Medieval castle · Võru County · Vastseliina
Vastseliina Neuhausen
Built around 1342 above the Piusa River, Vastseliina guarded the Bishopric of Tartu’s border, and in 1379 it was called the strongest castle in Livonia. In 1353 a miraculous cross was seen hovering above the chapel altar, and the castle became one of medieval Livonia’s great pilgrimage sites. Ivan the Terrible’s army forced its surrender in 1558, and it was destroyed in the Great Northern War.
Built / first recorded 1342 · expanded 1400s–1500s
Style Gothic border castle
Condition Lost 1702
German name Neuhausen Today
Two decorated towers and wall fragments stand above the Piusa River, beside a pilgrims’ house.
Owners Tartu piiskopkond1342–1558 Moskva tsaaririik1558–1582 Poola-Leedu1582 Rootsi17. saj–1702 Good to know In 1354 the Pope confirmed the chapel’s holiness and granted pilgrims an indulgence. A Russian siege in 1463 failed. In 1558 commander Jürgen von Uexküll surrendered after a three-week siege. Photos through time 1930 · Vastseliina castle and the innarchive · Vastseliina Castlearchive · The Vastseliina cannon towerarchive · Vastseliina Episcopal Castlearchive · Vastseliina Episcopal Castlearchive · Vastseliina Episcopal Castlearchive · Vastseliina Episcopal Castlearchive · The Vastseliina ruinsarchive · The Vastseliina ruins across the meadowarchive · Vastseliina Episcopal Castle2008 · Vastseliina castle, 20082011 · The northeast tower of the episcopal castle, 2011Nearby
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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