Castle of Insterburg: description, history, interesting facts

The Castle of Insterburg is located in the Kaliningrad region. The city of Chernyakhov, in addition to the castle, will offer the curious tourist two old churches, an old water tower and the opportunity to imbue with well-preserved German architecture.

Description

The Castle of Insterburg (Kaliningrad) is one of the oldest structures located on the territory of the region. The building dates back to the 14th century, a wooden fortress was built in 1336 for the needs of the Teutonic Order, the master of which at that time was Dietrich von Altenburg. The wooden castle was replaced by a stone structure.

Castle Insterburg refers to protective structures, around it for a better defensive ability was dug ditch, filled with water. The constant flow of water was provided by fortifications, where the resources of two small streams were directed. The construction was conducted by the forces of Prussian captives under the leadership of the Order.

In what year the wooden structure was replaced by a stone one, history is silent, it is for certain known that the castle was twice ruined. The first time it happened in 1376, when the walls of the castle fell under the pressure of the army of the Lithuanian prince Sverdiak. For the second time the fortress was destroyed and burnt in almost a hundred years, in 1457, during the military operations between the cities of Prussia. The walls fell and were erected again, and the foundation, built of wild large stone, remained unscathed, it is still preserved in almost a primordial form.

Purpose

What is Insterburg Castle in its original designation? First of all, this is a defensive structure, built to protect the conquered territories from the raids of Lithuanians. In addition to military purposes, it served as a place for joint living of the soldiers of the Teutonic Order, called to the service to protect the borders and conduct military operations to seize new territories.

Architecture

Castle Insterburg is a complex of structures, consisting of two main parts: the citadel and the forurb. The citadel was inhabited by members of the Order. The structure has the form of a closed square with a height of two floors. Traditionally, the walls are thick, without any ornaments and window openings. The inner part of the citadel is a courtyard with a well. The basement and basement of the bastion are made of rough stone of rough processing, the walls were repeatedly erected from unfired bricks. At the level of the basement of the citadel, narrow loopholes were provided for retaining defense. To conduct surveillance of the terrain and to resist the enemy could be climbed on the wall, where a circular motion (vergang) was laid. The fighting supervisory circle was covered with a steep gable roof. The only door to the citadel was located in the west wing.

The stretched forburg space was protected by thick walls repeating the topography of the hilltop. In this part of the castle complex there was a collection of troops. It was possible to get into the premises of the forburg from the first floor, the entrances were on the side of the citadel. Above the first floor were the cells of the brothers, connected by an internal passage. The meeting rooms and the chapel were located in two northern buildings and were two-story buildings.

Castle Towers

To strengthen the defense, forburg was equipped with towers that performed sentinel and combat functions. In addition, they were equipped with prison cells, and in the basement of one of them were dungeons. In a critical situation, soldiers could get out through the underground passage. He led from the northern tower, ran under the fortress moat and led the fugitives to the river.

The total strength of the garrison was about two hundred men. The north-east tower of the forburg had octagonal outlines, now only the foundation remained of it. The northwest tower is called Painturm, it was circular, it suffered considerable destruction during the Second World War, and in the 70s it was dismantled, like almost the entire Castle of Insterburg. History claims that on this tower there were hours with a fight and a big bell. Another - the southeast - the tower was the largest, its architecture included a lifting bridge and the main gate that led into the complex.

The castle was destroyed gradually: in 1684 the inhabitants saw it in all its splendor, and already in the 19th century the whole remained only one tower, the walls were destroyed.

Kings and fitters

In its history, Insterburg (castle) became a refuge for royalty and European nobility. So, in 1704 in its walls the great Pole Czartoryski with his family was hiding. In the 17th century, members of the royal dynasty often visited it, for a long time the Queen of Sweden Maria Eleonora lived in the castle, which served as a rapid growth of urban infrastructure and economy.

In the following years, the royal fleur has disappeared from the corridors, and the Castle of Insterburg has become a place for more mundane use. For two centuries (18 and 19) on the territory of the complex were located military warehouses, court and land courts, during the war with Napoleon - the infirmary and barracks. With each new assignment of the complex, the Castle Insterburg was rebuilt, overgrown with economic buildings. In the middle of the 19th century, from the former greatness, the walls, the foundation and the tower of Painturm remained intact for a whole hour. By the end of the century, as the researchers admit, the defensive walls were dismantled as unnecessary.

Insterburg (castle) after the First World War was run by two institutions. In the citadel the museum of local lore was opened, forburgh occupied the land court. During the fighting, in 1945, the complex was damaged by fire and storming. In the postwar period, a military garrison was placed in the surviving buildings, and in 1949 a fire broke out in the citadel. As a result, external walls survived, interior spaces, roof and floors were completely burnt out. This was the beginning of the analysis of the forburg, the bricks were exported to restore infrastructure to Lithuania. In the 1950s, the remaining structures and territory were transferred to the DCS No. 1 balance. The next transfer of the castle complex took place in 2010, the Insterburg castle is now under the jurisdiction of the ROC.

Community House-Castle

In 1997, a group of enthusiasts came to the Castle Insterburg. The history of the castle received a continuation and hope for a revival. Since 1999, the organization has acquired the status of a non-profit society "House-Castle". A lot of work was done, so, in 2003, the NGO received the official opportunity to be the only user of the historical monument.

In 2006, thanks to the efforts of the organization's participants, the castle complex was included in the federal program for the protection of the historical heritage "Culture of Russia". The funds allocated within the framework of the program made it possible to carry out conservation work, make a number of scientific studies, draw up project and estimate documentation for the restoration of the monument.

Activities

Participation in the federal program stopped in connection with the transfer of the castle to the new owner. During the activity of the organization "House-Castle" for saving and popularizing the history of Castle Insterburg, the following is done and continues to function:

• Tourist center with information services.
• Educational site for children.
• Workshops of applied crafts and the center of culturology.
• Museum Local History Exposition. Materials about the development of the city are presented, a diorama of the Gross-Egersdorf battle is built.
• The historical laboratory is constantly operating.
• Art gallery and pavilion of meetings.

Community "House-Castle" conducts a series of international projects that aim to solve educational and cultural problems. But first of all members of the community are striving for the preservation and restoration of the Teutonic castle, collecting information about the order and material evidence of his stay in the castle. In the footsteps of their research, scientific and practical conferences and seminars are organized, which attract young people to the Castle of Insterburg.

Modernity

To date, the complex Castle Insterburg is in a canned state. Restorative work is not carried out, but what has survived is not destroyed. Visitors can estimate the size of the buildings on the surviving walls of the citadel, some reach their original height.

In a satisfactory condition are the preserved economic buildings in the southern part of the complex. Wander through the halls of the medieval castle will not succeed, they simply did not remain. But here you can see the paved roads, mentally build the towers on the ground of the surviving basement, hear many stories about the Teutonic Order, get acquainted with the work of the "House-Castle" community.