Location: 28 km from Vilnus Map
Constructed: 14th century by Kęstutis
Tel. (528) 53 946
Open: May- Sept 10am- 7pm
Oct- Feb: 10am- 5pm Tue- Sun
March- Apr, Oct 10am- 6pm
Trakai Island Castle is located 28 km from Lithuanian capital of Vilnus on the island on the Lake Galve. The citadel was constructed in 14th century by Lithuanian king Kęstutis. Castle was badly needed as a defence against attacking Roman Catholic Crusaders. His son Vytautas the Great continued expansion of military fortifications completing the project in 1409.
Thick walls and good defenses served its purpose well. Trakai Castle was never captured by invading armies. He subsequently died in the castle in 1430. Trakai Castle consists of Prince's palace and a courtyard. The castle serving as the residence of the Grand Dukes also threw lavish feasts and receptions for foreign diplomats and distinguished guests. By the end of the 16th century Trakai Castle lost its military significance and slowly went into decline. Eventually it was turned into a state prison for king's enemies. Its thick walls, numerous guards and deep lake was suppose to keep everyone on the Trakai Island.
geography
The city is 28 kilometers west of Vilnius, the
Lithuanian capital. There are 200 lakes in the area. The place is famous
for its old moated castle Trakai on an island between the Galvesee, the
Lukassee and the Totoriskessee. The Galvesee with its 21 islands is the
deepest lake in the region at 46.7 m. Its area is 3.88 km².
story
Old Trakai was the capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the Middle
Ages from 1316 to 1323 for seven years. According to the legend,
Gediminas was out hunting, found a nice hill in the area in the forest
and moved the capital of Kernave here. 1337 Trakai was mentioned in a
document.
The 13th and 14th centuries are marked by battles
against the Teutonic Knights. During the second half of the 14th
century, a stone castle was built in Old Trakai, the temporary residence
of the Grand Duke. At the end of the 14th century the castle was
destroyed and never rebuilt. A neo-Gothic church was built in its place
in the second half of the 19th century. The remains of a Benedictine
monastery can be seen nearby. There was the Traken District in the
Traken Voivodeship of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
New Trakai,
today's Trakai town, is three kilometers away from the Old Trakai Castle
complex. The city of Trakai could not expand after the Middle Ages due
to its location between the lakes.
cityscape
The area of the
Old Town is 169 ha and it is one of five Lithuanian Old Towns under
state protection. The city is worth seeing for its unique geographical
location and wooden architecture. The city structure is exceptional -
linear in summer (the city stretches along the lake) and radial in
winter (you can use the frozen lakes as paths). The main street crosses
the whole peninsula on which the city is located.
The former
market square is marked by a chapel column with a sculpture of St. John
of Nepomuk. Nepomuk is the patron saint of fishermen and cities on the
water (18th century).
A blue house can be seen next to the market
square, which is the building of the old post office. It was built by
Dominicans. Today it serves the administration of Trakai Historical
National Park.
The Dominican monastery was closed at the end of
the 19th century. After that the building has survived many
transformations (from monastery to KGB branch). Today it houses the
administration of Trakai Historical Museum.
Not far from the
hills stands the Basilica of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary. In 1409
it was donated by Vytautas the Great as a parish church. It used to be a
part of the Traka town protection system. It was built in Gothic style.
The church was rebuilt in the 17th and 18th centuries. The façade and
the interior decoration show Gothic and Baroque features. It is known
for the image of Our Lady of Trakai. At the beginning of the 18th
century, the Virgin depicted in the picture was crowned the patron saint
of Lithuania with a golden crown donated by the Pope. In 2017 it became
a minor basilica.
A quarter of wooden houses has been preserved
on the north side of the city. It is one of the most important
historical elements of Trakai. Karaite Street is the continuation of
Vytautas Street, which connects the Christian with the so-called “Small
Town”. The small town was settled by Tatars and Karaites. The Karaite
Kenessa dates from the 18th century. As an ethnographic sight, the
district of one-story wooden houses is under state protection. The
houses stand with the gable facing the street and have three windows:
one dedicated to God, the second to Vytautas, and the third to oneself.
The Trakai District Court (Court of First Instance) has its seat in
the town.
The two castles are the most architecturally significant defensive
complex in Lithuania. The founding of the city in the 13th century
coincided with that of the Lithuanian state. The newly formed state had
to resist invasions from Christian Europe for 200 years. The knights
tried to avoid the area, the castle crew was invincible for them.
