Location: Jõgeva County, Jõgeva Parish Map
Constructed: 14th century by the Livonian Order
Laius Order Fortress (Ordensburg Lais or simply
Burg Lais in German) was a fortress built by the Livonian Order on
the territory of the current Laiusevälja village (formerly Mõisaküla
village).
Although the oldest reports of the castle date back
to the beginning of the 15th century, the order's castle was
probably built at the beginning of the 14th century.
During
the Livonian War and the Swedish-Polish War, the castle was besieged
several times. Part of the fortress was destroyed in the 1620s and
the rest largely between 1702 and 1704. After the Northern War, the
fort fell into disuse and its dilapidated parts were used as a
quarry. The castle remains a ruin to this day.
The ruins of
the Laius fortress with the moat are considered a building monument.
Laius Castle was probably built at the beginning of the 14th
century as a house castle or as an extended tower castle. Soon, a
low circular wall fort was also built, which was built on a
foundation with moats. The oldest reports about the Laius fortress
date back to 1406, in 1416 and 1417 the "Count of the Laius
fortress" is mentioned, and in 1423 large-scale construction works
carried out under the initiative of the master of the order
Siegfried Lander von Sponheim, during which the castle's ring wall
was expanded and thickened and the fortress was equipped in the
northwest, northeast and southeast corners with round turrets
adapted to firearms.
The Laius Order Castle, located in the
northeastern part of the Order, represented a roadblock fort on an
important road. The road that passed through the Laius area
connected the Tartu–Jõhvi and Tallinn–Tartu highways, and along this
road you could get to the eastern part of Virumaa and from there to
Russia. The extensive reconstruction work undertaken in the first
half of the 15th century was largely due to the worsening relations
between the order and the diocese of Tartu. The latter's activated
construction activity in the fortresses was clearly directed
primarily against the Order. Also at the beginning of the 14th
century, when the original plan was probably built, there was a
great civil war in Livonia.
According to the administrative
division at the time of the Order, the Laius fortress remained in
the Viljandi command district and served as an auxiliary fortress of
the Kursi fortress.
In the Middle Ages, a small settlement
arose next to the castle and possibly even inside the fore-castle.
From 1520 to 1546, Otmar von Galen was mentioned as the fortress
chief of Laius.
On January 24, 1558, Moscow troops invaded Tartu diocese near
Vastseliina and the Livonian War broke out. Part of the Russian troops
passed Tartu and reached the Laius region on January 30. After looting
and burning there, they arrived under the fortress and burned down the
stables and other buildings. The fortress was fiercely defended, as a
result of which the Moscow forces suffered heavy losses. The commander
of the castle, Frederick de Grave, was seriously wounded, and according
to the chronicler Johann Renner (died 1583), 400 peasants were killed,
250 of whom were children. On February 2, the Russians left for the
Kärkna region. Wilhelm von Fürstenberg (died 1568), who had arrived in
Tartu diocese from Viljandi and learned that the enemy had gone to
Laius, followed the Moscow troops.
In August 1558, the Russians
again besieged the fortress of Laius, which was defended by only 34 men
under the command of Frederick de Grave. After repeated demands from
Prince Pyotr Ivanovich Shuisky (died 1564) and Pavel Petrovich
Zabolotsky, the garrison surrendered on August 5 and handed over the
fortress. They were allowed to leave the fortress each with their
possessions, and Grave decided to head to Viljandi with his force. But
when they had come within two miles of the fort, they were attacked by
another detachment of Russians, the Russians being assisted by the
peasants, who were at enmity with Grave on account of his strictness.
Five Germans were killed in the clash, the rest were captured and only a
few managed to escape. The prisoners, among whom Grave was seriously
wounded, were taken to Tartu and their wagons were looted. Šuiski
appointed Peter Gollowitz as the chief of Laius fortress (Ivar Leimus
has suggested that the real surname could have been Golovin).
