- Type
- Castle
- Coordinates
- 59.3758°, 28.2014°
History
The Danes, who then ruled northern Estonia, built a stronghold at the Narva crossing in the 13th century. In 1347 the Danish king sold his Estonian lands to the Teutonic Order, whose Livonian branch rebuilt the castle as a regular convent and added the slender tower known as Long Hermann. In 1492 Tsar Ivan III founded the fortress of Ivangorod on the opposite bank. During the Livonian War the Russians took the castle in 1558, the Swedes under Pontus De la Gardie captured it in 1581, and Peter the Great's troops seized it in 1704. Fighting in 1944 left Narva almost completely destroyed, and the castle was rebuilt over the following decades.
What to see
The castle houses the Narva Museum with exhibitions on the history of the town and region, and the Long Hermann tower, about 50 metres high, looks out over the river and the walls of Ivangorod on the other side of the border. A recreated outer bailey with craft workshops occupies the courtyard and the riverside garden. Both fortresses are best seen together from the Narva embankment near the border bridge.
Wikipedia article Wikidata Q660001
Popularity: articles about this site in 40 Wikimedia projects (Wikipedia language editions and others).