Norviliskes Castle

Norviliškės, Lithuania

Norviliškės Castle (a former monastery, also called Norviliškės Manor) is a Renaissance style castle. It was first mentioned in 1586. In 1617 the owners donated part of the real estate land to Franciscans. Around 1745 they built a monastery and a church in Renaissance style. The monastery was reconstructed at the end of the 18th century by Kazimieras Kaminskis. After the November Uprising of 1831, Russian authorities closed the monastery and turned it into barracks for soldiers, and later to a boarding school for girls. The Church of St. Mary Compassionate Mother was closed at the same time as the monastery. A new wooden church was built in 1929.

For a long time the former manor stood abandoned. In 2005, reconstruction was started by an entrepreneur, Giedrius Klimkevičius, from Vilnius. The project is supported by funds from the PHARE program. The hopes are that the Norviliškės Castle will become a tourist attraction. It offers hosting for business conferences or weddings, hunting, shooting practices, and other activities, including music festivals.

References:

Comments

Your name



Details

Founded: 1586
Category: Castles and fortifications in Lithuania

Rating

4.5/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Linas Gutauskas (16 months ago)
Nice and very calm place. Belarus is just a few meters away. When we visited - it was closed.
Marek Kluka (19 months ago)
Amazing location and possibly big future wait for this place, but at this moment it looks abandoned and needs further investment
Ervinas Kazlauskas (3 years ago)
Really nice castle on the Lithuanian - Belarusia border to get there you'll need a car so if you plan to visit it plan a one day trip with additional places to visit throughout the trip because you won't spend much time seeing the castle ?
Martynas (3 years ago)
Beautiful, interesting and romantic place. Surrounded by Belarus on three sides. Suitable for a quiet rest. Very tasty food.
Dovilė Plančiūnienė (3 years ago)
Beautiful castle in an interesting location, on the border with Belarus. There is also a nice wooden church nearby. However not much to see around the place.
Powered by Google

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Historic Site of the week

Château du Haut-Koenigsbourg

The Château du Haut-Koenigsbourg is situated in a strategic area on a rocky spur overlooking the Upper Rhine Plain, it was used by successive powers from the Middle Ages until the Thirty Years' War when it was abandoned. From 1900 to 1908 it was rebuilt at the behest of the German kaiser Wilhelm II. Today it is a major tourist site, attracting more than 500,000 visitors a year.

The first records of a castle built by the Hohenstaufens date back to 1147. The fortress changed its name to Koenigsburg (royal castle) around 1157. The castle was handed over to the Tiersteins by the Habsburgs following its destruction in 1462. They rebuilt and enlarged it, installing a defensive system designed to withstand artillery fire.

The fortification work accomplished over the 15th century did not suffice to keep the Swedish artillery at bay during the Thirty Years War, and the defences were overrun.