Novogrudok, the 'new little town', stands on high ground above the upper Neman valley.
Excavation shows two settlements of the early 11th century, a fortified detinets on the Castle Hill from the second half of the 11th century and a second walled settlement (the Small Castle) from the 12th, with workshops of jewellers, bone-carvers and stone-workers and a boyar's house with painted walls. It is first named in a chronicle under 1252. In 1200 it is a prosperous Rus' town of Black Ruthenia whose lord is not known.
Who holds it
- Title
- prince or governor
- Since
- not pinned
- Confidence
- low
See Lord of Novogrudok.
Lord in 1200
not pinned (a Rus' prince or governor: the Gorodno princes, the Turov-Pinsk princes and the Volhynian princes are all possible)
How things stand that morning
A Rus' town; lord not pinned.
Council
the lord with the town's boyars; no veche recorded
Communities
Orthodox Rus' townsmen and boyars
Fairs and markets
none recorded
Militia
the town host
Walls and castle
Earth and timber ramparts round the Castle Hill detinets and the Small Castle.
Trade and crafts
jewellery, glass bracelets, bone, wood and stone work; Kievan and Byzantine imports
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Archaeology; first written mention 1252.
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.