Mstislavl. Monument to Prince Semyon Lugveny

The city of Mstislavl was the center of the principality and voivodeship during the time of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was the heyday of the city. There was a wooden castle in Mstislavl, around which numerous settlements were built. During the tour, you will definitely get to the Castle Hill, on which a fragment of a wooden castle has now been restored, excavations have been carried out and a museum has been created.

On the approach to the Castle Hill on the left side you will see a small modest monument with the inscription "Semyon Lugven Olgerdovich, ancestor of the Princes Mstislavsky, hero of the Battle of Grunwald, founder of Orthodox shrines." This memorial sign was installed several years ago on the initiative of the public and with the support of local authorities.

Prince Semyon Lugveny Olgerdovich (1349-1431) is a legendary and significant figure in history. An outstanding figure of the era of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Prince Mstislavsky. The third son of Prince Algirdas of Lithuania from his marriage to Maria of Vitebsk. Since his mother was Orthodox, he was baptized according to the Byzantine rite and was named Simeon (Semyon).

For some time he was a prince in Veliky Novgorod. He received the Mstislav principality from King Jagiello. It was a large territory, which, in addition to the current Mstislavsky district, included part of Cherikovsky and most of the Chaussky districts. Prince Lugveny (called Lungven in some sources) became the ancestor of the Mstislav princes, who played a prominent role in the struggle of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania with Moscow in the XV-XVI centuries. According to his name, the Mstislav princes in the acts were usually called Lugvenievichs. In 1410, Lugvenius led the Mstislav banner to the Battle of Grunwald.

Lugveny donated a lot to the construction of Christian shrines. Including the monasteries in Pustynki and Onufrievo, which have survived to our time.

In 1380, he founded the Pustynsky Assumption Monastery, 8 km from Mstislavl.

In 1407, he also founded the stone Onufrievsky monastery 17 km from Mstislavl, at the beginning of the XVII century one of the first converted to the Uniate monastery, which played a significant role in the history of the union.

In addition, the Nagorny Nikolaevsky Monastery was built inside the Mstislav Castle by Lugveny-Semyon, which was destroyed by the troops of the Moscow prince in the middle of the XVII century.