Birzai Castle

Biržai, Lithuania

Biržai Castle is an earth bastion-type castle. The construction started in 1586 by the order of Krzysztof Mikołaj Radziwiłł. In 1575, preparing for this construction, a dam was built on the Agluona and Apaščia rivers at their confluence, and the artificial Lake Širvėna, covering about 40 km², was created. Major castle building works were finished in 1589.

Since the second half of the 17th century, the castle has been the main seat of the Biržai-Dubingiai Radziwiłł family line, which was transferred here from the Dubingiai Castle. Biržai Castle served as a major defensive structure during the wars with Sweden.

The castle was reconstructed from ruins in the 1980s, in the Renaissance-Baroque style. The residential manor of the castle houses a library and a regional history museum 'Sėla' (literally Selonia), founded in 1928.

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Founded: 1586-1589
Category: Castles and fortifications in Lithuania

Rating

4.7/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

JOvi Ein (8 months ago)
Very nice and interesting exposition. Professional guides. Needed more time to visit the restaurant. Nice panorama
Çınar K (10 months ago)
Exposition is curated with artifacts from that region spanning all eras. There are description papers in English in each section. You will not lose much not to visit it but you definitely should if you are already in Biržai. Would take approximately 1 - 1.5 hours. Besides museum, castle fortification is quite interesting especially the drawbridge.
Josip Rosandić (11 months ago)
Important note: this is first of all a museum - a really good one. As a castle is really nothing special because of very simplistic design and not so perfect condition. Still, for only 5€ you can see a lot of Lithuanian history in one place and that makes it worth it. I wish they would fill the ditch surrounding the castle with water, it is very rare these days to find this type of fortifications. I could also see they are working on some outdoor things which will only make it better in the future.
Ruslanas Gžibovskis LPIC (12 months ago)
Alot of amazing surroundings. Renovated paths and comfy benches. Modern museum. Interactive boards present.
Andris Leja (2 years ago)
Nice place. Visited the museum exposition. Unfortunately not all the items has description in other language rather than lithuanian. But anyway if you are in Birzai and like history, then it's worth visiting the palace and museum. With the same ticket it's possible to visit the Arsenal for more warfare related historical items and even animation with history of Birzai palace
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