Medieval castle · Lääne-Viru County · Rakvere
Rakvere Wesenberg
Vallimägi hill once held the Estonian stronghold of Tarvanpea, named by Henry of Livonia in 1226. The Danes built the first stone fort here, and after 1346 the Livonian Order rebuilt it into a powerful four-wing convent castle. During the Polish–Swedish War it was blown up in 1605, and it has lain in ruins ever since.
Built / first recorded 1200s–1300s
Style Gothic convent castle
Condition Lost 1605
German name Wesenberg Today
The ruin hosts a 16th-century living-history park with knights, an alchemist and a torture chamber.
Owners Taani kroon1220–1346 Liivi ordu1347–1558 Moskva tsaaririik1558–1581 Rootsi kroon1581–1602 Good to know The town’s symbol, a giant aurochs statue, was placed on the hill in 2002. After the 1268 Battle of Wesenberg the crusaders took refuge in the castle. Townsfolk hauled stones from the ruins to build their houses. Photos through time 1931 · Rakvere town and castle1935 · Rakvere Order castlearchive · Rakvere and its castle from the fire-station towerarchive · Rakvere Castlearchive · Rakvere Castlearchive · Rakvere Castlearchive · Rakvere Castlearchive · Rakvere castle and a cannonarchive · Rakvere castle on Vallimägiarchive · Rakvere castle on Vallimägiarchive · Rakvere castle on Vallimägi2007 · Rakvere castle, 2007Nearby
The buildings are stylized impressions, not surveyed models. Facts: mois.ee, Museum of Estonian Architecture, ERR, Wikipedia. Photos: MuIS and Wikimedia Commons, credited with each photo.
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