View source for Trakai Island Castle

{{Short description|Island castle in Trakai, Lithuania}}
{{More footnotes|date=September 2011}}

{{Infobox historic site
| name                 = Trakai Island Castle
| native_name          = Trakų salos pilis
| native_language      = Lithuanian
| image                = Trakai castle 2016.jpg
| caption              = View from Lake Galvė shore
| type                 = Castle
| mapframe             = yes
|mapframe-zoom         = 13
| coordinates          = {{coord|54|39|09|N|24|55|59|E|type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
| location             = [[Trakai]], [[Lithuania]]
| area                 = 
| restored             = 1946-1961
| built                = 14th century
| architect            = 
| architecture         = [[Brick Gothic]]
| built_for            = [[List of Lithuanian_monarchs#Grand_Duke|Grand Duke]] [[Kęstutis]]
| owner                = Trakai History Museum 
| designation1         = LITHUANIA
|designation1_type     = National
| designation1_offname = 
| designation1_date    = 13 February, 2008<ref>{{cite web |title=DĖL KULTŪROS PAVELDO OBJEKTŲ PASKELBIMO KULTŪROS PAMINKLAIS |url=https://e-seimas.lrs.lt/portal/legalAct/lt/TAD/TAIS.315096 |website=e-seimas.lrs.lt |publisher=Lietuvos Respublikos Seimo kanceliarija |access-date=4 August 2024}}</ref>
| designation1_number  = 1020 
|locmapin              = Lithuania
| website              = {{URL|trakaimuziejus.lt}}
| visitors_num            = 300 000
| visitors_year           = 2008
| visitors_ref            = <ref>{{cite book |last1=NARVIDAS |first1=Vydas |title=„LIETUVOS MUZIEJAI“ 2008'3 , Trakų istorijos muziejaus  jubiliejus: istorija ir skaičiai |date=2008 |publisher=Lietuvos muziejų asociacija |location=Vilnius |issn=1648-7109 |pages=59}}</ref>
}}

[[File:Trakai Castle01(js).jpg|thumb|250px|View from Lake Galvė shore]]

'''Trakai Island Castle''' ({{langx|lt|Trakų salos pilis}}) is an [[island castle]] located in [[Trakai]], [[Lithuania]], on an island in [[Lake Galvė]]. The construction of the stone castle was begun in the 14th century by [[Kęstutis]], and around 1409 major works were completed by his son [[Vytautas the Great]], who died in this castle in 1430. Trakai was one of the main centers of the [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]] and the castle held great strategic importance. The castle was rebuilt in the 1950s–1960s by Lithuanian initiative, although it had received resistance from Soviet authorities. The Trakai History Museum was established after the reconstruction.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cutler |first1=Nellie |title=The Baltic States and Belarus |journal=[[Time for Kids]] World Atlas |date=2011 |page=71 |location=New York, NY |isbn=978-1-60320-884-0}}</ref>

==Construction==
[[File:Trakai Island Castle 2.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Inner yard of castle. On the right – the Ducal Palace and its keep]]

===First phase===
Trakai Island Castle was built in several phases. During the first phase, in the second half of the 14th century, the castle was constructed on the largest of three lake islands by the order of Grand Duke [[Kęstutis]]. The construction of Trakai Island Castle was related to the expansion and strengthening of the [[Trakai Peninsula Castle]]. Kęstutis moved his main residence and his treasury to the Island Castle.

The castle suffered major devastation during an attack by the [[Teutonic knights]] in 1377. After the assassination of Kęstutis, a power struggle between [[Jogaila]] and Vytautas the Great for the title of [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania|Grand Duke of Lithuania]] began. The castle was besieged by both sides. Soon after the reconciliation between Jogaila and Vytautas, the second phase of construction started and continued until 1409. This phase is regarded as the major development in the history of the castle. Apparently, during the truce with the Teutonic Order, the construction works were supervised by the Order's stonemason Radike, four years before the [[Battle of Grunwald]].<ref name=Stephen>Stephen Turnbull. ''Crusader Castles Of The Teutonic Knights''. Vol. 1. Osprey Publishing Ltd, 2003. p. 39. {{ISBN|1-84176-557-0}}</ref>

===Second phase===
[[File:Trakai castle inner yard.jpg|thumb|left|upright|The inner yard of the palace and its wooden stair galleries]]
During the second phase, two wings were added, and on the southern side a six-[[storey]] ({{convert|35|m|disp=or}}) [[keep]] was built. The keep had movable gates which separated the palace from the castle. The keep was used for several functions; besides serving as another defensive structure, it had a chapel and living quarters. It was linked to the multi-storey Ducal Palace, which had an inner yard. The inner yard had wooden galleries, which ran around the inner wall; these galleries were used to access various support facilities without going inside the palace itself.

The entire southern wing of the southern palace was used for the Ducal Hall. This hall was around {{convert|10|x|21|m}} in size, and only the Upper Palace in the [[Vilnius Castle Complex]] could surpass its proportions.

[[File:Trakai Island Castle 3.jpg|thumb|Castle walls and corner tower]]
The principal construction material was so-called red Gothic bricks. Stone blocks were used only in the foundations and the upper parts of buildings, towers and walls. The castle was decorated in a variety of ways, including glazed roof tiling, burned bricks, and stained glass windows. Its overall style after the second construction phase could be described as [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]] with some [[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque]] features.

