Raudonė

Raudonė is a town on the Neman River in Tauragė County, Lithuania. The town is primarily known for its castle and large park complex.

History

Under the leadership of King John of Bohemia and Duke Henry XIV of Lower Bavaria, an expedition of Teutonic Knights and other crusaders founded an earth-and-timber castle on the Neman River, opposite the ruins of Christmemel in 1337. In honor of Henry, the castle was given the German name Bayerburg (also "Bayersburg"; _lt. Raudonpilis), meaning "Bavarian('s) Castle".

The castle was used as a base and supply depot for expeditions into central Lithuania or northward into Samogitia. A year later it was unsuccessfully besieged for 22 days by Gediminas of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. As Gediminas died during a later siege of the castle in 1341, a local legend attests that the "Gediminas Oak" of the park complex is where the grand duke was mortally wounded. His sons eventually conquered the castle of Bayerburg after his death.

In the 16th century the castle belonged to King Sigismund II Augustus of Poland. A new castle was built on the ruins of the old one by a German knight, Krispin Kirschenstein. The castle has since been renovated many times (in the 18th century by the Olendzki family), and today is an example of 19th century neo-Gothic architecture. Its last private owners were Sofia Vaksel (a Zubov) and her Portuguese husband, José Carlos de Faria e Castro.

A recently restored monument honoring the Red Army, is in the park adjoining the castle.

The original castle of Raudonė is the setting of an East Prussian legend known as "Die weiße Jungfrau der Bayerburg" ("The White Maiden of Bayerburg"). [http://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/russland/dieweissejungfrau.html]

References

* Urban, William. "The Teutonic Knights: A Military History". Greenhill Books. London, 2003, p. 133. ISBN 1853675350