Dubingiai Castle was a residential castle in

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 kn ...

Molėtai district Molėtai () ( pl, Malaty) is a town in north eastern Lithuania surrounded by lakes. One of the oldest settlements in Lithuania, it is a popular resort for the inhabitants of Vilnius. According to the 2013 census, it had 6,302 inhabitants. The to ...

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), 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. Lithuania ...

. The first

masonry Masonry is the building of structures from individual units, which are often laid in and bound together by mortar; the term ''masonry'' can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are bricks, building ...

castle was constructed by

Vytautas Vytautas (c. 135027 October 1430), also known as Vytautas the Great ( Lithuanian: ', be, Вітаўт, ''Vitaŭt'', pl, Witold Kiejstutowicz, ''Witold Aleksander'' or ''Witold Wielki'' Ruthenian: ''Vitovt'', Latin: ''Alexander Vitoldus'', O ...

Grand Duke of Lithuania The monarchy of Lithuania concerned the monarchical head of state of Lithuania, which was established as an absolute and hereditary monarchy. Throughout Lithuania's history there were three ducal dynasties that managed to stay in power—House ...

, in 1412-1413 on an island, now a

peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...

, in

Lake Asveja Lake Asveja or Dubingiai Lake ( lt, Asveja or ) is the longest lake in Lithuania (length: 21.9 km or 29.7 km counting the Žalktynė, Vyriogala and Dubingiai bights). It covers 9.78 km2 area and reaches a depth of 50.2m which makes ...

in order to secure the capital

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...

from attacks from

Livonia Livonia ( liv, Līvõmō, et, Liivimaa, fi, Liivinmaa, German and Scandinavian languages: ', archaic German: ''Liefland'', nl, Lijfland, Latvian and lt, Livonija, pl, Inflanty, archaic English: ''Livland'', ''Liwlandia''; russian: Ли ...

. No accounts concerning the architecture of Vytautas' castle have survived. It was acquired by

Jerzy Radziwiłł Jerzy Radziwiłł ( lt, Jurgis Radvila; 1480 – April 1541), nicknamed "Herkules", was a Szlachta, Polish–Lithuanian nobleman. He was Podczaszy, Deputy Cup-Bearer of Lithuania from 1510, voivode of Kiev Voivodeship from 1510, Field Hetma ...

prior to 1508. He constructed a new palace in the Renaissance style in the first half of the 16th century. After the death of Jerzy, his son Mikolaj "the Red" inherited the property, causing the town nearby to become an important hub for the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

in Lithuania.

Barbara Radziwiłł Barbara Radziwiłł ( pl, Barbara Radziwiłłówna, lt, Barbora Radvilaitė; 6 December 1520/23 – 8 May 1551) was Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania as consort of Sigismund II Augustus, the last male monarch of the Jagiellon dynas ...

spent five months in the castle after her marriage to

Sigismund Augustus Sigismund II Augustus ( pl, Zygmunt II August, lt, Žygimantas Augustas; 1 August 1520 – 7 July 1572) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, the son of Sigismund I the Old, whom Sigismund II succeeded in 1548. He was the first ruler ...

in 1547. The palace used to be one of the most luxurious residences in the Duchy, lagging not much behind the

Royal Palace This is a list of royal palaces, sorted by continent. Africa * Abdin Palace, Cairo * Al-Gawhara Palace, Cairo * Koubbeh Palace, Cairo * Tahra Palace, Cairo * Menelik Palace * Jubilee Palace * Guenete Leul Palace * Imperial Palace- Massa ...

. Dubingiai Castle was the main seat of the

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

line of the Radziwiłł family until the second half of the 17th century, when it was transferred to

Biržai Castle Biržai Castle is a castle in Biržai, 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 was built on the Ag ...

. During the

Polish–Swedish wars The Polish–Swedish Wars were a series of wars between the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and Sweden. Broadly construed, the term refers to a series of wars between 1563 and 1721. More narrowly, it refers to particular wars between 1600 and ...

, the castle was pillaged by armies loyal to the King of Poland and was confiscated from

Bogusław Radziwiłł Bogusław Radziwiłł ( lt, Boguslavas Radvila; 3 May 1620 – 31 December 1669) was a Poles, Polish princely magnate and a member of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Polish-Lithuanian ''szlachta'', or nobility. He was of the Radziwił ...

. It returned to the family in the second half of the 17th century. The neglected castle and church gradually fell into ruins. It was sold to Michał Tyszkiewicz in 1808. Today only the foundations and several cellars of the castle and church remain and are being researched. The masonry

Calvinist Church Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John ...

the Holy Spirit In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is the divine force, quality, and influence of God over the Universe or over his creatures. In Nicene Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is the third person of the Trinity. In Islam, the Holy Spirit acts as ...

was built in the

Renaissance style Renaissance architecture is the European architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 16th centuries in different regions, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of Ancient Greece, ancient Greek and ...

near the castle by Janusz Radziwiłł prior to 1620 and was intended to be the

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be consid ...

of the Radziwiłł family. The most prominent members of the family were interred there, including

Mikołaj "the Black" Radziwiłł Mikołaj Krzysztof Radziwiłł (4 February 1515 – 28 May 1565), nicknamed ''The Black'' (Polish: ''Czarny''), was a Polish-Lithuanian noble who held several administrative positions within the Grand Duchy of Lithuania: Voivode of Vilnius, Gr ...

(1565) and his wife Elżbieta Szydłowiecka (1562),

Mikołaj "the Red" Radziwiłł Mikołaj Radziwiłł, nicknamed ''The Red'' (Polish ''Rudy'', Lithuanian: ''Radvila Rudasis''), also known as ''Mikołaj Radziwiłł the Sixth'' (1512 – 27 April 1584), was a Polish–Lithuanian nobleman, Count Palatine of Vilnius, Grand C ...

(1584) and Janusz Radziwiłł (1620). Their remains were discovered during

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

excavations in 2004 and reburied there on 5 September 2009. Image:Radvilos Church.jpg, The remains of the church after the excavations Image:Dubingiai Castle.jpg, The excavations at the castle site in 2007 Image:Dubingiai7b.JPG, Excavated castle foundations in 2009 File:Radvilos Reburial Ceremony 1.jpg, Reburial ceremony of Radvilas, 2009

References

*
Exploration of the Dubingiai Castle
*

{{Castles in Lithuania Former castles in Lithuania Buildings and structures in Utena County Tourist attractions in Utena County Castles and palaces of the Radziwiłł family

See also

References