Bishop's castle in Haapsalu and the ghost of the white lady. Haapsalu castle in Estonia Medieval castle. Haapsalu

Haapsalu Episcopal Castle is not only interesting old architecture, but also a museum complex in the convent building, exhibition halls with finds made on the territory of the castle, as well as mysterious vaulted cellars. You can rent an audio guide that speaks six languages.

In addition, here you can meet the most famous ghost of Estonia - the White Lady. In the moat there is a stylized medieval play park for children, a large chess field, an archery area and a ceramic workshop. Climb the 38-meter bell tower and listen to the chime of bells that can be heard throughout the city at noon. Every summer, the castle hosts many different events, among which everyone will find something for themselves!

Alexander Lipilin from Moscow visited the castle of Haapsalu and shares his photos

The Bishop's Castle of Haapsalu is located in the city of Haapsalu in western Estonia. (GPS Coordinates: 58.947182, 23.538766)

01 The fortress was founded in the XIII century.

02 The need to build a castle was caused by the formation of a new diocese, which was started by the Archbishop of Riga, Albrecht von Buxhoevden.

03 The bishopric was created as a vassal state of the Roman Empire in 1228, and already in 1234 the authorities finally approved the boundaries of the diocese.

04 The first seat of the bishopric was located in the town of Lihula, but later, in order to avoid conflicts with the Order of the Swordbearers, it was moved to the city of Pärnu, where, over time, during the hostilities, it was burned by the Lithuanians.

04 These events preceded the founding of the Haapsalu settlement, where the construction of the castle began, which lasted several centuries.

05 In the 19th century, when Haapsalu began to gain popularity as a resort town, a park was laid out on the territory adjacent to the castle.

06 At the same time, large-scale restoration work began in the preserved premises of the castle.

07 Today, a museum complex operates here, where you can see a collection of medieval weapons, as well as visit the dungeon of the White Lady, the laboratory of medicine and alchemy, and get acquainted with the exposition of a permanent photo exhibition.

08 The main purpose of the fortress for centuries was to ensure the safety of citizens and their protection from enemy invasion.

09 The internal dugouts and trenches were built to meet the needs of the artillery, but could also serve as a bomb shelter.

10 Since the 17th century, when the Swedes held power in the territory of present-day Estonia, the castle ceased to perform military functions.

11 In 1710, during Northern war By order of Peter I, the fortress was partially destroyed.

38 A very beautiful place, a huge well-groomed territory, you can climb and look everywhere. Inside is a small museum with a poor exposition, but you can climb the tower, which offers beautiful views of the city and the bay.

Haapsalu Castle was founded in the 13th century as the center of the Ezel-Vik bishopric.

The first seat of the Ezel-Vik Bishopric was in Lihula Castle, a stone fortification built with the help of the Order of the Swordsmen. To avoid conflicts with the influential Order, the bishop moved the seat of the diocese to Pernau, which, ten years later, was burned by the Lithuanians. The new center for the diocese was chosen in Haapsalu, where the construction of the bishop's castle and cathedral began, which continued for three centuries.

Construction, expansion and reconstruction of the castle continued for several centuries, and the architecture changed depending on the development of weapons. The fortress reached its final dimensions - an area of more than 30,000 square meters, wall thickness from 1.2 to 1.8 m and a maximum height of more than 10 meters - during the reign of Bishop Johannes IV of Kiev (1515-1527). In the western part of the castle there is a 29-meter watchtower from the beginning of the 13th century, which was later used as a bell tower. The height of the walls was later increased to 15 meters.

The internal trenches and dugouts, which were built for artillery and as a shelter from bombing, date back to the Livonian War (1558-1582), but during this war the fortress was significantly damaged. The walls of the small castle and the outer fortifications were partially destroyed.

In the 17th century, the castle was no longer used as a defensive structure by the Swedes, who at that time ruled the Estonian province of Sweden. During the Northern War in 1710, Estonia fell under the rule of Russia and the walls were partially destroyed by order of Peter I, turning the castle into ruins.

The legend of the White Lady is associated with Haapsalu Castle.

During the time of the Ezel-Vik bishopric, each canon had to lead a chaste and virtuous lifestyle in accordance with the rules of the monastery. Women's access to the episcopal castle was forbidden under the threat of death. The legend tells that the canon fell in love with an Estonian girl and brought her secretly to the castle. She hid under the singer's clothes and this remained a secret for a long time, but when the bishop visited Haapsalu again, the young singer caught his attention and he ordered the singer's gender to be determined.

