Hermann Castle[a], also known as the Narva castle or Narva fortress, is a medieval castle in the city of Narva, in northeastern Estonia. The castle was established around 1256, when the area was part of the Danish Realm. The first entirely stone fortifications were built in the beginning of the 14th century. The Livonian branch of the Teutonic Order purchased the castle in August 1346, and owned it for much of its later history.
The Kingdom of Denmark, having conquered northern Estonia in the 13th century, established a border stronghold, initially built of wood, at the intersection of the Narva river and an old road in mid-13th century. Under the protection of the stronghold, the earlier settlement developed into the town of Narva, which obtained the Lübeck town rights in the first half of the 14th century.
Following several conflicts with the neighbouring East Slavic states of Novgorod and Pskov, the Danish rulers started building a stone stronghold at the beginning of the 14th century as a border defense. It was initially a small castellum-like building with 40-meter-tall (130 ft) sides and a tower, the predecessor of today's Hermann Tower, at its northwestern corner.
At the beginning of the 14th century, a small forecourt was established at the north side of the stronghold and, in the middle of the century, a large forecourt was added to the west side, where citizens were allowed to hide in case of war, as the town of Narva was not surrounded by a wall during Danish rule.
In 1346, King Valdemar IV of Denmark sold northern Estonia, including Narva, to the Livonian Order, who rebuilt the building into a convent building according to their needs. The stronghold has for the most part preserved the original ground plan, with its massive wings and a courtyard in the middle.
The Hermann Tower was also completed by the Livonian Order, necessitated by the establishment of the Ivangorod fortress by Muscovite Russia on the opposite side of the Narva river in 1492. The Order surrounded the town with a fortified wall, which has not been preserved (it was ordered to be demolished in 1777).
The wall is described as having had four gates: the "Viru gate" in the west, the "Herd gate" in the north, the "Old gate" leading to the river port in the east, and the "Water gate" (or "Small gate") in the south. The gates were covered with iron plates and preceded by drawbridges. The town wall, with a length of roughly a kilometer, was fortified with at least seven towers, and was surrounded by a moat.
Towards the end of the rule of the Livonian Order in the 16th centurty, the town wall was supplemented, the gates were strengthened by adding foregates, and several wall towers were adapted to use as special cannon towers or rondels, two of which can be seen today in their reconstructed shape in the corners of the castle's western court.
A view from the south towards the Hermann Castle (Estonia, on the left, west) and the opposite Ivangorod Fortress (Russia, to the right, east) opposite, with the Narva river in between
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Narva Castle.
Narva fortifications and Narva Castle
The Association of Castles and Museums around the Baltic Sea
April 10, 2024
hermann, castle, this, article, does, cite, sources, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, january, 2022, learn, when, remov. This article does not cite any sources Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Hermann Castle news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message Hermann Castle a also known as the Narva castle or Narva fortress is a medieval castle in the city of Narva in northeastern Estonia The castle was established around 1256 when the area was part of the Danish Realm The first entirely stone fortifications were built in the beginning of the 14th century The Livonian branch of the Teutonic Order purchased the castle in August 1346 and owned it for much of its later history Hermann CastleHermanni linnusNarva EstoniaHermann CastleCoordinates59 22 33 N 28 12 07 E 59 37583 N 28 20194 E 59 37583 28 20194TypeOrder CastleSite historyBuilt1256 1256 Built byKingdom of Denmark Contents 1 Medieval fortifications 2 See also 3 Notes 4 External linksMedieval fortifications edit nbsp Hermann Castle interior nbsp Night view of Narva CastleThe Kingdom of Denmark having conquered northern Estonia in the 13th century established a border stronghold initially built of wood at the intersection of the Narva river and an old road in mid 13th century Under the protection of the stronghold the earlier settlement developed into the town of Narva which obtained the Lubeck town rights in the first half of the 14th century Following several conflicts with the neighbouring East Slavic states of Novgorod and Pskov the Danish rulers started building a stone stronghold at the beginning of the 14th century as a border defense It was initially a small castellum like building with 40 meter tall 130 ft sides and a tower the predecessor of today s Hermann Tower at its northwestern corner At the beginning of the 14th century a small forecourt was established at the north side of the stronghold and in the middle of the century a large forecourt was added to the west side where citizens were allowed to hide in case of war as the town of Narva was not surrounded by a wall during Danish rule In 1346 King Valdemar IV of Denmark sold northern Estonia including Narva to the Livonian Order who rebuilt the building into a convent building according to their needs The stronghold has for the most part preserved the original ground plan with its massive wings and a courtyard in the middle The Hermann Tower was also completed by the Livonian Order necessitated by the establishment of the Ivangorod fortress by Muscovite Russia on the opposite side of the Narva river in 1492 The Order surrounded the town with a fortified wall which has not been preserved it was ordered to be demolished in 1777 The wall is described as having had four gates the Viru gate in the west the Herd gate in the north the Old gate leading to the river port in the east and the Water gate or Small gate in the south The gates were covered with iron plates and preceded by drawbridges The town wall with a length of roughly a kilometer was fortified with at least seven towers and was surrounded by a moat Towards the end of the rule of the Livonian Order in the 16th centurty the town wall was supplemented the gates were strengthened by adding foregates and several wall towers were adapted to use as special cannon towers or rondels two of which can be seen today in their reconstructed shape in the corners of the castle s western court nbsp A view from the south towards the Hermann Castle Estonia on the left west and the opposite Ivangorod Fortress Russia to the right east opposite with the Narva river in betweenSee also editHistory of Estonia List of castles in EstoniaNotes edit Estonian Hermanni linnus German Hermannsfeste Russian Zamok GermanExternal links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Narva Castle Narva fortifications and Narva Castle The Association of Castles and Museums around the Baltic Sea Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Hermann Castle amp oldid 1202098297, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
