Gotteswerder () was a Teutonic

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

in the vicinity of

Kaunas Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...

, constructed 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 ...

in the currently non-existent island of Virgalė, which was located at the confluence of

Nemunas Neman, Nemunas or Niemen is a river in Europe that rises in central Belarus and flows through Lithuania then forms the northern border of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia's western exclave, which specifically follows its southern channel. It drains ...

and

Nevėžis The Nevėžis (; ) is the List of rivers of Lithuania, sixth longest river in Lithuania and one of the main tributaries of the Neman (river), Nemunas. The long Nevėžis flows entirely within Lithuania.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, ...

in 1363, the castle was captured by the Teutonic Order in 1368.

History

Construction

After the destruction of the Kaunas Castle in 1362, the Lithuanians hurried to rebuild. They chose Vyrgalė island, about below Kaunas. This New Kaunas was destroyed in April 1363 along with

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 ...

and

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 ...

. This severely weakened Lithuanian defenses along the Neman and started the most intense period of attacks towards central Lithuania, including

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

and

Trakai Trakai (; see Trakai#Names and etymology, names section for alternative and historic names) is a city and lake resort in Lithuania. It lies west of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania or just from the administrative limits of the Lithuanian capi ...

. Lithuanians rebuilt New Kaunas. The castle was threatened by the Teutonic Order in 1366 (raid led by Duke

William II of Berg William II ( – 25 June 1408) was born in Jülich, as the son of Gerhard VI of Jülich, Count of Berg and Ravensberg, and Margaret of Ravensberg, Margaret, daughter and heiress of Otto IV, Count of Ravensberg, and Margaret of Berg.Walther Mö ...

) and 1367 (raid led by marshal

Henning Schindekop Henning Schindekop (also Schindekopf) ( 1330 – 17 February 1370) was a high-ranking official of the Teutonic Knights. A native of Westphalia in the Holy Roman Empire, Schindekop was mentioned as a Teutonic brother in Königsberg in 1348. ...

). The Teutonic Order attacked again and destroyed the wooden fortifications after a two-day battle in 1368. Lithuanians decided to rebuild a brick castle. In spring 1369, the Teutonic Order attacked and captured the unfinished construction. Using the materials brought by the Lithuanians, they finished the construction in April–May 1368 and named the castle Gotteswerder. It was the easternmost stronghold of the

State of the Teutonic Order The State of the Teutonic Order () was a theocratic state located along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea in northern Europe. It was formed by the knights of the Teutonic Order during the early 13th century Northern Crusades in the region ...

at the time. Just few months after its construction, Gotteswerder was captured after a five-week siege by the

Grand Ducal Lithuanian Army The Lithuanian Armed Forces () are the military of Lithuania. The Lithuanian Armed Forces consist of the Lithuanian Land Forces, the Lithuanian Navy, the Lithuanian Air Force and the Lithuanian Special Operations Force. In wartime, the Lithuan ...

led by

Algirdas Algirdas (; , ; – May 1377) was List of Lithuanian monarchs, Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1345 to 1377. With the help of his brother Kęstutis (who defended the western border of the Duchy) he created an empire stretching from the pre ...

and

Kęstutis Kęstutis ( – 3 or 15 August 1382) was sole Duke of Trakai from 1342 to 1382 and List of Lithuanian monarchs, Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1342 to 1382, together with his brother Algirdas (until 1377), and with his nephew Jogaila (from 1377 to ...

. The Lithuanians did not destroy the castle, but reinforced it with two additional wooden fortifications. The Teutonic Order counterattacked in November 1368. The castle fell in five days. 54 Lithuanians were killed, 109 died in fire, and 309 were taken prisoners.

Later history

Historians believe that Gotteswerder was destroyed by

Vytautas Vytautas the Great (; 27 October 1430) was a ruler of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. He was also the prince of Grodno (1370–1382), prince of Lutsk (1387–1389), and the postulated king of the Hussites. In modern Lithuania, Vytautas is revere ...

when he reconciled with Jogaila at the end of the

Lithuanian Civil War (1389–1392) The Lithuanian Civil War of 1389–1392 was the second civil conflict between Jogaila, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, and his cousin Vytautas. At issue was control of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, then the largest state in Europe. J ...

. In June 1398, Vytautas helped the Teutonic Order rebuilding the castle as he made peace with the order in preparation for a large campaign against the

Golden Horde The Golden Horde, self-designated as ''Ulug Ulus'' ( in Turkic) was originally a Mongols, Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the division of ...

which resulted in the

Battle of the Vorskla River The Battle of the Vorskla River was fought on August 12, 1399, between the Tatars of the Golden Horde, under Edigu and Temür Qutlugh, and the armies of Tokhtamysh and a large Crusader force led by Grand Duke Vytautas the Great of Lithuania. ...

. In March 1402, Vytautas captured and burned Gotteswerder during the First Samogitian Uprising. It is believed that the castle was rebuilt and was used by the Teutonic Order when attempting to subjugate

Samogitia Samogitia, often known by its Lithuanian language, Lithuanian name ''Žemaitija'' (Samogitian language, Samogitian: ''Žemaitėjė''; see Samogitia#Etymology and alternative names, below for alternative and historical names) is one of the five ...

in 1404–1409.

References

{{Castles in Lithuania Castles of the Teutonic Knights 14th-century fortifications Buildings and structures completed in 1369 Former castles in Lithuania Buildings and structures in Kaunas History of Kaunas Water castles