Get to know history Golshany castle stands with Prince Holshawho built the first wooden fortress on these lands. Golshany moved to Sapieha later - in the middle of the 16th century. At Pavle Sapieha it was decided to move the residence of the princes from the settlement closer to the river. Construction itself castle in Golshany began in the first half of the 17th century (some sources have a date - 1610 year).
Stages, architecture, interesting facts
Initially, the castle in the village of Golshany was a rectangular defensive fortification. Dimensions 89 at 96 meterswith spacious courtyard 60 at 60 meters. It is believed that outwardly it was similar to Mir castle, but over time acquired the features inherent in the palace complexes.
At the corners of the castle were placed hexagonal towers. They were used for various household needs and housing, but they also carried their defensive function.
Several elements of the castle are irretrievably lost - these are entrance gate и single-nave chapel. The chapel can be seen in an 1876 drawing by Napoleon Orda.
By the end of the 17th century, the Sapiehas ceased to own the Golshany. A series of changes of owners and numerous reconstructions of the castle began. In different periods, the lands belonged to Kuntsevich, Masevich, Pats and Toads. In addition, constant wars led the castle to decline and ruin. From the former grandeur and beautiful interior, mostly only ruins remained.
After the uprising of 1863 and the peasant revolt of 1871, the Golshany went to the Russian officer Gorbanev. This man did not see much sense in a massive castle and ordered to dismantle part of the walls into bricks for the construction of a tavern.
Despite the partially ruined state, the castle continued to impress. At the beginning of the 20th century, the former Sapieha Palace looked like a harsh fortress. In 1921, Golshany was part of the Interwar Poland, the castle was partially restored.
Perhaps the real decline in the history of the castle occurred after the end of the Second World War. The palace was in ruins, and there was neither the strength nor the desire to restore it.
A small overview video filmed before the start of the reconstruction.
The legend of the Golshansky castle
The most famous legend of the castle is associated with black monk. The poor young man fell in love with the princess Hann-Gordislav Golshanskayawho also liked it. After some time, the father of the princess found out about their connection. He was very angry and ordered the young man in love to be immured alive in one of the walls of the Golshansky castle. Since that time, people often began to notice the silhouette of a man in a black robe. It is believed that this ghost has become a kind of keeper of the castle.
Also, local residents more than once saw other silhouettes of figures near the ruins. They are sure that these are the inhabitants of the castle, who for some reason cannot leave this place.
The castle in Golshany gained its fame also thanks to the famous Belarusian writer Vladimir Korotkevich. He took as a basis the image of this particular castle for his historical-detective novel "Black Castle Olshansky».
Castle today
Golshany castle planned to begin to reconstruct for many years. Even several restoration projects have been developed. Among which appeared an interesting option: cover the ruins with a glass dome. As a result, this idea was abandoned and it was decided to restore one of the main attractions of the Oshmyany region in stages.
By 2021, the tower was completed, having equipped an observation deck and a small exhibition hall on the upper tier. Also in Golshany they created the necessary infrastructure for tourists. In front of the castle there is now a spacious parking lot, a toilet, an information point and a museum.
How to get to Golshany
The village of Golshany is located in the Grodno region, Oshmyany district. From Minsk distance about 130 kilometer, travel time 1 hour 30 minutes. You need to move along the M6 highway to the village of Sharay, from where we leave for the M7 (E28). Along the way it makes sense to look castle in Krevaand monastery in Boruny. All objects along the way. There will be a sign “Historical Heritage” on the ruins of Sapieha Castle.
If you are in Golshany, then take a walk along historical part and see other sights: ancient church, Polish gmina и early 20th century church.
