Rõngu () is a

small borough The following is a list of Populated places in Estonia, boroughs () and Populated places in Estonia, small boroughs () in Estonia. Boroughs *Aegviidu *Järva-Jaani *Järvakandi *Kiili *Kohila *Kohtla-Nõmme *Lavassaare *Märjamaa *Paikuse *Pärn ...

(') in

Elva Parish Elva is a rural parish in the Estonian Tartu County with an area of . As of 2017, it has a population of 14241 inhabitants. It was created in 2017 from the merger of the municipality Elva with the rural communities Konguta Parish, Puhja Paris ...

Tartu County Tartu County ( or ''Tartumaa'') is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is located in eastern Estonia bordering Põlva County, Valga County, Viljandi County and Jõgeva County. The area of Tartu County is , which covers 6.9% of the territory of E ...

, southern

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

. Prior to the administrative reform of Estonian local governments in 2017, it was the administrative centre of

Rõngu Parish Rõngu Parish was a rural municipality in Tartu County, Estonia. Estonian artist Konrad Mägi (1878-1925) was born in Rõngu Parish. Settlements ;Small boroughs: Käärdi - Rõngu ;Villages: Kalme, Tartu County, Kalme - Käo, Tartu County, Kä ...

Sights

Rõngu castle ruins

The present-day ruins are the visible remains of a so-called "vassal castle", i.e. a smaller fortress not designed for major military operations, established in the early 14th century. Built in the south-western part of the

Bishopric of Dorpat The Bishopric of Dorpat was a medieval prince-bishopric, i.e. both a diocese of the Roman Catholic Church and a temporal principality ruled by the bishop of the diocese. It existed from 1211 until 1558, generally encompassing the area that now co ...

, it probably served to control the bishopric's border there. The castle was centred on a rectangular courtyard which was surrounded by wings. The gate, the remains of which are most prominently visible today, was strengthened by a gatehouse that also housed a chapel on its second floor. During the

Livonian War The Livonian War (1558–1583) concerned control of Terra Mariana, Old Livonia (in the territory of present-day Estonia and Latvia). The Tsardom of Russia faced a varying coalition of the Denmark–Norway, Dano-Norwegian Realm, the Kingdom ...

, the castle was pillaged by Russian troops. After 1583, when the area came under the influence of the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

as the

Duchy of Livonia The Duchy of Livonia, also referred to as Polish Livonia or Livonia, was a territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and later the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that existed from 1561 to 1621. It corresponds to the present-day areas of northe ...

, it was still in use, this time by local

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

s. The Jesuits however blew up the castle amid the events that led to the

Truce of Altmark __NOTOC__ The six-year Truce of Altmark (or Treaty of Stary Targ, , ) was signed on 16 (O.S.)/26 (N.S.) September 1629 in the village of Altmark ( Stary Targ), in Poland, by the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and Sweden, with helped by Riche ...

and the subsequent incorporation of the area into

Swedish Livonia Swedish Livonia () was a dominion of the Swedish Empire from 1629 until 1721. The territory, which constituted the southern part of modern Estonia (including the island of Ösel ceded by Denmark after the Treaty of Brömsebro) and the northe ...

Rõngu church

Although the church dates from the late 14th century, only fragments of the original building have survived as the church was devastated during both the

and the

Great Northern War In the Great Northern War (1700–1721) a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern Europe, Northern, Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the ant ...

. The church seen today is a heavily rebuilt

Neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...

edifice which received its look during the late 19th century.

Gallery

File:Rongu-vassallilinnus1.JPG, Rõngu castle ruins File:Rongu-moisapark.JPG, Rõngu castle park File:Statue of Estonian War of Independence in Rõngu 1.jpg,

War of Independence Wars of national liberation, also called wars of independence or wars of liberation, are conflicts fought by nations to gain independence. The term is used in conjunction with wars against foreign powers (or at least those perceived as foreign) ...

memorial File:Rõngu 2020.jpg, Small park in the center of Rõngu

References

Boroughs and small boroughs in Estonia Kreis Dorpat {{Tartu-geo-stub