Biržai Castle is a castle in

Biržai Biržai (, known also by several alternative names) is a town in northern Lithuania. Biržai is famous for its reconstructed Biržai Castle manor, and the whole region is renowned for its many traditional-recipe beer breweries. Names The nam ...

, Lithuania. Construction of the earth bastion-type castle started in 1586 by the order of Krzysztof Mikołaj "the Lightning" Radziwiłł. In 1575, preparing for this construction, a

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

was built on the Agluona and Apaščia rivers at their confluence, and the artificial Lake Širvėna, covering about , was created. Major castle building works were finished in 1589. Since the second half of the 17th century, the castle has been the main seat of the Biržai-

Dubingiai Dubingiai ( pl, Dubinki) is a town in Molėtai district in Lithuania. It is situated near Lake Asveja, the longest lake in the country. The town has 208 inhabitants as of 2017. History The settlement was first mentioned in 1334, when Teutonic ...

Radziwiłł family line, which was transferred here from the

Dubingiai Castle Dubingiai Castle was a residential castle in Dubingiai, Molėtai district municipality, Molėtai district, Lithuania. The first masonry castle was constructed by Vytautas, Grand Duke of Lithuania, in 1412-1413 on an island, now a peninsula, in L ...

. Biržai Castle served as a major defensive structure during the wars with Sweden. The castle was reconstructed from ruins in the 1980s, in the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

- Baroque style. The residential manor of the castle houses a library and a regional history museum "Sėla" (literally '' Selonia''), founded in 1928. File:Biržai Castle.jpg, Plan of the castle. File:Smuglewicz Ruins of the Biržai Castle.jpg, ''Ruins of the Biržai Castle'' by

Franciszek Smuglewicz Franciszek Smuglewicz ( lt, Pranciškus Smuglevičius; 6 October 1745 – 18 September 1807) was a Polish-Lithuanian draughtsman and painter. Smuglewicz is considered a progenitor of Lithuanian art in the modern era. He was precursor of hi ...

( National Museum in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

) File:BirzaiCastleArsenal2018.jpg, Arsenal File:Biržai manor - panoramio.jpg, Bridge

References

External links

The Association of Castles and Museums around the Baltic Sea
* Houses completed in 1589 Renaissance architecture in Lithuania Castles in Lithuania Museums in Panevėžys County Buildings and structures in Panevėžys County Tourist attractions in Panevėžys County Castles of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania Castles and palaces of the Radziwiłł family Biržai {{Lithuania-struct-stub

See also

References

External links