Viljandi Castle (, ) is 13th Century castle in a

Viljandi Viljandi (, , , , ) is a Populated places in Estonia, town and Municipalities of Estonia, municipality in southern Estonia with a population of 17,255 in 2024. It is the capital of Viljandi County and is geographically located between two major ...

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

. It was built by the

Livonian Order The Livonian Order was an autonomous branch of the Teutonic Order, formed in 1237. From 1435 to 1561 it was a member of the Livonian Confederation. History The order was formed from the remnants of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword after thei ...

, and construction started in 1224 in place of a former

hillfort A hillfort is a type of fortification, fortified refuge or defended settlement located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typical of the late Bronze Age Europe, European Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe, Iron Age. So ...

, which was one of the strongest

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 ...

s in

Livonia Livonia, known in earlier records as Livland, is a historical region on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. It is named after the Livonians, who lived on the shores of present-day Latvia. By the end of the 13th century, the name was extende ...

. Finally destroyed in the

Polish-Swedish wars This is a List of wars between the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to ...

during the early 17th century, its ruins still stand near the town centre.

History

After initial setback in the battle of Viljandi in 1223, the

crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding ...

of Sword Brethren conquered the

at the place where the main castle was later built. Construction of stone fortifications started in 1224. Viljandi was chosen as the high seat of the order. The convent house, a typical form of castle of Teutonic Knights, was erected in the late 13th to the early 14th century. In the following centuries the castle was extended and fortified further. It was badly damaged in the

in the early 17th century and not repaired any more. In the 18th century, the ruins were used for quarrying stones for construction work in Viljandi. The first

excavations In archaeology, excavation is the exposure, processing and recording of archaeological remains. An excavation site or "dig" is the area being studied. These locations range from one to several areas at a time during a project and can be condu ...

in the castle were performed in 1878–1879. In recent decades, these have turned to almost yearly events. Currently the ruins form a popular resort area just outside central Viljandi. An open-air stage is located in the former central courtyard.

References

External links

Castles in Estonia Castles of the Livonian Order Buildings and structures in Viljandi County 13th-century establishments in Estonia Tourist attractions in Viljandi County Ruined castles in Estonia 13th-century architecture in Estonia {{Viljandi-geo-stub

History

See also

References

External links