Bykhov castle is now in a deplorable state. While you can only talk about the ruins of Bykhov castle. This is the last surviving city-fortress of the XVII century.

The town of Bykhov formed on the right high Bank of the Dnieper in the XIV century as the private ownership of the Lithuanian Prince of švitrigaila. Stone town-fortress was built in 1610 illustrious commander Jan Karol Chodkiewicz. Permission for the construction of the fortress Chodkiewicz received from the king after the attack of the Cossack troops.

The construction of a new fortified castle was completed in 1619. In 1628 Bykhov castle passed to the princes Sapieha, who rebuilt it to their own taste. Replaced the military barrack style came more elegant Baroque style, typical of the Renaissance. The castle appeared arcade galleries.

However, the neighborhood Cossack Ukraine did not give the owners of the castle to relax. He continued to build fortifications. The castle was surrounded by ramparts and surrounded on all sides by a deep moat. Along the perimeter of the impregnable walls were built a watchtower, from which day and night were watching the watchers.

Bykhov, like most cities in the Commonwealth, was a multi-religious city. In it, in particular, was a synagogue, also built as a defensive structure, able to withstand a serious siege.

In the great Northern war Sapieha assisted Sweden, for which the victorious Russian troops destroyed the castle, but soon it was rebuilt again. In 1830, after the failure of the November uprising, the property of rebels was confiscated in favor of the state. This fate befell Bykhov castle. Then for a time it existed as a barracks, and with the beginning of the twentieth century was abandoned altogether and had been empty for more than a century.

Last year the government of the Republic of Belarus adopted the long – awaited decision to allocate money for the restoration of Bykhov castle. Soon tourists will be able to see this majestic fortress in all its glory.