Raudone Castle

Graužėnai, Lithuania

Raudonė Castle construction works started in late 16th century, during the reign of King Sigismund II August. A new renaissance castle was built on the ruins of the old one by a German knight, Hieronymus Krispin-Kirschenstein. The castle has since been rebuilt many times. The 18th century Polish owners of the Raudone estate, the family Olędzki (Olendzki) h. Rawicz commissioned Wawrzyniec Gucewicz with a renovation of the castle. The next owner, the Russian Prince Platon Zubov, acquired the estate in the first half of the 19th century and his family transformed the castle yet again. Their architect was Cesare Anichini.

Today the building is an example of 19th century neo-Gothic architecture. Its last private owners were Sophia Waxell (a Zubov) and her Portuguese husband from Madeira, José Carlos de Faria e Castro. The original castle is the setting of an East Prussian legend known as 'The White Maiden of the Bayersburg'.

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Address

1725, Graužėnai, Lithuania
See all sites in Graužėnai

Details

Founded: 16th century
Category: Castles and fortifications in Lithuania

More Information

en.wikipedia.org
www.7seasons.eu
www.way2lithuania.com

Rating

4.7/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby


Panemune Castle (9,1 km)
Molavenai Hill Fort (42,2 km)

User Reviews

Lady N (3 months ago)
Neo classicism castle with nice charm. There is located secondary school. Not aviable for tourists visits within winter.
Tomas Gudas (8 months ago)
Beatiful castle. 16th century.
James P (9 months ago)
Just spent two weeks in Lithuania from USA. This was my second time visiting Lithuania . We have family in Kaunas We had a great time. We stopped here on the way to other areas and was amazed at the beautiful scenery . You can climb to the top for 1 euro. Its worth the climb. The views are great and theres a park nearby to walk with a huge chair , wwII statues and a pond in the shape of some mans face. Good times! Will be back soon!
Domantas Juodikis (10 months ago)
It was a really swell time that me and my friends spent there. It has a historical value and the nature view is amazing as well. It works really well for picnics and walks. Truly recomend it to anyone!
Giedre Liutikaite (10 months ago)
Beautiful red castle. There are a huge old forest to walk around the castle. You will see a small lake formed and titled as a “Napoleons hat”. A small walk around this lake called “The way of romance”. Locals are selling homemade sweets and other snacks such as meat, apples, mushrooms and etc. You may capture the picture on a huge chairs double sized as you. The parking lot is quite big to park a tourist bus. To visit Raudones tower the entrance will cost you 1 eur./ adult and 0.5 eur. / kid. Interesting fact: there were a school inside the castle for a local kids. Now it is closed. You need around 30 minutes to walk around. The best time to visit is spring time when all the nature is awakening and blooming!
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Beersel Castle

The moated castle at Beersel is one of the few exceptionally well-preserved examples of medieval fortifications in Belgium. It remains pretty much as it must have appeared in the 15th century. Remarkably, it was never converted into a fortified mansion. A visitor is able to experience at first-hand how it must have felt to live in a heavily fortified castle in the Middle Ages.

The castle was built in around 1420 as a means of defence on the outer reaches of Brussels. The tall, dense walls and towers were intended to hold any besiegers at bay. The moat and the marshy ground along its eastern, southern and western edges made any attack a formidable proposition. For that reason, any attackers would have chosen its weaker northern defences where the castle adjoins higher lying ground. But the castle was only taken and destroyed on one occasion in 1489, by the inhabitants of Brussels who were in rebellion against Maximilian of Austria.

After being stormed and plundered by the rebels it was partially rebuilt. The pointed roofs and stepped gables are features which have survived this period. The reconstruction explains why two periods can be identified in the fabric of the edifice, particularly on the outside.

The red Brabant sandstone surrounds of the embrasures, now more or less all bricked up, are characteristic of the 15th century. The other embrasures, edged with white sandstone, date from the end of the 15th century. They were intended for setting up the artillery fire. The merlons too are in white sandstone. The year 1617 can be clearly seen in the foundation support on the first tower. This refers to restorations carried out at the time by the Arenberg family.

Nowadays, the castle is dominated by three massive towers. The means of defence follow the classic pattern: a wide, deep moat surrounding the castle, a drawbridge, merlons on the towers, embrasures in the walls and in the towers, at more or less regular intervals, and machiolations. Circular, projecting towers ensured that attacks from the side could be thwarted. If the enemy were to penetrate the outer wall, each tower could be defended from embrasures facing onto the inner courtyard.

The second and third towers are flanked by watchtowers from which shots could be fired directly below. Between the second and third tower are two openings in the walkway on the wall. It is not clear what these were used for. Were these holes used for the disposing of rubbish, or escape routes. The windows on the exterior are narrow and low. All light entering comes from the interior. The few larger windows on the exterior date from a later period. It is most probable that the third tower - the highest - was used as a watchtower.

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