Bisenė or Bisena was a wooden fortress of the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...
during the
Lithuanian Crusade
The Lithuanian Crusade was a series of campaigns by the Teutonic Order and the Livonian Order under the pretext of forcibly Christianizing the pagan Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The Livonian Order occupied Riga in 1202 and in the 1230s they settled ...
. It was one of the Lithuanian defensive outposts along the
Neman River
Neman, Nemunas or Niemen is a river in Europe that rises in central Belarus and flows through Lithuania then forms Lithuania–Russia border, the northern border of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia's western exclave, which specifically follows its s ...
and was burned down by the
Teutonic Order
The Teutonic Order is a religious order (Catholic), Catholic religious institution founded as a military order (religious society), military society in Acre, Israel, Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Sa ...
in 1283 and 1316. Its location was long debated and often confused with
Pieštvė
Pieštvė (also known as ''Beisten'', ''Bisten'', ''Pistene'', ''Pista'', ''Pestwa'', etc. in medieval chronicles) was a wooden fortress of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania during the Lithuanian Crusade. It stood on a hill fort that is known as in S ...
, but after 1985 research of
Romas Batūra it has been generally accepted to be Kartupėnai Hillfort near the confluence of the Kartupis and Neman in
Jurbarkas District Municipality
Jurbarkas District Municipality () is a municipalities of Lithuania, municipality in Tauragė County, Lithuania
Elderships
Jurbarkas District Municipality is divided into 12 elderships:
Population by locality
*Status: M, MST - city, town / K ...
,
Lithuania
Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...
.
[ After the burning down of Kolainiai in 1291 and Bisenė in 1316, Junigeda (]Veliuona
Veliuona (, , ) is a small town on the Nemunas River in the Jurbarkas district municipality in Lithuania.
History
Veliuona (also known as Junigeda) was first mentioned in 1291 in the chronicle of Peter of Duisburg.
The town is primarily known ...
) became the westernmost Lithuanian fortress along the Neman.[
]
History
Chronicler Peter von Dusburg Peter of Dusburg (; ; died after 1326), also known as Peter of Duisburg, was a Priest-Brother and chronicler of the Teutonic Knights. He is known for writing the '' Chronicon terrae Prussiae'', which described the 13th and early 14th century Teutoni ...
noted that the Teutonic Order
The Teutonic Order is a religious order (Catholic), Catholic religious institution founded as a military order (religious society), military society in Acre, Israel, Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Sa ...
finalized its conquest of Prussia and launched the Lithuanian Crusade
The Lithuanian Crusade was a series of campaigns by the Teutonic Order and the Livonian Order under the pretext of forcibly Christianizing the pagan Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The Livonian Order occupied Riga in 1202 and in the 1230s they settled ...
in the winter of 1283. The first target of the Teutons was Bisenė.[ Teutonic soldiers, commanded by the Prussian Landmeister Konrad von Thierberg, crossed the frozen ]Neman River
Neman, Nemunas or Niemen is a river in Europe that rises in central Belarus and flows through Lithuania then forms Lithuania–Russia border, the northern border of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia's western exclave, which specifically follows its s ...
and rigorously attacked the Lithuanian fortress in the morning. It fell in the afternoon and was burned to the ground. Surviving defenders were taken captive. A detachment of the Teutons raided the surrounding area, taking much loot. Dusburg noted that many Teutons were injured in the attacks and four brothers drowned in the Neman when frozen ice collapsed under their feet.[
Lithuanians rebuilt the fortress. In early 1313, the Teutonic order completed the construction of ]Christmemel Christmemel (Latin: ''Christi Memela'', ''Kyrsmemel'', ''Kirsmomela'') was a frontier fortress (''Ordensburg'') of the Teutonic Knights on the banks of the Neman River. It was constructed of wood and earth between April 8 and 22, 1313, by Grand Mast ...
not far from Bisenė and used it as a base for further attacks.[ In the summer of 1313, Bisenė was attacked by Prussian Landmeister ]Heinrich von Plötzke
Heinrich von Plötzke ( 1264 – 27 July 1320 in Medininkai, Lithuania) was an officer of the Teutonic Order during the late 13th and early 14th centuries.
Heinrich was the Komtur of Altenburg in 1286 and of Halle in 1287, after which he was tr ...
and his men. Part of his force sailed via the Neman and used boats to construct a bridge across the river.[ The invaders used "]war machines
War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organize ...
" but the fortress withstood the assault. Landmeister Heinrich with men from Sambia
Sambia () or Samland () or Kaliningrad Peninsula (official name, , ''Kaliningradsky poluostrov'') is a peninsula in the Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia, on the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea. The peninsula is bounded by the Curonian Lagoon t ...
and Natangia
Natangians or Notangians (; ; ; ) was a Prussian clan, which lived in the region of Natangia, an area that is now mostly part of the Russian exclave Kaliningrad Oblast, whereas the southern portion lies in the Polish Warmian-Masurian Voivodeshi ...
tried again in fall 1313. This time they burned the outer bailey
An outer bailey or outer ward is the defended outer enclosure of a castle.Friar, Stephen (2003). ''The Sutton Companion to Castles'', Sutton Publishing, Stroud, 2003, p. 22. It protects the inner bailey and usually contains those ancillary bui ...
but failed to take the main fortress.[
Bisenė was manned by a Lithuanian garrison in one-month shifts, a weakness in security which was exploited by the Teutons.][ Sometime between 1307 and 1315, 22 brothers and 60 soldiers attacked 85 Lithuanians returning home after their shift. All Lithuanians were killed except for three wounded men who managed to escape. The same type of attack was repeated twice in 1316.][ The first attack, commanded by the vicekomtur of Christmemel, saw 75 Lithuanians killed and five survivors who managed to escape. On 4 April 1316, three brothers with three squires departed ]Ragnit
Neman (; ; ), is a town and the administrative center of Nemansky District in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located in the historic region of Lithuania Minor, on the steep southern bank of the Neman River, where it forms the Russian border with ...
towards Bisenė at the end of the one-month shift. They killed six Lithuanians while the other six escaped. As they approached Bisenė they saw that the fortress was left unattended. Using the opportunity, the Teutons burned it down. This time the fortress was not rebuilt.[
]
Description
Historical sources did not provide a description of the fortress and no archaeological excavations were carried out on the Kartupėnai Hill Fort. Therefore, available information about the fortress is very rudimentary. The northern and western edges of the hill collapsed into the Kartupis due to erosion
Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as Surface runoff, water flow or wind) that removes soil, Rock (geology), rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust#Crust, Earth's crust and then sediment transport, tran ...
making analysis more challenging. Based on preliminary observations, the fortress was in size along the east–west axis. It was surrounded by wooden walls and steep slopes in height.[ Eastern side of the hill fort had a ]rampart
Rampart may refer to:
* Rampart (fortification), a defensive wall or bank around a castle, fort or settlement
Rampart may also refer to:
* LAPD Rampart Division, a division of the Los Angeles Police Department
** Rampart scandal, a blanket ter ...
, in height and in width, which transitions into a ditch
A ditch is a small to moderate trench created to channel water. A ditch can be used for drainage, to drain water from low-lying areas, alongside roadways or fields, or to channel water from a more distant source for plant irrigation. Ditches ...
, in depth and in width.[ To the east of the hill fort, there is a settlement covering an area of but it has not been archaeologically excavated.][
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bisene
Hill forts in Lithuania
Former castles in Lithuania
Jurbarkas District Municipality