General information

Welcome to Lida!

The city of Lida is one of the oldest towns in Belarus.
In 1323 the Great Duke of the Great Duchy of Lithuania Gediminas ordered to build a castle, which gave a start to a town.
The castle was part of a system of protection against the Crusaders: Novogrudok-Lida-Krevo-Medniki-Troki. It was built on a loose sand hill surrounded by the swampy banks of the Lideya and Kamenka rivers. In case of war, the castle could shelter the locals and their belongings inside its walls. The wall was two meters sick and 12 meters high. During its history, the castle had many rulers: the Lithuanian princes Keistut, Olgerd, Jagailo, Vitovt, Prince Koribut and their successors Voidylo, Khan Tokhtamysh, Ach-Girey, Yuri Ilinich, Radivila, Radiminsky, Scipions de Campo and others.
In 1590, the townspeople were granted the Magdeburg Law and the coat of arms “Leo and Two Keys Crossed Above It”. Rada, the self-government body, consisted of the burgomaster, the members of Rada and shopkeepers. The residents of cities that got Magdeburg Law were exempted from feudal duties, from the court and the power of the voivode, elders and other government officials. Magdeburg Law allowed townspeople to elect the self-government body of the town - the magistrate, headed by voit.
Both the town and the castle often became the scene of fierce battles between different forces, to start with the Teutonic knights (1384, 1392, 1394), the war of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth with the Moscow kingdom (1654-1667), the Northern War (1700-1721) and, finally, with the First (1914-1918) and the Second World War (1939-1945).
After the partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1772, 1793, 1795) between the Prussian Kingdom, the Russian Empire and the Austrian monarchy, the town of Lida became part of Russia. In the second half of the 19th century the town began to develop rapidly. On December 30, 1884, the Vilnius-Lida-Luninets railway started functioning. At the end of the 19th century, there were 10 factories and plants in the town: two tobacco plants, one cork plant, two case plants, two brewery plants, three plants producing effervescent waters, a printing house, a slaughterhouse, four tanneries, three 45-bed hospitals (municipal, Jewish and prison). There was a water mill on the river Lideika. Fourteen enterprises had already operated in the town by the beginning of the 20th century. The population was over 15 thousand people.
During World War II, the town was badly damaged. At the time of occupation, up to 11 thousand inhabitants were killed and almost the entire town was destroyed.
The town actively developed since the mid-1950s. New plants and factories such as Lidselmash, Agroprommash, Optik factory, Lidapischekontsentraty, Paint and varnish factory, municipal bakery were built. By 1989 the population had grown up to 91 thousand people.
Now Lida is a large industrial center. The range of products is diverse: agricultural machinery, flour, meat, dairy products, food concentrates, crystal, fiberglass, optics, paint and varnish products, phthalic anhydride and so on.
The products of Lida enterprises are exported to almost 50 countries.
According to census (January 1, 2020) 102,702 people of 60 nationalities live in the city: 51.4% of them are Belarusians, 35.3% - Poles, 9.4% - Russians 1.7% - Ukrainians. Also there live Lithuanians, Tatars, Jews, Germans, Armenians, Azerbaijanis.
On our site you will find all necessary information about the attractions, entertainment and services in Lida and Lida region.