On
December 14, 1559, the knights and soldiers of the order, led by the
master of the order Gotthard Kettler (died 1587), came from Kärkna to
Laius and began to besiege the fortress, which was defended by about 500
men. A Russian detachment of 300 men was on its way from Rakvere towards
Laius, but when they were half a mile from the fortress and the news of
the siege of the fortress reached them, they went back to Rakverre. The
order opened fire on the fort from cannons, and four squadrons of war
servants with their commanders stormed the fort. Hans Uthermarcke, the
flag bearer, was hit in the back of the head with a stone and fell, but
still called on the others to follow him. For his bravery, the master of
the order presented him with a velvet suit. The garrison of the castle,
however, threw stones at the necks of the attackers from the walls, so
the latter were forced to retreat. On December 16, a new storm run was
launched, which failed and led to the death of the order's warriors. The
Ordu troops continued firing, after which the garrison of the fort
wanted to negotiate. Kuldīga's commissar Heinrich Steding was appointed
as the negotiator along with several companions. In the course of the
negotiations, the Russians wanted to get the right to leave the fortress
with their property intact, and Salomon Henning (1528-1589) was sent to
the Master of the Order to ask for such a right. However, the commanders
of the army advised the master not to provide such protection, as the
capture of the fortress would still succeed and cause fear in the
Russians. The negotiations broke down, and on December 17, a storm run
was organized again. The Russians, however, fired so heavily from the
fortress that, according to Renner, 384 soldiers of the order died
together with the banners of Franz Straszborch and Plate. Evert
Schladoth, chief of the war servants, was also killed. Both of the
order's cartridges were muddy and unusable, and they were running low on
ammunition. On the night of December 19, the army left for Põltsamaa,
which the Russians celebrated with shouts of joy on the walls.
With the Peace of Jam Zapolski concluded in 1582, the Laius region came
under Polish-Lithuanian rule. The castle became the center of Laius'
star shop.
Despite the war, the castle and perhaps part of the town were
preserved. In the 1590s, more than 200 people are said to have lived
in the town.
In September 1600, Sweden started military
operations against Poland and sent its troops to Livonia in two
parts. The main force led by Karl himself started the journey from
Tallinn and chose a more western route. The force that started
moving from Narva was led by Colonel Peder Pedersson Stolpe (died
1601) and Heinrich von Ahnen, and its task was to capture Põltsamaa
and Laius fortress. Põltsamaa was conquered by September 11. Ahnen's
troops reached Laius at the end of September, and Stolpe's troops a
few days later. The Laius garrison was commanded by star Andrzej
Orzechowski, who died during the siege, after which the fortress was
handed over to Swedish troops. The Poles surrendered on October 20
(in Enn Tarvel's comments to Fabricius' chronicle, it is written
that Orzechowski died around October 30, so the date of the
surrender of the fortress cannot be earlier) and Stolpe left a
garrison of 200 men in the fortress, whose chief was Hans Brakel.
The Swedish forces that captured Laius Fortress then joined the main
forces of Duke Charles and headed for winter quarters in and around
Paide.
In 1602, Laius was conquered again by
Polish-Lithuanian forces.
At the end of 1611, the Russians
from Pskov invaded Livonia to take revenge for the previous raid by
the Poles. In addition to several other places, they plundered the
region of Laius, taking a large amount of booty, women, children and
Polish nobles to Russia.
1611–1645 (since 1622 in name)
Kasper Denhoff (died 1645) was the star of Laius.
On January
5, 1622, during the Swedish-Polish war, Swedish troops under the
command of Colonel Henrik Klasson Fleming (1584-1650) captured Laius
Fortress. It was probably in the war at that time that the
north-east and south-east sides of the castle and the cannon tower
located in the south corner were destroyed. Today, nothing has been
preserved from the latter apart from the foundation. The fortress
settlement was also destroyed in the war.
After the region
fell under Swedish rule, the castle was never restored. Swedish
mercenaries were placed on its territory, and wooden buildings were
built to accommodate them. Of the buildings from the time of the
Order, only the fortress chapel was used, which survived at least
until 1702.
On September 3, 1623, King Gustav II Adolf of
Sweden (1594–1632) leased the Laius castle and manor together with
the Jõgeva, Tähkvere and Vaimastvere manors, which together formed
the Laius castle fief, to Henrik Klasson Fleming. His son Erik
Fleming received the title of freeman of Laius on 12 May 1654.
In 1637, Laius linnuselän consisted of Laius fortress, Sikkona
and Ellenbach manor, and Koddisen, Rohikund and Wottigfer vacus.
After an important victory over the Russian forces in the Battle of
Narva during the Northern War, King Karl XII (1682–1718) decided to stay
in his winter quarters in Laius Fortress. The Swedish troops reached
Laius on December 18, 1700. The State Chancellery was accommodated in
Kivijärve manor near Laius, while part of the infantry and artillery
were located in the vicinity of Tartu. The cavalry went further into
Livonia, stopping around Otepää, Sangaste and Aluliina.
