Raudonė Castle

Raudonė began as a late sixteenth-century residence built by a Prussian merchant family on a terrace above the Nemunas, and it was remodelled in the nineteenth century in a neo-Gothic manner with battlements, turrets and a tall round tower, giving it the storybook look it has now. It was burnt at the end of the Second World War and rebuilt in the 1950s, and for decades it housed a school; parts are now open, with the tower climbable for a view along the river valley. A large park of old trees runs down the slope, including an oak said to be many centuries old. The Nemunas valley road links a chain of castles and manors here, of which Raudonė and Panemunė are the best known.

History

A Teutonic castle, Bayersburg II, stood here until the 16th century, and Grand Duke Sigismund II Augustus gave the royal manor to the Prussian merchant Krispin Kirschenstein, who built a Renaissance manor house. In the 18th century the Olędzki family had Laurynas Stuoka-Gucevičius renovate it, and in the 19th century the family of Platon Zubov rebuilt it again (Wikipedia, Raudonė Castle).

What you'll find

• The round tower - the climb to a view along the Nemunas valley.
• Neo-Gothic battlements - the nineteenth-century remodelling.
• The park - old trees on the slope down toward the river.
• The valley road - the chain of castles and manors along the Nemunas.

When to go

May to September for the park and the valley; autumn colour along the Nemunas is good. The tower keeps seasonal hours and may close out of season. Weekends bring events.

Things to know

Much of the castle is post-war reconstruction and parts remain in institutional use. Interior access is limited, largely to the tower. Interpretation is minimal. The tower stair is steep and narrow.

Nearby

Panemunė castle lies west; Jurbarkas is further west.

Key facts