Medieval castle · Lääne-Viru County · Haljala
Toolse Tolsburg
In 1471 Master Johann Wolthus von Herse built a castle on a narrow peninsula in the Gulf of Finland and named it Vredeborch, the Castle of Peace. It guarded the harbor and the sea route against pirates and was the youngest order castle on Estonia’s north coast. For two centuries Muscovite, Swedish and Russian armies fought over it, until war left only ruins.
Built / first recorded 1471
Style Late Gothic coastal castle
Condition Lost 1710
German name Tolsburg Today
Conserved ruins stand at the tip of the peninsula, with two towers at nearly full height.
Owners Liivi ordu1471–1558 Moskva tsaaririik1558–1581 Rootsi1581–1721 Good to know Toolse has been called the northernmost outpost of the Holy Roman Empire. Forced building labor caused unrest that helped topple the Order Master. Its walls reach 14 m, and remains of a medieval breakwater survive in the bay. Photos through time 1650 · Toolse Castle in a 17th-century engraving1929 · The Toolse ruinsarchive · Toolse Castlearchive · Toolse Castlearchive · Toolse Castlearchive · Toolse Castlearchive · Toolse Castlearchive · Toolse Castlearchive · Toolse Castle, a drawingarchive · Inside Toolse Castlearchive · The Toolse ruins on the shore, with a boatarchive · The Toolse castle ruinsNearby
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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