Anton Astapovich, chairman of the Belarusian Society for the Protection of Cultural and Historical Monuments, said the condition of the castle hill had been badly affected by the heavy rainfall in the summer of 2017. In his words, the Novogrudok hill is in a better condition than the Gedimino Castle hill in the Lithuanian capital.
“I am a historian of architecture, I don’t believe in numerology. The coincidence is due to the climate. The last summer was very rainy. Precipitation was far above all standards in both Lithuania and Belarus. In my opinion, the situation of the Novogrudok castle hill is not as critical as that of the hill in Vilnius. The Mindaugas Castle hill has a moving fertile layer of about 30 cm. It was undercut by ground water. If we manage to install good drainage, the situation should stabilize,” Astapovich said.
In his words, the castle built by Lithuania’s King Mindaugas is not in danger yet but could be threatened in the future.