Medininkai Castle (), a

medieval castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble. This i ...

Vilnius district Vilnius District Municipality () is one of the 60 municipalities in Lithuania. It surrounds the capital city of Vilnius on three sides. The municipality is also bordered by Trakai district and Elektrėnai municipality in the west ...

, eastern

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 ...

. Castle was built in the first half of the 14th century. The defensive perimeter of the castle was 6.5 ha; it is the largest enclosure type castle in Lithuania, and one of the largest castles in Central and North-Eastern Europe.

Architecture

It was built on plain ground and was designed for

flank Flank may refer to: * Flank (anatomy), part of the abdomen ** Flank steak, a cut of beef ** Part of the external anatomy of a horse * Flank speed, a nautical term * Flank opening, a chess opening * A term in Australian rules football * The ...

defence. The rectangular castle's yard covered approximately 1.8 hectares and was protected by walls 15 metres high and 2 metres thick. The castle had 4 gates and towers. The main tower (

donjon A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residenc ...

), about 30 metres high, was used for residential quarters. The walls and towers of the shell structure are made of field stones and bricks in the Baltic brick bonding method. The castle's structure is similar to that of the castles of

Lida Lida is a city in Grodno Region, western Belarus, located west of Minsk. It serves as the administrative center of Lida District. As of 2025, it has a population of 103,262. Etymology The name ''Lida'' arises from its Lithuanian name ''Ly ...

Kreva Kreva (, ; ; ; ) is an agrotown in Smarhon District, Grodno Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Krevas selsoviet. The first mention dates to the 13th century. The toponym is derived from the name of the Krivichs tribe. ...

and

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 ...

History

The origins of Medininkai Castle date back to 1311 as mentioned in the

Chronicon terrae Prussiae ''Chronicon terræ Prussiæ'' () is a chronicle of the Teutonic Knights, by Peter of Dusburg, finished in 1326. The manuscript is the first major chronicle of the Teutonic Order in Prussia and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, completed some 100 yea ...

chronicle. It is likely that the castle was originally built from timber and was adapted for frontal defence. The current brick and stone castle was built in the late 14th century likely by the Grand Duke

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 ...

, during this period, the castle served as a refuge for the local population during attacks by the

Tatars Tatars ( )Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary are a group of Turkic peoples across Eas ...

and the

Teutonic Knights The Teutonic Order is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem was formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to t ...

. However, it was later besieged and burnt down by the forces of the Teutonic Knights, together with the future Grand Duke of Lithuania

Švitrigaila Švitrigaila (before 1370 – 10 February 1452; sometimes spelled Svidrigiello) was the Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1430 to 1432. He spent most of his life in largely unsuccessful dynastic struggles against his cousins Vytautas and Sigismund K� ...

in 1402, following which it fell into disuse as a defensive structure, although Grand Duke

Vytautas the Great 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 ...

did not abandon the castle outright and later visited it several times. The castle was used as the summer residence of the Grand Duke of Lithuania and the King of Poland,

Casimir IV Jagiellon Casimir IV (Casimir Andrew Jagiellon; ; Lithuanian: ; 30 November 1427 – 7 June 1492) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1440 and King of Poland from 1447 until his death in 1492. He was one of the most active Polish-Lithuanian rulers; under ...

. The children of the monarch and their tutor,

Jan Dlugosz Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Numb ...

, often visited Medininkai as well. From the late 15th century onwards, the castle was gradually abandoned following a series of fires, the most significant of which occurred in the early 16th century. Because of the increased use of

firearms A firearm is any type of gun that uses an explosive charge and is designed to be readily carried and operated by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see legal definitions). The first firearms originated ...

, this type of castle was no longer suited for defensive purposes and was later used as a residential castle. During the 17th–18th centuries it was reorganized into a farm and a

bakery A bakery is an establishment that produces and sells flour-based baked goods made in an oven such as bread, cookies, cakes, doughnuts, bagels, Pastry, pastries, and pies. Some retail bakeries are also categorized as Coffeehouse, cafés, servi ...

