Tourist attractions

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.

In 1590, the townspeople were granted the Magdeburg Law and the coat of arms. 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.
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).

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.