Peninsula Castle
In the Crusader Chronicle it is reported that
this is the new castle of Trakai. The old wooden castle was replaced by
a stone one.
On the hill between two lakes - Bernardinu and
Galves - stood a peninsular castle, separated from the city by a wall
and a deep ditch. The castle was protected by eleven defensive towers.
It was repeatedly attacked not only by the Knights of the Order, but
also damaged by internal wars between the princes of Lithuania. After
the Tannenberg battle in 1410, work began on rebuilding the castle.
However, after the death of Vytauta the Great, the work was not
finished. In the 18th century, members of the Dominican order came here
and built a monastery and a chapel here. Later it was finally destroyed.
Restoration work only took place during the second half of the 19th
century.
Today the peninsula castle is known for the traditional
medieval festival. Life in the Middle Ages is presented through
craftsmen and knight fights.
Stairs lead to Auku Mountain
(Sacrifice Mountain). According to legend, pagan rituals were performed
here and sacrifices were made to the gods. In the second half of the
20th century, the remains of the never-completed 15th-century palace
were discovered.
island castle
In 1414, the Flemish knight
Ghillbert de Lanois (Lanua) characterized the castle as follows in his
travelogues: the castle stands in the middle of the lake, a cannon shot
from the old castle. It is masonry, built according to French tradition.
The castle stood 220 m from the shore.
The castle consists of two
main parts:
Princely palace in the shape of a U
Construction work
has started on the palace. At the beginning of the construction work,
the castle was burned down. Later it was surrounded by a wall with
buttresses erected on the edge of the island. A deep moat with sea water
separated the palace from the bailey.
Two oval wings of the
palace were connected by a six-story keep.
The keep has a square
plan and has become the main accent of the castle: on the first floor is
the entrance to the courtyard, narrow and high. One could only get into
the yard via a movable bridge and an iron gate. The guard had their
quarters on the second floor. The chapel for the royal family was built
on the fifth floor. The loopholes can be seen on the sixth floor.
The last time the castle was attacked by the Crusaders was in 1403.
After the Battle of Tannenberg the attacks came to an end.
The
palace is conventional, with three floors. Two almost symmetrical wings
are surrounded by a wooden terrace. The masonry is made of stones and
bricks of various sizes and has Romanesque and Gothic features. The
rooms are equipped with the typical Gothic vault, the pointed arched
windows are decorated with bricks in 15 shapes, the mortar was mixed
from lime, sand and clay.
bailey
This was the second stage of
construction work. Casemates and towers were also built at the same
time. The bailey, in the shape of an irregular trapezoid, was surrounded
by a wall with three towers at the corners. A prison was set up in the
south-west tower. The lower part of the towers is square, the upper part
round, the towers protrude to the outside. The masonry on the city side
is thickest. The citizens of the city could take shelter in the outer
bailey during the attacks. The casemate rooms can be seen on the western
side. The castle crew lived here, on the other side there are utility
rooms.
The yard
An air heating system was set up in the base
floor. The hot air rose through the tube and in this way the brick floor
was heated. Each wing in the floor has three rooms. The princely living
quarters were set up in the left wing of the second floor. Only the two
rooms of the prince and princess were connected with a door.
The great hall
Gothic portal, stained glass, wall painting - in
1822 the painter Smakauskas fixed fragments, good acoustics, tapestries
(from the present). The height of the rooms - 5.5 m, 20% original
masonry.
Vytautas was educated, could speak German, Latin and
Russian, and also understood Tatar. He was very hospitable, but did not
drink alcohol himself.
The frescoes portrayed the life of the
prince in the palace. Famous European statesmen, such as B. Ambassador
of Venice, Master of the Livonian Order and Order of the Cross.
Ona, Vytautas' wife, accompanied her husband on his travels, she could
read and write. Her wardrobe was very rich. The Magister of the Order
sent her gifts. Chess was played here and large festive banquets were
organised.
The museum has a total of over 300,000 exhibits.
In the 19th century, the castles were gradually destroyed by people
and the passage of time. Efforts were made to restore the castle in the
early 20th century. But it was only between 1955 and 1987 that
architects Bronius Kruminis and Stanislovas Mikulionis restored the
overall appearance of the 15th century castle.