Kreva Castle
Encyclopedia
Kreva Castle is the ruins of a major fortified residence of Grand Dukes Gediminas and Algirdas
in Kreva
village, Belarus
. Algirdas's brother Kęstutis
was imprisoned and murdered in Kreva Castle in 1382. The Act of Krewo
, the first step towards the Commonwealth of Poland-Lithuania, was signed in the castle three years later. The castle was sacked by the Crimean Tatars
in the early 16th century and stood unoccupied for a long time. By the 19th century, much of the walls had crumbled away. The First World War dealt a final blow to the decaying structure.
Algirdas
Algirdas was a monarch of medieval Lithuania. Algirdas ruled the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from 1345 to 1377, which chiefly meant monarch of Lithuanians and Ruthenians...
in Kreva
Kreva
Kreva is a township in Hrodna Voblast, Belarus.-History:The Kreva Castle, constructed of brick, was built by the Grand Duke Gediminas of Lithuania at the borderland of Lithuanian ethnic lands. After his death in 1341, Kreva became the patrimony of his son and successor, Algirdas...
village, Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
. Algirdas's brother Kęstutis
Kestutis
Kęstutis was monarch of medieval Lithuania. He was the Duke of Trakai and governed the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, 1342–82, together with his brother Algirdas , and with his nephew Jogaila...
was imprisoned and murdered in Kreva Castle in 1382. The Act of Krewo
Union of Krewo
In a strict sense, the Union of Krewo or Act of Krėva was a set of prenuptial promises made in the Kreva Castle on 14 August 1385 by Jogaila, Grand Duke of Lithuania, in exchange for marriage to the underage reigning Queen Jadwiga of Poland...
, the first step towards the Commonwealth of Poland-Lithuania, was signed in the castle three years later. The castle was sacked by the Crimean Tatars
Crimean Tatars
Crimean Tatars or Crimeans are a Turkic ethnic group that originally resided in Crimea. They speak the Crimean Tatar language...
in the early 16th century and stood unoccupied for a long time. By the 19th century, much of the walls had crumbled away. The First World War dealt a final blow to the decaying structure.