Download GPX file for this article
53.7525.33Full screen dynamic map

From Wikivoyage
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Grodno Oblast is a region in the western part of Belarus.

Cities and towns

  • Grodno — the center of the region and one of the oldest cities in Belarus. Hrodna is a home to a 12th-century church, an old castle, and numerous remarkable buildings from the late 17th-early 20th century.
  • Ashmyany — a town with several interesting churches and a well-preserved brick synagogue.
  • Astravyets — some interesting churches in the town, and more in the neighborhood.
  • Dzyatlava — a small town with a nice Catholic church from 17th century and a number of interesting secular buildings.
  • Iwye — a settlement with an old Catholic church and an unusual wooden mosque, one of the few surviving pieces of the traditional architecture of the Belarusian Tatars.
  • Lida — an old city with a Gothic castle from the 14th-century.
  • Masty
  • Navahrudak — an ancient town with the ruins of a 13th-century castle and fine churches from the 18th-19th century.
  • Slonim — a town with well-preserved churches and secular buildings from the 18th-early 20th century.
  • Smarhon — an interesting old church (originally Kalvinist) and some World War I fortifications.
  • Vaukavysk — a town with picturesque surroundings, including the hills on which the mediaeval settlement originally stood.
  • Zel’va

Other destinations

St. Michael's fortified church in Synkavichy.
  • Gervyaty — a village with a magnificent neo-gothic church
  • Gnezno — a village that preserves a fine gothic church from the 16th-century.
  • Halshany (Holszany) – a village with a ruined castle and a Baroque monastery, once a seat of a princely Holszanski family.
  • Hieraniony (Gieranony) – the ruins of a Gothic castle which once belonged to Olbracht Gasztołd (d. 1539), the Grand Chancellor of Lithuania.
  • Kreva – a town with a 14th-century castle where Kęstutis of Lithuania was murdered and the first union treaty between Poland and Lithuania was signed.
  • Lubcha – yet another Renaissance castle of the Radziwill family can be seen in this small town.
  • Mir — one of the most-known destinations in Belarus, with an original castle from the 16th century and a nice old town with 19th-century buildings.
  • Usyalub — a village with a Catholic church from the 15th century. In the 19th century, the village was owned by a branch of the Irish O'Rourke family, whose funeral chapel survives to the present day.
  • Zhyrovichy — a village that is home to a large monastery dating back to the early 17th century.

Fortified Gothic churches

Fortified Gothic churches can be seen in several regions of Europe (notably in Transylvania in Romania). Those in Belarus add one more element to the curious blend: they are Orthodox, and the corresponding architectural tradition has its share of influence on these buildings as well.

  • 1 Church of St. Michael, Synkavichy. The most fortified church in the whole region.
  • 2 Church of the Nativity of the Mother of God, Muravanka. This well-preserved fortified church is especially beautifully decorated.

Understand

Talk

Get in

Get around

See

Do

Eat

Drink

Stay safe

Go next

This region travel guide to Grodno Oblast is an outline and may need more content. It has a template, but there is not enough information present. If there are Cities and Other destinations listed, they may not all be at usable status or there may not be a valid regional structure and a "Get in" section describing all of the typical ways to get here. Please plunge forward and help it grow!