Lida

The city of Lida, in western Belarus, is home to Lida Castle, which was built in the 14th century. The trapezium shape of the castle is well-known, as are its crimson walls, which are the result of ornate brickwork. The city eventually passed to Poland and then to Russia (1795). It reverted to Poland in 1919 but was ceded to the Soviet Union in 1945. It contains the ruins of the 14th-century castle of Gediminas. Lida was for long a trading center but is now a center for food processing, with agricultural machine building and electrical engineering industries.

The Church of Saint Joseph, a working church built in the 18th century and instantly recognizable due to the dome that tops the main building, is also worth seeing in Lida. In Lida, there is also a large Jewish community, and visitors will find a plethora of Jewish eateries and shops, as well as a Jewish memorial stone commemorating WWII victims.