Raudonė Castle is a residential castle (estate, manor) of the 19th century in

Raudonė Raudonė ( Samogitian: ''Rauduonė''; pl, Raudań) is a town on the Nemunas River in Tauragė County, Lithuania. The town is primarily known for its castle ( Raudonė Castle) and a large park complex. History Raudonė has been traditionally ...

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 ...

. Today it is used as a public school.

History

Bayersburg II Castle, an old Teutonic castle, stood here until the 16th century. The original castle is the setting of an

East Prussia East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label=Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...

n legend known as "The White Maiden of the Bayersburg".

was a royal manor, which Grand Duke

Sigismund II August 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 ...

gave to Prussian merchant Krispin Kirschenstein. He built a

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 ...

manor house with a cylindrical tower on the grounds of the old castle at the end of the 16th century. The 18th century owners of the Raudonė estate, the Olędzki (Olendzki) h. Rawicz family, members of Polish nobility, commissioned Laurynas Stuoka-Gucevičius \ Wawrzyniec Gucewicz to renovate the castle. The next owner, the Russian Prince

Platon Zubov Prince Platon Alexandrovich Zubov (russian: Платон Александрович Зубов; ) was the last of Catherine the Great's favourites and the most powerful man in the Russian Empire during the last years of her reign. Life The princ ...

, acquired the estate in the first half of the 19th century and his family transformed the castle yet again. Their architect was Cesare Anichini. The

Neo-Gothic style Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

building was built in 1877 as part of the castle building complex. It was used as a warehouse and a living place for servants. In 1923, the building was turned into mill. Today the whole complex is an example of 19th-century Neo-Gothic architecture. The last owners of the castle from 1898 to 1937, was Sophia Waxell, a granddaughter of Sophia von Pirch-Kaiserov who was niece of Platon Zubov, and her husband from

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

, José Carlos de Faria e Castro. After early death of Sophia, the castle belonged to her husband, later on to her only son, Joseph Carlo de Faria e Castro and his wife Olga Kordashevski and their children Nikolai, Vladimir and Alexander. In 1937 the castle became property of the National Bank of Lithuania. The castle is surrounded by an old park, in which rare trees grow: the

silver fir Silver fir is a common name for several trees and may refer to: *''Abies alba'', native to Europe *''Abies amabilis'', native to western North America *''Abies pindrow ''Abies pindrow'', the pindrow fir or west Himalayan fir, is a fir native ...

Swiss pine ''Pinus cembra'', also known as Swiss pine, Swiss stone pine or Arolla pine or Austrian stone pine or just stone pine, is a species of a pine tree in the subgenus ''Strobus''. Description The Swiss pine is a member of the white pine group, ...

, grey walnut, line with nine trunks, Gediminas Oak. The Gediminas Oak, under which according to a legend the

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 ...

Gediminas Gediminas ( la, Gedeminne, ; – December 1341) was the king or Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1315 or 1316 until his death. He is credited with founding this political entity and expanding its territory which later spanned the area ranging from t ...

had a lunch, is no longer putting out leaves. The tower is open to public as an observation tower of

Nemunas The Neman, Nioman, Nemunas or MemelTo bankside nations of the present: Lithuanian: be, Нёман, , ; russian: Неман, ''Neman''; past: ger, Memel (where touching Prussia only, otherwise Nieman); lv, Nemuna; et, Neemen; pl, Niemen; ...

valley.

Gallery

File:View of Nemunas Valley from Raudonė Castle, Lithuania..JPG, View of Nemunas Valley from the Raudonė Castle File:Original coat of arms of owners of Raudonė Castle Krispin - Kirschenstein and Sophia von Pirch - Kaiserov.JPG, Original coat of arms of owners of the Raudonė Castle Krispin-Kirschenstein and Sophia von Pirch-Kaiserov File:Radaune castle Aerial.jpg, Aerial shot of Radaune Castle

References

* Urban, William. ''The Teutonic Knights: A Military History''. Greenhill Books. London, 2003, p. 133. * Polski słownik biograficzny / komitet redakcyjny Władysław Konopczynski ... 'et al.'' Publisher Kraków : Skład główny w ksieg. Gebethnera i Wolffa, 1935-. (set) {{DEFAULTSORT:Raudone Castle Castles in Lithuania Gothic Revival architecture in Lithuania Buildings and structures in Tauragė County Tourist attractions in Tauragė County

History

Gallery

See also

References