Pöide was the seat of the Livonian Order’s Vogt on Saaremaa: the place name was recorded in 1245 and the Vogt of Pöide in 1290. The castle stood north of the church and was closely tied to it, with access through the north portal and an upper-floor gallery. It was long believed that the islanders destroyed it in the St. George’s Night Uprising of 1343, but archaeologists have found that the building carried on beside the church.
Nothing of the castle remains above ground, but the mighty Pöide church still stands beside its site.
Owners
Liivi ordu13. saj–1560
Good to know
The castle is known mainly from Jean Baptiste Holzmayer’s plan of his 1888 excavations.
As early as 1290 the Pöide district was supporting other Order lands in Courland.
The fortification may have been built entirely of stone only in the early modern period.
Photos through time
1913 · Pöide church painted by Ants Laikmaa, 1913 Ants Laikmaa · Public domainbefore 1940 · Pöide St. Mary’s Church from the south Unknown · Public domainarchive · Pöide church and the castle site Aivo Põlluäär · Saaremaa Muuseum, SM F 4236:289 Fd · CC BYarchive · Pöide church and the castle site Aivo Põlluäär · Saaremaa Muuseum, SM F 4236:290 Fd · CC BY2007 · The Order castle site beside the church Kotkasulg · CC BY-SA 3.02012 · Pöide church, 2012 Ivo Kruusamägi · CC BY-SA 3.0 EE2012 · The church’s north portal, which led to the castle Amadvr · CC BY-SA 3.0
