The initial hillfort of the Teutonic Knights in Panemunė (erected 1343) was replaced by a present castle built in 1604-1610. It was built by Hungarian nobleman Eperjesh who bought the surrounding lands from Lithuanian local inhabitants. It is a typical 17th century feudal castle with a defensive tackle, living quarters and farm buildings. The castle stands in a park on a high hill and is girdled by five cascading ponds. It was reconstructed around 1759 by Giełgud family.
The Panemunė castle was left to decay in the 19th century. Its valuable library was brought out, the former marvelous park of classicism style became feral. In 1925 Lithuanian government acquired the castle into a national possession. In 1935 the Panemunė castle and its surroundings where taken under responsibility of Lithuanian Culture department.
Nowadays Panemunė castle has 2 corpuses remained – the western including 2 towers and the southern. Panemunė castle belongs to Vilnius Art Academy which takes care about restoration of the castle and fitting it to science, education and tourism purposes. During the summer season the Vilnius Art Academy arranges there expositions of art works.
References:The Château de Chantilly comprises two attached buildings: the Petit Château built around 1560 for Anne de Montmorency, and the Grand Château, which was destroyed during the French Revolution and rebuilt in the 1870s. Owned by the Institut de France, the château houses the Musée Condé. It is one of the finest art galleries in France and is open to the public.
The estate"s connection with the Montmorency family began in 1484. The first mansion (now replaced by the Grand Château) was built in 1528–1531 for the Constable Anne de Montmorency by Pierre Chambiges. The Petit Château was also built for him, around 1560, probably by Jean Bullant. In 1632, after the death of Henri II, it passed to the Grand Condé who inherited it through his mother, Charlotte Marguerite de Montmorency.
Several interesting pieces of history are associated with the château during the 17th century.