. The wooden structures that comprised the Medininkai Manor were relocated to the castle courtyard, where they remained until the early 20th century. In 1665 the castle was captured by

Swedish Army The Swedish Army () is the army, land force of the Swedish Armed Forces of the Kingdom of Sweden. Beginning with its service in 1521, the Swedish Army has been active for more than 500 years. History Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1 ...

during the

Swedish Deluge The Deluge was a series of mid-17th-century military campaigns in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. In a wider sense, it applies to the period between the Khmelnytsky Uprising of 1648 and the Truce of Andrusovo in 1667, comprising the Pol ...

of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In 1812, Medininkai Castle was occupied by the

Grande Armée The (; ) was the primary field army of the French Imperial Army (1804–1815), French Imperial Army during the Napoleonic Wars. Commanded by Napoleon, from 1804 to 1808 it won a series of military victories that allowed the First French Empi ...

retreating from

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, during the failed

French invasion of Russia The French invasion of Russia, also known as the Russian campaign (), the Second Polish War, and in Russia as the Patriotic War of 1812 (), was initiated by Napoleon with the aim of compelling the Russian Empire to comply with the Continenta ...

. The wooden buildings were demolished and burned in the winter to provide warmth for the French troops.

Restoration

The plan of Medininkai Castle northeastern tower

In the middle of the 20th century, the architect Sigitas Benjaminas Lasavickas and the archaeologist Karolis Mekas investigated the castle. Between 1961 and 1963, the castle underwent conservation, with the openings of the three gates being restored. Between 1970 and 1973, the western wall was subject to conservation and restoration works as part of a project overseen by architect Evaldas Purlys. In 1979, further restoration work was undertaken on the brickwork of the outer walls. During this period, the castle, recognised as an architectural and archaeological monument, was under the administration of the National Museum of Lithuania. In 1974, the castle was utilised as an exhibition space to showcase the historical development of Medininkai Castle. In 1992, the initiative to restore the castle was launched by the

Department of Cultural Heritage The Department of Cultural Heritage () is the department of the Lithuanian Ministry of Culture responsible for protecting and documenting cultural property as well as the intangible cultural heritage. The Department of Cultural Heritage perform ...

and the Foundation of Lithuanian Culture. Between 1994 and 2000, the castle's donjon underwent reconstruction, the defensive walls were restored, part of the 13th-century brickwork was restored, and the walls were covered with protective tiled canopies. The reconstruction of the donjon was supported by the Lithuanian-American Society of Engineering Architects (PLIAS). After the castle's restoration, its museum currently exhibits large collection of items made from silver by artisans 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, ...

, and collection of hunting trophies and hunting knives of President

Algirdas Brazauskas Algirdas Mykolas Brazauskas (, 1932 – 2010) was a Lithuanian politician who served as the fourth president of Lithuania from 1993 to 1998. He also served as the prime minister of Lithuania from 2001 to 2006. Brazauskas was the first democr ...

Gallery

File:Medininku pilis bokstas vidus.JPG, Inside of the keep File:Medinku pilis ieimas i boksta.JPG, Entrance into the keep File:Medininkų pilis iš dangaus - www.aerialmedia.tv 02.jpg, Aerial view of the castle File:Medininkų pilis iš dangaus 03.jpg, Aerial view of the main tower File:LT-2006-50litų-Medininkų pilis-b.png,

Litas The Lithuanian litas (ISO currency code LTL, symbolized as Lt; plural ''litai'' (nominative) or ''litų'' (genitive) was the currency of Lithuania, until 1 January 2015, when it was replaced by the euro. It was divided into 100 centų (geniti ...

commemorative coin A commemorative coin is a coin issued to commemorate some particular event or issue with a distinct design with reference to the occasion on which they were issued. Some coins of this category serve as collector's items only, while most commemora ...

dedicated to the Medininkai Castle

References

External links