===Third phase===
The expansion of the castle in the early 15th century marked the third phase of Trakai's development. The walls of the castle were strengthened to a thickness of {{convert|2.5|m|ft}} and raised with additional firing galleries. Three major defensive towers were constructed on the corners. The south-western tower was also used as a prison. The top story of the towers was designed for soldiers and housed a large number of cannons. A main gatehouse was also constructed which, along with the Ducal Palace keep, had movable gates. The gatehouse was reinforced with additional sections for firing galleries. Near the inner walls several buildings were constructed, including stables, kitchens, and other support structures. When the castle was undergoing this expansion in the 15th century, the water level of Lake Galvė was several metres higher than it is today. The castle builders took advantage of this by separating the Ducal Palace and the castle with a moat, just wide enough for small boats to sail through. They were connected by gates that could be raised in case of an enemy attack.

==Ruin==
[[File:Marszewski Trakai Castle.jpg|thumb|''Trakai Island Castle in Ruins'' by [[Józef Marszewski]] (1866), [[National Museum, Warsaw|National Museum]] in [[Warsaw]]]]
[[File:Trakai-castle-ruins-old-photo-about-1870-1880.jpg|thumb|Photo from about 1870–1880]]
Trakai Island Castle lost its military importance soon after the [[Battle of Grunwald]], when the chief enemy of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was defeated by the Polish-Lithuanian army. The castle was transformed into a residence and newly decorated from the inside. New frescos were painted on its walls, which have been partially preserved. Foreign emissaries were welcomed in the Ducal Palace. It is known that Jogaila visited the castle thirteen times between 1413 and 1430. In 1414, the [[Flemish people|Flemish]] traveler [[Guillebert de Lannoy]] described the castle in these words:
{{bquote|The old castle stands on one side of the lake, in open ground, the other one stands in the middle of a second lake, and is within a cannon shot of the old one. It is completely new, built from bricks following French pattern.<ref name=Stephen/>}}

Grand Duke Vytautas the Great died in the castle without being crowned as [[King of Lithuania]] in 1430. During the rule of [[Sigismund Augustus]], the castle was redecorated in a [[Renaissance]] style, and it served as the royal summer residence for a short period of time. [[Lithuanian Metrica]] was kept in the castle until 1511. Later, the castle served as a prison. During the wars with [[Tsardom of Russia|Muscovy]] in the 17th century, the castle was damaged and was not reconstructed again. It gradually fell into disrepair.

==Reconstruction==
[[File:Trakaj2.jpg|thumb|Photo from January 1971]]
During the 19th century, castle reconstruction plans were prepared. Its original frescos were preserved and copied by [[Wincenty Smokowski]]. The Imperial Archaeological Commission initiated the documentation of the remaining castle in 1888. In 1905, the Imperial Russian authorities decided to partially restore the castle ruins. During [[World War I]], Germans specialists made several attempts to restore the castle. Between 1935 and 1941, parts of the Ducal Palace walls were strengthened, and the south-eastern castle tower was rebuilt, including sections of its walls. Lithuanian and Polish preservationists worked on the project, but the work stopped when the war gained in intensity. A major reconstruction project was begun in 1946; active work started in 1951–1952. The major portion of the reconstruction was finished in 1961. The castle was reconstructed in a 15th-century style.

Trakai Island Castle is now a major tourist attraction.

==Gallery==
{{clear right}}
{{wide image|Trakai Island Castle on Lake Galvė, Trakai, Lithuania - 20110421.jpg|900px|Panoramic view of Trakai}}
{{gallery|mode=packed
|File:Trakai Island 17.jpg|the Ducal Palace
|File:Trakai Castle side view.jpg|Side view of the Ducal Palace
|File:Trakai Island Castle (53668531919).jpg|The entrance
|File:Trakai Castle tourists.jpg|The bridge to the main castle gatehouse
|File:TrakaiBurg2011.ogv|Trakai Castle 2011
|File:Castle at night.jpg|Castle at night
|File:Trakai Island Castle Chapel, Lithuania - Diliff.jpg|Chapel
|2_litai_(1993).jpg|2 [[Lithuanian litas]]
|Frescoes of the Trakai Island Castle, depicting Vytautas the Great (19th century watercolor painting).jpg|Gothic frescoes, depicting Grand Duke [[Vytautas the Great]], which did not survive
|File:Srednjovjekovni dvorac Trakai.jpg|Exhibition inside castle
|File:Lovački trofeji u Litvi.jpg|Hunted taxidermed animals, exhibited inside castle
|File:Srednjovjekovni dvorac Trakai 26.6.2025.jpg|Interior of castle
}}

==See also==
*[[Trakai Historical National Park]]
*[[Gothic architecture in Lithuania]]
*[[List of castles in Lithuania]]
*[[Senieji Trakai Castle]]
*[[Trakai Peninsula Castle]]
*'''''<small>{{portal-inline|Lithuania}}</small>'''''

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
{{refbegin}}
*Patkauskas S. ''Archeologiniai tyrimai Trakuose''. Vilnius, 1982.
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Trakai Island Castle}}
*[http://www.visitcastles.eu/ The Association of Castles and Museums around the Baltic Sea]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnC7ys-7qDA Trakai Castle (video)]
{{Castles in Lithuania}}{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1409]]
[[Category:Castles in Lithuania]]
[[Category:Brick Gothic]]
[[Category:Gothic architecture in Lithuania]]
[[Category:Rebuilt buildings and structures in Lithuania]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Trakai]]
[[Category:Museums in Vilnius County]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:Water castles]]

[[de:Trakai#Burgen]]