The
wooden buildings located in the fort area were arranged to accommodate
the staff. The king himself was housed in a more prestigious building on
the southeast side of the fortress. Horse stables were located on the
southwest side.
In the winter, some smaller campaigns were
organized across the Peipsi ice towards Oudova and Petseri. At the
beginning of March, an attack and defense of a snow castle was organized
on the lands of Jõgeva Manor as an exercise.
Anniversaries were
celebrated to entertain. For Christmas, straw was brought to the winter
apartment, and on January 27, Karl's name day was celebrated, on which
occasion a dozen Estonian girls in wedding dresses, two bagpipe players
and a cupbearer who sang in Estonian performed. Karl XII also went to
peasant weddings several times, one of which was even held in the castle
premises. Hunting trips were also organized.
On April 27, 1701, a
relative of Karl, the nephew of his grandfather Karl X Gustav
(1622–1660), Duke Adolf Johann II of Kleeburg (1666–1701), died in
Laius.
In the middle of May 1701, Karl left Laius in the
direction of Kuramaa. The wooden buildings and parts of the fortress
that remained intact until now were destroyed in the war of 1702-1704,
and only the ruins of the stone walls remained.
After the Northern War, the fortress ruins were left unused. The
simple wooden buildings of the Laius State Manor were built on its north
side. In the 18th century, the more decayed parts of the ruins were used
as a quarry. At the beginning of the 19th century, when the heritage of
the past began to be valued, Laius became a place to go out.
The
outer side of the northwest wing, which has generally been preserved to
its full height, has withstood time the best. The window openings and
the gate opening in it are still there. Most of the walls of the
northern round artillery tower have also been preserved. The tow gun
tower in the eastern corner and part of the southwest wall of the fort
have been partially preserved in their original height.
The ruins
of the castle have been arranged and information boards have been put
up.
Events are organized in the ruins of the Laius Order Castle -
for example, days of the Polish šlahta have been held there, where,
among other things, a knight's tournament was performed. A winter snow
battle has also been organized in memory of Charles XII, which
historically took place in the Jõgeva manor.
The ruins of the
Laius Order Fort are entered in the national register of cultural
monuments.
The oldest part of the Laius order fortress can be considered the
house fortress (about 21×12 meters) located in the west corner of the
hill on the road side, which was probably built at the beginning of the
14th century. Soon after the construction of the house fort, the fort
was expanded to cover the entire hill, resulting in the creation of a
trapezoidal camp. The length of the sides of the castle ranges from 60
to 85 meters, and its irregularity was due to the natural shape of the
hill. The castle of Laius is peculiar in that the castle walls are built
on post foundations, which are joined together by supporting arches (der
Schwibbogen). Apparently, the original plan had to be built in a hurry -
such a construction technique saved more than 400 m³ of material on the
entire wall.
The castle was repeatedly strengthened in the Middle
Ages and the walls were built both thicker and higher. The final height
of the walls was about 15 meters. In the 15th or early 16th century,
three powerful towers were added to the fortress. The construction type
evolved into an extended bearing cartridge adapted to firearms.
In the north-west and south-east corners there were artillery towers
with a round ground plan, with a diameter of 14 meters, a wall thickness
of about 4 meters and a height of about 25 meters. In the northeast
corner, a smaller towed gun tower was left, with a diameter of 12
meters, a thickness of 1.5 and a height of more than 15 meters. The
western corner of the fortress was protected by a small octagonal
cantilever tower, which was similar to the corner tower of the Narva
Order Fortress, which has survived to this day, as well as Paide and
other fortresses built around 1400. It can be seen from the ruins of the
fort that the vaults and exterior of the northwest artillery tower were
built of brick, while the rest of the walls were mainly made of field
stone and limestone.
The buildings were built on the inside of
the western and southern walls of the fortress. On the west side, the
buildings probably covered the entire wing, while on the south side,
only its southeastern part. The Laius fortress had two gates: the gate
in the middle of the northwestern side has been preserved to this day,
the other was located in the southern part of the southwestern side and
was later walled up. The buildings on the other sides were built of wood
- "a la Moskowie", as the Polish Chief of Protocol noted in the 16th
century.
The Laius fortress was surrounded by moats, where water
was pumped from the Laius stream flowing on the north side of the
fortress. The dam and the water mill were located northeast of the fort.
Between the castle and the water mill was a fort surrounded by moats,
which consisted of palisade barriers and drawbridges over the moats.
Probably in the Middle Ages, the road leading to Torma passed through
the fort and passed quite close to the northern cannon tower.