Having discovered the girl, the bishop convened a council, which decided that the girl should be immured in the wall of the chapel, and the canon was sent to prison, where he soon died of starvation. The builders left the girl in the cavity of the wall with a piece of bread and a mug of water. For some time, her cries for help were heard in the castle. However, her soul cannot find peace and, as a result, she appears in the window of the Baptistery and mourns her beloved for centuries, and thus proves the immortality of love.

The Dome Cathedral, which was built in 1270, makes a great impression. It has excellent acoustics and is often used for concerts.

Wiki: en:Castle of Haapsalu

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As early as 1279, Bishop German I granted Haapsalu city rights. In his letter, the bishop wrote: “Having founded the main church in Haapsalu and provided our canons with the necessary living quarters and income, we determined one place for laying the foundation of the city, where everyone would converge and gather there, who would like to settle there with us and, if necessary, would patronize the churches with their feasible support.”

At that time, a spacious forburg was built with a castella-type castle with two gates opposite each other. The Cathedral of the Evangelist John became a single-nave, three-travey building, without an independent choir room. In the eastern travey of the cathedral, the vault with ribs is eight-part; in others - four-part. Lancet-shaped arches and windows belong to the early Gothic, but the capitals of the semi-columns decorated with scrolls and floral motifs speak of the Romanesque style and belong to the circle of the Cologne master who worked in the Riga Cathedral of St. Mary (Dome). In 1297-1302. Livonian Order occupied the lands of the bishopric, and this was remembered in the form of the castle cathedral in Haapsalu. The master of the order, Bruno, ordered to cut through the loopholes in the room above the vaults of the church, which served as a refuge for church leaders in case of danger.

In the second half of the 14th century A new residence was built for the Bishop of Saare-Läänemaa in Kuressaare on the island of Esel (Saaremaa). But the construction of the castle in Haapsalu continued in the late 14th - early 15th century. Then the main halls in the northern wing were expanded, the castle acquired the final form of a castella with a courtyard. An additional floor was built over the cathedral. On the western side, a round watchtower 31 m high was erected. The status of both castles is written in Renner's chronicle (c. 1561): Haapsalu is located on the mainland near the sea, where the Dome Church and the episcopal chair are located. At the same time, it should be understood that the castles were not literally located opposite each other: in fact, they were separated by about a hundred kilometers of land and water.

The fortifications of Haapsalu cover an area of 2 hectares. The last significant stage in the construction of the castle dates back to the end of the 15th - beginning of the 16th century. The castle acquired its final dimensions during the reign of Bishop Johann IV Kivel (1515-1527), when a powerful wall was built, expanding the forburg to the east. The wall was reinforced with towers with loopholes for firearms, its height reached from 8 to 12 m, thickness from 1.2 to 1.8 m. The total perimeter of the walls was 803 m, and had 7 towers. Presumably at the same time, a round watchtower was erected on the western side of the castle. At the same time, new gates were built and a relief plate with the coat of arms of Bishop Johann IV Kivel and the date: 1515 was installed above them. It probably indicates the completion of construction work.

For almost 300 years, Haapsalu was the center of a bishopric. In 1524, Bishop Johann IV Kivel allowed the preaching of Lutheranism, but the Dome Cathedral in Haapsalu remained Catholic. The cathedral with its rib vaults, reaching a height of 15.5 m and an area of 425 sq.m. is the largest single-nave cathedral in the entire Baltic region. The beginning of the construction of the cathedral dates back to the 1260s and fully complied with the building requirements adopted in the monastic order of the Cistercians. In particular, this is why the cathedral does not have a tower-chapel, the interior is very modest in its decoration, and a rose-shaped window is located above the portal. The completion of one of the stages of construction refers to the period of transition from the Romanesque to the Gothic style. The floral ornament on the bridles of the semi-columns in the church premises indicates the Romanesque style, the Gothic style is manifested in the pointed arcuate lines of the vault.

The portal of the main entrance to the church was also made in the Romanesque style, ending with a semicircular vault with decorated imposts; above his wimperg was a “rose” window. In the pediment of the portal there was a niche depicting a shrine, the patron church and the attribute of the guardian of the Saare-Läänemaa bishopric, St. John. The original sacristy adjoined the northern side of the cathedral, which was demolished during the improvement of the castle. A new two-storey sacristy, which also had defensive significance, was attached to the south wall of the cathedral. Under the floor of the cathedral in Haapsalu, as well as in other churches, priests and persons of noble rank were buried.

Unique to the Baltics is a round chapel built in the 14th or 15th century, which probably served as a baptistery. In the wall niches of the chapel, as well as in the cathedral itself, altars were placed and the walls were covered with decorative paintings. It is here that a vision of a ghost appears on the inner wall on the August full moon - the so-called. White Lady.

