Panemune Castle, Vytėnai, Lithuania

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:

way2lithuania.com

Castles and fortifications in Lithuania

Address

Pilis I, Vytėnai, Lithuania

See all sites in Vytėnai

Details

Founded: 1604-1610
Category: Castles and fortifications in Lithuania

More Information

en.wikipedia.org
www.way2lithuania.com
www.visitlithuania.net
www.truelithuania.com

Rating

4.5/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby

Raudone Castle (9,1 km)
Tytuvenai Monastery (57 km)
Molavenai Hill Fort (39,5 km)

User Reviews

Vytenis Penkauskas (2 months ago)
A beautiful historic castle in a wonderful setting. Wonderful park nearby.

Jurate Jurginyte (2 months ago)
Great palace with wonderful atmosphere and service.

Rasa Aleksaite (6 months ago)
XVI century castle + restaurant + hotel with local ghost + modern art exposition. Looks great and worth to visit. Very tasty food!!!

Vita Gailiunaite (6 months ago)
They need to have some music on the patio and change the whole terrace. Our server was not so great. Lithuanian wine was amazing but service sucked. The castle itself is beautiful.

Domas Varanauskas (8 months ago)
Ancient Castle on the bank of the river Nemunas with it's own local history. Working ancient market with an authentic looking people and kiosks. Beautiful place for a dinner or a night stay with additional leisure activities such as horse riding.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright Guido Rudolph

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Lübeck Cathedral

Lübeck Cathedral is a large brick-built Lutheran cathedral in Lübeck, Germany and part of the Lübeck UNESCO World Heritage Site. In 1173 Henry the Lion founded the cathedral to serve the Diocese of Lübeck, after the transfer in 1160 of the bishop's seat from Oldenburg in Holstein under bishop Gerold. The then Romanesque cathedral was completed around 1230, but between 1266 and 1335 it was converted into a Gothic-style building with side-aisles raised to the same height as the main aisle.

On the night of Palm Sunday (28–29 March) 1942 a Royal Air Force bombing raid destroyed a fifth of the town centre. Several bombs fell in the area around the church, causing the eastern vault of the quire to collapse and destroying the altar which dated from 1696. A fire from the neighbouring cathedral museum spread to the truss of the cathedral, and around noon on Palm Sunday the towers collapsed. An Arp Schnitger organ was lost in the flames. Nevertheless, a relatively large portion of the internal fittings was saved, including the cross and almost all of the medieval polyptychs. In 1946 a further collapse, of the gable of the north transept, destroyed the vestibule almost completely.

Reconstruction of the cathedral took several decades, as greater priority was given to the rebuilding of the Marienkirche. Work was completed only in 1982.

The cathedral is unique in that at 105 m, it is shorter than the tallest church in the city. This is the consequence of a power struggle between the church and the guilds.

The 17 m crucifix is the work of the Lübeck artist Bernt Notke. It was commissioned by the bishop of Lübeck, Albert II. Krummendiek, and erected in 1477. The carvings which decorate the rood screen are also by Notke.

Since the war, the famous altar of Hans Memling has been in the medieval collection of the St. Annen Museum, but notable polyptychs remain in the cathedral.

In the funeral chapels of the southern aisle are Baroque-era memorials by the Flemish sculptor Thomas Quellinus.

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Panemune Castle