Raudonė ( Samogitian: ''Rauduonė''; pl, Raudań) is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

on the

Nemunas River 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; ...

Tauragė County Tauragė County ( Lithuanian: ''Tauragės apskritis'') is one of ten counties in Lithuania. It is in the west of the country, and its capital is Tauragė Tauragė (; see other names) is an industrial city in Lithuania, and the capital of ...

, Lithuania. The town is primarily known for its castle ( Raudonė Castle) and a large park complex.

History

Raudonė has been traditionally identified as the location of Bayerburg, a castle of the

Teutonic Order The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...

during the

Lithuanian Crusade The Lithuanian Crusade was a series of economic Christian colonization campaigns by the Teutonic Order and the Livonian Order under the pretext of forcibly Christianizing the pagan Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The Livonian Order occupied Riga in ...

. A local legend claims that when

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 ...

Grand Duke of Lithuania The monarchy of Lithuania concerned the monarchical head of state of Kingdom of Lithuania, Lithuania, which was established as an Absolute monarchy, absolute and hereditary monarchy. Throughout Lithuania's history there were three Duke, ducal D ...

, attacked the fortress in 1337, he was mortally wounded under the oak tree now known as the Gediminas Oak. However, there is no proof, either from historical record or archaeological research, that a castle stood there before the 16th century. In the 16th century, Raudonė Castle belonged to King

Sigismund II 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 ...

of Poland. A new castle was built on the ruins of the old one by a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

knight, Hieronymus Krispin-Kirschenstein. The castle has since been rebuilt many times. The 18th century Polish owners of the Rudonė estate, the family Olędzki (Olendzki) h. Rawicz (members of szlachta,

general sejm A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED O ...

and senate) commissioned

Laurynas Gucevičius Laurynas Gucevičius ( pl, Wawrzyniec Gucewicz; 1753–1798) was an 18th-century architect from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and all of his designs were built there. In his youth he travelled to Italy and Paris and other countries in Western Eur ...

with a renovation of 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 (Cezaris Anikinis). Today the building is an example of 19th century

neo-Gothic architecture 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 ...

. Its last private owners were Sophia Waxell (a Zubov) and her Portuguese husband from Madeira, José Carlos de Faria e Castro. The original castle of Raudonė is the setting of an East Prussian

legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess ...

known as ''Die weiße Jungfrau der Bayerburg'' ("The White Maiden of Bayerburg")

References

* Polski słownik biograficzny / komitet redakcyjny Władysław Konopczynski ... 'et al.'' Publisher Kraków : Skład główny w ksieg. Gebethnera i Wolffa, 1935-. (set) {{DEFAULTSORT:Raudone Jurbarkas District Municipality Towns in Lithuania Towns in Tauragė County Kovensky Uyezd