Kuressaare Castle
| Kuressaare Castle | |
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| Kuressaare linnus | |
| Kuressaare, Estonia | |
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 Kuressaare Castle
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| Coordinates | 58°15′00″N 22°29′00″E / 58.25°N 22.48333°E |
| Type | Castle |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1380s (possibly earlier) |
| Built by | Bishop of Ösel–Wiek (Saare-Lääne) |
Kuressaare Castle (Estonian: Kuressaare linnus; German: Schloss Arensburg), also Kuressaare Episcopal Castle, (Estonian: Kuressaare piiskopilinnus), is a castle in Kuressaare on Saaremaa island, in western Estonia.
The earliest written record mentioning Kuressaare castle goes back to the 1380s, when the Teutonic Order began constructing it for the bishops of Ösel-Wieck. Some sources claim that the first castle was built in wood. As the inhabitants of Saaremaa put up stiff resistance to foreign efforts to Christianise them, the castle was doubtlessly built as part of a wider effort by the crusaders to gain control over the island. From the outset, it was a stronghold belonging to the bishop of Saare-Lääne (German: Ösel-Wiek) and remained one of the most important castles of the Bishopric until its dissolution in the course of the Livonian War.
In 1559, Denmark seized control over Saaremaa and Kuressaare castle. During this time, the fortifications were modernised. Following the Peace of Brömsebro, which ended the 1643-1645 war between Sweden and Denmark, Saaremaa passed into Swedish hands. The Swedes continued the modernisation of the fortress until 1706. Following the Great Northern War, Saaremaa and Kuressaare castle became a part of the Russian Empire.
As the frontiers of the Russian Empire gradually were pushed further west, Kuressaare gradually lost its strategic value. Especially after the Finnish War and the Third Partition of Poland, military focus shifted away from Estonia. In 1836, following the construction of fortress of Bomarsund on Åland, the Russian garrison at Kuressaare withdrew. The fact that Kuressaare castle was not part of the fighting during the Crimean War is also indicative of its lost strategic importance. In the 19th century, there was a poorhouse located in the castle.
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Wikipedia