Trakai Island Castle

This is the one in all the tourist brochures, a redbrick Gothic mirage suspended between blue sky and lake, a seat of the medieval Duchy of Lithuania and nowadays a national symbol. It was built from the 14th century on the largest of the lake islands - all of them smaller than today as the water level was higher. The external enemy were the Teutonic Knights, but almost as damaging was the fratricidal conflict for the dukedom. After the Knights were crushed in 1410 the castle had less defensive value and was converted to a plush residence. It was later used as a prison for wicked nobles, fell derelict in the 17th century, and was part-restored in the 20th - much of what you see is more recent than the castle at Disneyland! The main attraction is the view from outside. If you pay to go in, there is a small museum in the outer works containing things like porcelain or glass that have no connection to the castle and very few labels. Another room has furniture from the 18th century, when the castle was uninhabitable. The inner tower has a little on the reconstruction that began at the start of the 20th century, paused for both world wars, and was finished in the 1960s, plus something on the nobles and ethnic groups that lived in and around the castle. There is no access to the highest parts and very few views to the outside. Approach by footbridge from the north end of town, you can visit by guided tour or just look around yourself. There is an audioguide app, but on Android phones at least, it only installs on older (32-bit?) versions of the OS. Check ahead as it's often used a venue for plays and concerts: the blast of sound from a rock band within these echoing walls would send even the Teutonic Knights scuttling back to Malbork.

Source: Wikivoyage, „Trakai“ · authors per page history · CC BY-SA 4.0 · as of 10/24/2025