Medieval castle · Viljandi County · Viljandi Parish
Tarvastu Tarwast
Tarvastu was founded in the 1300s on a high bank of the Tarvastu River as a stronghold of the Komtur of Viljandi. A watermill on its north side dammed the river and filled the moat, so the castle, about 75 meters across, was ringed by water. Ivan the Terrible’s troops stormed it in 1560, and in 1596 a gunpowder explosion destroyed it for good.
