In Smorgon district of Grodno region, between the hills, in the valley, the walls of the ancient Kreva Castle are visible. The events that took place there more than six centuries ago greatly influenced the fate of not only the Belarusian lands, but also most of Europe.
Kreva Castle is one of the first one built of stone on Belarusian lands, it was erected in the 20s of the ХІV century, when the small town of Krevo was the capital of the appanage principality. In 1338, the Grand Duke of Lithuania Gediminas transferred the Principality of Krevo along with the Castle to his son Olgerd (Algirdas). And since then, the castle has been mentioned in the chronicles.
The architecture of the fortification was based on the principle of transferring the main defensive load from the fortress walls to the towers, which were much more effective in defense due to the removal of the walls, which made it possible to fire almost in a round. It is also more difficult to take a high tower by storm.
Its shape resembled an irregular trapezoid with two towers standing diagonally. The large princely tower, also called the “The Keistut Tower”, protruded beyond the walls of the Castle and towered more than 20 meters. There were located wooden buildings inside the Castle.
In 1382, one of the grand dukes, Keistut, was killed here. Three years later, in 1385, Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania signed the Union of Krevo in the Castle.
Kreva Castle is very similar in appearance and architecture to the Lida one. The Castle in Krevo, Lida and the Castle in Novogrudok formed a line of defense against the invasion of the Teutonic Knights, called the “Stone Belt”.