According to legend, this was once a girl immured alive in the wall of the chapel, who fell in love with a young canon (in other versions of the legend, just a monk, or even the head of the Domsky chapter), who served at the cathedral of the episcopal castle. In those days when the Bishop of Ezelsky ruled in these parts, the inhabitants of the castle were ordered to lead a virtuous life. However, the monk met a beautiful village girl and they fell passionately in love. But since the relatives wanted to marry off their daughter to a local rich man, the girl dressed up in the costume of a chorus boy and began to secretly live in the castle for some time, so that later she could marry her beloved. For some time, the relationship between the canon and the "choirboy" remained a secret. But the young singer, with his fragile appearance and gentle voice, aroused the suspicions of the bishop. Then the secret was revealed, and the lovers were severely punished. The monk was thrown to a slow death in the dungeon of the castle, and an innocent girl was walled up alive in one of the walls with a piece of bread and a mug of water. For several days, her pleas for mercy were heard. Since then, every year in August, on the night of the full moon, the ghost of a girl in white appears in one of the windows of the bishop's castle. At first, people were afraid of the ghost, but then it turned out that the White Lady helps lovers find happiness. And you can only meet her once a year. And so it happened: thousands of people annually seek to get on a “date” with a good ghost. This legend served literary material to create a performance about the White Lady, which is shown annually in Haapsalu.

In 1541 Johann V Munchausen became the bishop of Saare-Läänemaa. In 1559 he sold his diocese to the Danish king Frederick II, who gave it to his younger brother Duke Magnus. The new Bishop Magnus began by moving from Haapsalu to Kuressaare the entire archive of the bishopric and the most valuable cult objects in 1560 for their further transfer to Denmark. During the Livonian War (1558-1583) Estonia adopted Lutheranism and the Catholic Cathedral of Haapsalu became a Lutheran parish church and became known as the castle church. At the same time, earthen fortifications were built on the territory of the castle, in particular, the internal moats of the fortress.

During the Livonian War, the castle was destroyed, the castella and the walls of the fore-castle were partially destroyed. As a result of the Livonian War in 1581, the bishopric passed to the Swedes and has since become one of the regions of Estonia. The Swedes, having carried out an audit of the remains of the castle, excluded it from the list of defensive structures of the Swedish kingdom in the 17th century. In 1625, the Swedish king Gustav II Adolf sold the city of Haapsalu and the castle with its surroundings to the Comte de la Gardie, under whom the church was restored, an organ and a new altar were built. Presumably, the appearance in the chapel of a baptismal stone made in 1634 by Joachim Winter also dates back to this time. The grandiose plans for the reconstruction of the castle, which were supposed to be carried out by de la Gardie, were only partially implemented. In 1641, according to the project of the Augsburg architect Matthias Goll, the reconstruction of the castle in the Baroque style began. The upper part of the outer walls was demolished, and the castle loopholes were transformed into palace windows. However, the fire of 1688 put an end to all reconstructions, leaving only crumbling walls.

During the Northern War, the Russian Emperor Peter I ordered to further reduce the height of the walls of the fortress. Since then, the castle has been in ruins. During the fire on March 23, 1688, the copper roof of the cathedral was destroyed, which was restored, but the hurricane of 1726 again destroyed the roof. The state was not interested in restoring the roof that had lost military value and an uninhabitable church, but the church parish had no funds, and therefore the functions of the cathedral were transferred to the city church of John. The ruins of the castle in the 19th century began to take the form of a romantic castle park, following the fashion for old ruins that prevailed at that time throughout Europe. Since 1825, Haapsalu has been known as a seaside resort famous for its sea mud. Since the resort was visited by members of the imperial family, a station, a kursaal and other buildings were built, and it is likely that eminent persons visited the ruins of the old castle. In 1867, the famous Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky spent the summer in Haapsalu. Here he began writing his first opera, The Voyevoda. Haapsalu is dedicated to the cycle of pieces for piano "Memories of Gapsala", which includes three pieces "Ruins of the Old Castle", "Song Without Words" and "Scherzo".

The restoration of the cathedral began in 1886 and continued for three years. The dilapidated portal of the Romanesque style was replaced with a pseudo-Gothic portal, the surviving fragments of the wall painting were painted over, tombstones were taken out of the church ... The view of the church with the fragments of these plates was captured in the drawing by Ungern-Sternberg. The western façade of the castle was heavily modified during this renovation in 1886-89. On October 15, 1889 (according to the old style), the first service was held dedicated to St. Nicholas, after whom the church was now named. It was open for worship only in the summer months, because. the room was not heated.

