Editing Lutsk (section)

===Grand Duchy of Lithuania===
In 1240, [[Mongol invasion of Rus'|Mongols seized and looted]] the nearby town but left the castle unharmed. In 1321, George, son of [[Leo II of Galicia|Lev]], the last prospective heir of Halych-Volynia, died in a battle with the forces of [[Gediminas, Grand Duke of Lithuania]], and [[Lithuania]]n forces seized the castle. In 1349, the forces of King [[Casimir III of Poland]] captured the town, then Lithuania soon retook it, but it remained contested by Lithuania and Poland until 1382.{{sfn|Nieć|1937|p=226}}

[[File:Colored postcards with views of Lutsk (1916) 05.jpg|thumb|left|[[Lubart's Castle]] on a postcard from 1916]]
The town began to prosper during the period of Lithuanian rule. Prince [[Liubartas|Lubart]] (died 1384), son of [[Gediminas]], erected [[Lubart's Castle]] as part of his fortification programme. From 1385, it was part of the [[Polish-Lithuanian union]], yet it remained an object of Lithuanian-Polish rivalry. Polish King [[Władysław II Jagiełło]] appointed Polish [[starost]]s, brought in [[Dominican Order|Dominican monks]] and staffed the Catholic bishopric, intending to connect it to the Polish [[Archdiocese of Lwów]], while Lithuanian Duke [[Vytautas]] sought to diminish Polish influence and develop the city to become Lithuania's second capital after [[Vilnius]].{{sfn|Nieć|1937|p=227}} Vytautas invited colonists (mostly [[Jews]], [[Tatars]], and [[Crimean Karaites]]).{{sfn|Nieć|1937|p=227}} In 1427 he transferred the Catholic bishopric from Volodymyr to Luchesk. Vytautas was the last monarch to use the title of "Duke of Volhynia" and to reside in Lubart's Castle. 

The town grew rapidly, and by the end of the 15th century, there were 19 Orthodox and two Catholic churches. It was the seat of two [[christianity|Christian]] bishops, one Catholic and one Orthodox. Because of that, the town was sometimes nicknamed "the ''Volhynian Rome''." The cross symbol of Lutsk features the highest Lithuanian Presidential award, the [[Order of Vytautas the Great]].{{citation needed|date=July 2015}}

In 1429 Lutsk was the meeting place selected for a [[European congress in Lutsk|conference of monarchs]] hosted by [[Władysław II Jagiełło]] and [[Sophia of Halshany]] to deal with the Tatar threat. Those invited to attend included [[Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor|Sigismund, King of Hungary and Bohemia]]; Grand Duke [[Vasili II of Russia]]; [[Eric of Pomerania]], king of [[Denmark]], [[Norway]] and [[Sweden]]; the Grand Master of the [[Livonian Order]] Zisse von Rutenberg; the Duke of [[Szczecin]] [[Kazimierz V]]; [[Dan II of Wallachia|Dan II]], the ''Hospodar'' of [[Wallachia]]; and [[Prince-elector]]s of most of the countries of the [[Holy Roman Empire]].