Posted on 13.02.2012 and completed on 27.05.2012, and on 20.07.2013Along the history, many territories located today in
Poland,
Lithuania,
Ukraine and
Belarus were owned successively by one or other of them, whether they were called
Kievan Rus,
Kingdom of Poland,
Grand Duchy of Lithuania or
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. If at all these "players" we add the allogeneous involved - from the east the
Tatars and
Grand Duchy of Moscow (become
Russian Empire and later
Soviet Union) and from the west the
Teutonic Knights and
Kingdom of Prussia (become
Germany) - things get complicated in the region as in the
Balkans. So it's no wonder that
Trakai, the settlement where is the castle shown in these three postcards, was built and preserved by people of different nationalities, respectively
Karaims,
Tatars,
Lithuanians,
Russians,
Jews and
Poles (order is random).
The town began to grow in the 13th century in the place named
Senieji Trakai (Old Trakai), and was first mentioned in 1337 in
Teutonic Knights chronicles. When Grand Duke
Gediminas has settled in
Vilnius,
Senieji Trakai was inherited by his son the Duke
Kęstutis, who moved the town to its current location. A new castle was built in the strait between lakes Galvė and Luka, known as the
Peninsula Castle, and another one, known as the
Island Castle (in the pictures), on one of the 21 islands of
Lake Galvė.
At the end of the 14th century the town was in the center of a conflict between Grand Duke
Jogaila and his uncle, Kęstutis. In 1392 the conflict has ended, and Kęstutis's son,
Vytautas, became the
Grand Duke of Lithuania. He spent much time in Trakai, even though its official capital was
Vilnius. Here also he will die in 1430. In early 15th century he replaced the wooden fortress with a stone-built castle. Actually the principal construction material was red bricks, stone blocks being used only in the foundations and the upper parts of buildings, and.its style could be described as
Gothic, with some
Romanesque features.
During the rule of
Sigismund Augustus (r. 1548–1569), the castle was redecorated in a
Renaissance style. After the establishment of
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, in 1569, the town's importance declined, the castle becoming a luxurious prison for the political prisoners. It was refurbished by
Sigismund I the Old, but after his death the castle gradually fell into disrepair. During the wars between Russia and Poland (1654-1667), the town was burnt, and both castles were demolished. After the
Partitions of Poland (1795), the area was annexed by the Russian Empire, but after WWI the teritory was recovered by the restored Poland.
In 1929, the Polish authorities began restoration of the Trakai Island Castle, and the works were almost complete in 1939, when the
Polish Defensive War started and the area was soon annexed by the Soviet Union, then by Nazi Germany. After WWII it was again annexed by the Soviet Union, and many of the area's Polish inhabitants left in Poland. In 1961, the reconstruction of the upper castle and a high tower construction were completed in a 15th century style. Works in the lower castle were not resumed until the 1980s and were completed by the Lithuanian authorities in the early 1990s. Trakai is now a part of
Trakai Historical National Park, founded in 1991, the only historical national park not only in Lithuania but also throughout Europe. It was also included on the Tentative List of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2003, as
Trakai Historical National Park.
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