Tauragė Castle () is a 19th-century
masonry
Masonry is the craft of building a structure with brick, stone, or similar material, including mortar plastering which are often laid in, bound, and pasted together by mortar (masonry), mortar. The term ''masonry'' can also refer to the buildin ...
building in
Tauragė
Tauragė (; see #Names and etymology, other names) is an industrial city in Lithuania, and the capital of Tauragė County. In 2020, its population was 20,956. Tauragė is situated on the Jūra, Jūra River, close to the border with the Kaliningr ...
, near the
Baltic Coast
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...
. It was originally built between 1844 and 1847 to serve as a
customs
Customs is an authority or Government agency, agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling International trade, the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out ...
building.
History
A major fire devastated
Tauragė
Tauragė (; see #Names and etymology, other names) is an industrial city in Lithuania, and the capital of Tauragė County. In 2020, its population was 20,956. Tauragė is situated on the Jūra, Jūra River, close to the border with the Kaliningr ...
in 1836. Consequently, the
Tsarist authorities issued an order to prepare a new project for the city's construction that included a customs house that later became Tauragė Castle.
The initial two-story customs building was completed in 1847. The initial building also served as a prison for
smugglers
Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. More broadly, soc ...
and illegal immigrants. The compound was expanded in the late 19th century with a
bathhouse
Bathhouse may refer to:
* Public baths, public facilities for bathing
* Gay bathhouse
A gay bathhouse, also known as a gay sauna or a gay steambath, is a public bath targeted towards Gay men, gay and Bisexuality, bisexual men. In gay slang, a ...
,
sauna
A sauna (, ) is a room or building designed as a place to experience dry or wet heat sessions or an establishment with one or more of these facilities. The steam and high heat make the bathers perspire. A thermometer in a sauna is used to meas ...
,
water well
A well is an excavation or structure created on the earth by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The ...
, several auxiliary buildings and stone wall with corner towers. The compound was later expanded twice – new buildings were added in 1971 and 1986.
Since the 1900s, this castle has been repurposed multiple times and has housed psychiatric hospital, county hospital, military barracks and commerce school. It has also housed a middle school and a restaurant.
In modern times
Tauragė Castle houses a museum and children's library. The castle also hosts various exhibitions, events and celebrations.
Gallery
File:Tauragės pilis 2.JPG, Castle from up close
File:Tauragė. Kompozicija Antanui Naraškevičiui.JPG, Park next to the castle
File:Tauragė Castle, Tauragė, Lithuania, June 2019.jpg, Exit
See also
*
List of castles in Lithuania
Most of Lithuania's early castles were wooden and have not survived. Those that remain are of stone and brick construction dating from the 13th century onwards.
List of castles and castle ruins in Lithuania
See also
* List of castles in Belar ...
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taurage Castle
Houses completed in 1847
Renaissance architecture in Lithuania
Castles in Lithuania