Raasepori Castle

Raasepori, Finland

The Raseborg or Raasepori Castle is one the five remaining medieval castles in Finland. It was founded by Bo Jonsson Grip and it is thought that the castle's first phase was completed sometime between 1373 and 1378. The first written data about the castle is from 1378. Its main purpose was to protect Sweden's interests in southern Finland against the Hanseatic city of Tallinn. The castle was originally built on a small island in the north end of a sea bay. The historians think that the castle was built in 3 different stages over time from the 14th to the 16th century.

The ruins of the outer wall of the castle do still exist. According to the historians the outer wall was built to protect the foundations of the castle itself. When the use of the artillery got more common, it was vital to protect the basic walls of the castle. There was also one more protection outside the castle. That was a wooden barrier, which surrounded the castle and it prevented any foreign ships to approach the castle harbour. There still exists some small parts of that barrier. The barriers are today on the mainland, but in the 15th century they were located on a peninsula by the sea. The sea level became lower over time due to postglacial rebound, and it became increasingly difficult to approach the castle by boat. This is one of the main reasons why the castle lost its importance.

Battles were fought between Swedish and Danish forces and even pirates over control of the castle in the Middle Ages. The castle was abandoned in 1553, three years after Helsinki was founded in 1550 and Helsinki became strategically more important. Restoration work began in the 1890s and in these days the castle ruins are open to the public.

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Address

Prästholmintie 42-48, Raasepori, Finland
See all sites in Raasepori

Details

Founded: 1360-1378
Category: Castles and fortifications in Finland
Historical period: Middle Ages (Finland)

More Information

www.nba.fi
www.muuka.com
en.wikipedia.org
www.raseborg.org

Rating

4.3/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby


Snappertuna Church (0,7 km)
Grabbacka (7,1 km)


Fiskars (16,5 km)
Tammisaari Church (12,3 km)
St. Lawrence's Church (37,1 km)
Tammisaari Old Town (12,5 km)
Inkoo Church (20,4 km)
Mustio Manor (21,2 km)
Fagervik (9,7 km)
St. Katherine's Church (10,3 km)
The Church of St. Mary (13,6 km)

User Reviews

Linus Westerlund (12 months ago)
A cool looking and well preserved medieval castle.
Kristoffer Soderlund (13 months ago)
One of the older fortifications in Finland from the 14th century. Sadly it was abandoned and fell into quite bad shape. Nowadays preserved but not restored, some info is found inside the castle on plaques but I would suggest reading up on the history in advance, that way the castle tour is more meaningful.
Devon Morancie (13 months ago)
An awesome castle that reminds me of Game of Thrones. There is an open air theater across the road that has plays and musicals frequently as well for little money. The castle is fairly small and you can see the whole thing quite quickly, but it is still interesting!
Maria Nybäck (13 months ago)
Great facilities and esp the Medieval event in July is worth a visit.
Elizabeth Toney (16 months ago)
We were the first guests of the season, which was great because we got to explore the ruins all by ourselves! Really amazing place with a fascinating history.
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At the entrance to Het Steen is a bas-relief of Semini, above the archway, around 2nd century. Semini is the Scandinavian God of youth and fertility (with symbolic phallus). A historical plaque near Het Steen explains that women of the town appealed to Semini when they desired children; the god was reviled by later religious clergy. Inhabitants of Antwerp previously referred to themselves as 'children of Semini'.

At the entrance bridge to the castle is a statue of a giant and two humans. It depicts the giant Lange Wapper who used to terrorise the inhabitants of the city in medieval times.

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