БЕЛАРУСКІ ГІСТАРЫЧНЫ АГЛЯД
НАВУКОВЫ ЧАСОПІС

Mikola Volkau. Sluck Citadel in the XVIIth-XVIIIth centuries

Surrounded by bastion fortifications Sluck was known as one of the strongest fortresses in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, a new castle built in the middle of the XVIIth century. It was a fortress of four bastions of regular shape built in the tradition of Old Dutch fortification school. Its construction was a major step in the transformation of the town into a modern fortress. The citadel was guarded by regular garrison with significant amount of artillery. In the second half of the XVIIIth century together with the gradual decline of the defensive capacity of Sluck the citade was gradually declining. After the 1812 war it was abandoned, and in the twentieth century built up and in the result of economic activity it almost completely destroyed. On the basis of archival sources among which dominates correspondence between servicemen and the owners of the town and the inventory of the castle the history of the construction and operation of the citadel described. Considerable attention is paid to the reconstruction of the fortifications and building its territory.