Vyborg Castle (Russia)
In 1970, first exhibitions of Vyborg local history museum were opened here. Since 2000, it bears the name of the State Museum “Vyborg Castle.” In the recent years archeological excavations are being carried out in the city and on the territory of the castle.
Vyborg Castle is a unique architectural and historical monument, the outlook of which has been shaped from the end of XIII till XIX centuries. During different periods of its history the castle was owned by the Military ministries of Sweden, Russia and Finland. The formation of the castle complex was very much related to the development of military technique, and improvement of fortification art. The construction biography of the castle can be divided into three stages (according to V. A. Tyulenev).
The first stage of construction: end of XIII – first quarter of XIV centuries.
1293 — was the year when a castle was founded on Linnan Sari Island (the Castle Island). Stone was used as the building material. No reliable information has remained concerning the original looks of the castle; nevertheless, accomplished studies helped to determine that along the perimeter of the elevated part of the island a stone wall with battlements was erected with a four-cornered, made of granite blocks, tower — donjon — inside. The Swedes called it the tower of Saint Olaf in honor of Norwegian King who established Christianity in Scandinavia.
At its bottom, the thickness of the wall varied from 1.6 to 2 meters. The height was not less than 7 meters. As for the tower of Saint Olaf, its original height is unknown while the thickness of the walls was: in the basement section — 5.29 м, first floor – 4.75 м. (measurements taken by architect Y. Arenberg in 1883).
On the territory of the castle in the end of XIII – XIV centuries, other living and household facilities were built, since besides a military garrison, under the vicegerent of the Swedish king, priests, servants, craftsmen who served this garrison also lived there.
Under the protection of the castle’s walls on the opposite peninsula a settlement of merchants and artisans developed, which later grew into a town that was, like many other medieval cities, surrounded by a fortress wall.
The second construction stage: 1442-1448.
Vyborg Castle reached the highest peak of its prosperity in 1440s under the vicegerent Karl Knutsson Bonde. In this period mass construction work was going on in the castle. The third floor of the main building adjoining the Olaf Tower, which used to be the battle one, was remodeled and made fit for living, while upon it another floor was built for the battle. In this building luxurious chambers were made where the vicegerent himself dwelled, where kings and important persons of civil and military offices of Sweden stayed.
With a view to strengthen the protection of the castle southern defense wall, which included Novaya, Karaulnaya, Pozharnaya and Tuyremnaya towers, was built in front of the main building and Saint Olaf Tower.
The new wall ran from the eastern shore of the strait to its western shore and there — from Tyuremanya tower — turned north where it joined the original fortifications on the elevated part of the island. Thus, it formed a cribwork (Zwinger) enclosing the southern side of the fortress.
A drawbridge led from Pozharnaya tower to Abossky bridge (castle bridge, built in XIV century, which was later rebuilt many times) that connected the city to the Castle Island.
Sapozhnik tower rose over north-eastern part of the island; in the south-east, Raiskaya tower was under construction — it adjoined the main building at the juncture of its southern and eastern wings. Both of these towers were supposed to protect the castle from the side of the city.
Third construction stage: 1559-1623.
A number of times Vyborg was attacked by the Russian troops, and in 1495, under the vicegerent Knut Poss, the sound of canons thundered for the first time at the walls of the city.
In the course of time, the fortress fortifications dilapidated and lost their defensive capacity. In 1555, the threat of a new war with Russia forced king Gustav Vasa to inspect regions bordering Russia in person. During the trip he spent several days (August 8-12) in the Vyborg Castle. From the castle he wrote to governor Per Brahe, “…here in the castle nobody cares for any construction. Therefore, most of the buildings and facilities have no roofs; everything is in such a deteriorated condition that it is just impossible to secure the defense of the castle.”
Mainly according to recommendations of Gustav Vasa, large-scale renovating and construction works were started in the castle to accommodate the fortifications for the purpose of withstanding gun fire; and these works were continued by Gustav’s successors. The works began in 1559, when, under the vicegerent Klas Kristersson Horn, in the castle, on the eastern side, “at the foot of the bulwark facing the city, a retaining wall was laid two sajens thick, for which purpose 20,500 bricks were used.”