Grodno. Castle Bridge.

      In the city of Grodno, you will definitely come to see the two royal castles that are located nearby. There are two of them here: the Old castle of the 16th century by Stefan Batory, and the new castle of the 18th century. If you approach the Old Batory Castle, then pay attention to the stone bridge that you are walking over. This is the oldest stone bridge in our country.

            The first wooden bridge has existed here since the castle was founded. And in the 16th – 17th century, a stone bridge was erected, which has survived to our time and which has been repaired and modernized several times. The engraving from 1568 shows a wooden bridge. In the second half of the 16th century, during the time of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, under King Bathory, the Old Castle was rebuilt, and some researchers believe that a stone bridge was also erected at that time. The inventory of 1680 has been preserved, where it says that the bridge was built according to the defensive type, on the railings of which there were 16 loophole towers.

         In the 18th century, the loopholes were removed from the bridge. During the period of the Russian Empire, the stone bridge was repaired twice. The repair took place according to the estimates and the project, which was approved by the Council of the Ministry of Railways. The kicking at the work of the builders was carried out by an employee of the ministry, Lieutenant Arnold. In 1852, during the reconstruction of the bridge, the parapets were repaired and new plastering was done, which began to fall off due to severe frosts.

          During the years of independence of the Republic of Belarus, the reconstruction of the Old Castle of Stefan Bory took place. The ancient bridge was also repaired.