was given to the castle by the princes of Sangushki, yearning for their estate in Kovel, for which an exchange was once made between the Sangushki and the fugitive Moscow prince Andrei Kurbsky, who received the Smolyans as a generous gift from the government of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
In the 17th century, White Kovel became the cultural center of the country. Being on the road from Moscow to Europe, the hospitable hosts received many eminent guests. During the Northern War, White Kovel belonged to Pavel Karol Sangushko, who fought on the side of the Swedes in this war and placed a Swedish garrison in his castle. Russian troops were able to take the castle, but realized that they could not keep it, therefore, by order of Peter I, the castle was blown up.
Gradually dilapidated and confiscated by the Russian treasury after the partition of the Commonwealth, the castle was dismantled for building material. Only one five-tiered central tower has survived.
The White Kovel Castle is included in the plan for the restoration of cultural monuments in Belarus for the next 5 years.
