Rokantiškės Castle ( lt, Rokantiškių pilis) ruins are in

Naujoji Vilnia Naujoji Vilnia is an eldership in eastern Vilnius, Lithuania situated along the banks of the Vilnia River. According to the 2011 census, the municipality had a population of 31,933. This figure grew to 36,507 in 2021, when the newest census wa ...

elderate of Vilnius,

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 castle was located east of Vilnius on a high hill near the

Vilnia River The Vilnia (also ''Vilnelė''; , ''Vilnia'' ; ) is a river in Lithuania. Its source is near the village of Vindžiūnai, 5 km south of Šumskas, at the Lithuanian-Belarusian border. The Vilnia is 79.6 km long and its basin covers 624&n ...

. The first castle was built in the 12th century.Archeologams Rokantiškių pilies kalnas pažėrė radinių
/ref> In the 16th century, it was rebuilt in the Renaissance style and has been the seat of the

Olshanski Olshanski or Olshansky is a Ukrainian or Belorussian habitational name for someone from Olshana or Olshanka in Ukraine or Olshany in Belarus or a americanized form of Polish and Jewish (from Poland) Olszanski. Notable people with the name include: ...

family. Alexander Olshanski, Yuri Olshanski and the last family member Pawel Olshanski have lived there. After his death the castle was inherited by

Bona Sforza Bona Sforza d'Aragona (2 February 1494 – 19 November 1557) was Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania as the second wife of Sigismund I the Old, and Duchess of Bari and Rossano by her own right. She was a surviving member of ...

and later passed to the

Pac Pac or PAC may refer to: Military * Rapid Deployment Force (Malaysia), an armed forces unit * Patriot Advanced Capability, of the MIM-104 Patriot missile * Civil Defense Patrols (''Patrullas de Autodefensa Civil''), Guatemalan militia and paramili ...

family. The Deputy Chancellor of Lithuania

Stefan Pac Stefan Pac (c. 1587–17 November 1640) was a Polish–Lithuanian nobleman, politician and magnate. He was the private secretary of King Sigismund III of Poland since 1611, Grand Clerk of Lithuania since 1615, Recorder of Lithuania since 1626, ...

was visited here by the King of Poland and Grand duke of Lithuania Władysław IV Vasa on July 15, 1636. The castle was burnt down by

Cossacks The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...

on August 7, 1655 during the Russo-Polish War and fell in ruins. Today there are the only visible medieval castle ruins in Vilnius.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rokantiskes Castle Former castles in Lithuania Buildings and structures in Vilnius Ruins in Lithuania Naujoji Vilnia Tourist attractions in Vilnius

See also

References