In 1940 the church was closed for worship; for some time it was open during the German occupation. In the spring of 1944 it was devastated and then for a long time was in disrepair. At one time it was used as a granary, it was supposed to arrange a pool here. Since the 1960s regular conservation of the fortress walls is carried out. In 1971, the restoration of the church began, which they wanted to adapt to a concert hall, like many other churches.

In the late 1980s The church was returned to the parish for worship. The restoration of the premises, the chapel, the sacristies was carried out according to the design of Kalvi Aluve, the interior was designed by Aala Buldas, the textile work was carried out by Maasike Maasik. At Christmas 1990, the first service was held and the church was again consecrated in honor of St. Nicholas. On Mother's Day in 1992, the so-called. Mother's altar in the baptismal chapel in memory of those who died in Soviet time Estonian mothers. The altar was commissioned by the physician Heino Noor, whose mother was exiled to Siberia. The altarpiece of the Virgin and Child was made by the sculptor Hille Palm.

Haapsalu (until 1917 - Gapsal) is located on the western coast of the Baltic Sea, 110 km from Tallinn. After the burning of the Saare-Läänemaa (Ezel-Vik) bishop's castle in Vana-Pärnu (Old Pärnu) by the Lithuanian troops, in 1263 it was decided to move the residence back to the north, but now not to Lihula, but to Haapsalu. At the end of the 1260s. a regular building of the main castle was built, reminiscent of a monastery, in the southern wing of which there was not just a chapel, but a cathedral. The cathedral was the main church of the Saare-Läänemaa bishopric, i.е. was a cathedral, the episcopal throne was located right there and the episcopal theological college, the Domsky chapter, operated.

Already in 1279, Bishop German I granted the rights of the city. In his letter, the bishop wrote: “Having founded the main church in and provided our canons with the necessary living quarters and income, we determined one place for laying the city, where everyone would converge and gather there, who would like to settle there with us and, if necessary, patronize the church with its feasible support.

At that time, a spacious forburg was built with a castella-type castle with two gates opposite each other. The Cathedral of the Evangelist John became a single-nave, three-travey building, without an independent choir room. In the eastern travey of the cathedral, the vault with ribs is eight-part; in others - four-part. Lancet-shaped arches and windows belong to the early Gothic, but the capitals of the semi-columns decorated with scrolls and floral motifs speak of the Romanesque style and belong to the circle of the Cologne master who worked in the Riga Cathedral of St. Mary (Dome). In 1297-1302. The Livonian Order occupied the lands of the bishopric, and this was remembered in the form of the castle cathedral in Haapsalu. The master of the order, Bruno, ordered to cut through the loopholes in the room above the vaults of the church, which served as a refuge for church leaders in case of danger.

In the second half of the 14th century A new residence was built for the Bishop of Saare-Läänemaa in Kuressaare on the island of Esel (Saaremaa). But the construction of the castle continued in the late 14th - early 15th century. Then the main halls in the northern wing were expanded, the castle acquired the final form of a castella with a courtyard. An additional floor was built over the cathedral. On the western side, a round watchtower 31 m high was erected. The status of both castles is written in Renner's chronicle (c. 1561): Haapsalu is located on the mainland near the sea, where the Dome Church and the episcopal chair are located. At the same time, it should be understood that the castles were not literally located opposite each other: in fact, they were separated by about a hundred kilometers of land and water.

The fortifications cover an area of 2 hectares. The last significant stage in the construction of the castle dates back to the end of the 15th - beginning of the 16th century. The castle acquired its final dimensions during the reign of Bishop Johann IV Kivel (1515-1527), when a powerful wall was built, expanding the forburg to the east. The wall was reinforced with towers with loopholes for firearms, its height reached from 8 to 12 m, thickness from 1.2 to 1.8 m. The total perimeter of the walls was 803 m, and had 7 towers. Presumably at the same time, a round watchtower was erected on the western side of the castle. At the same time, new gates were built and a relief plate with the coat of arms of Bishop Johann IV Kivel and the date: 1515 was installed above them. It probably indicates the completion of construction work.

According to legend, this was once a girl immured alive in the wall of the chapel, who fell in love with a young canon (in other versions of the legend, just a monk, or even the head of the Domsky chapter), who served at the cathedral of the episcopal castle. In those days when the Bishop of Ezelsky ruled in these parts, the inhabitants of the castle were ordered to lead a virtuous life. However, the monk met a beautiful village girl and they fell passionately in love. But since the relatives wanted to marry off their daughter to a local rich man, the girl dressed up in the costume of a chorus boy and began to secretly live in the castle for some time, so that later she could marry her beloved. For some time, the relationship between the canon and the "choirboy" remained a secret. But the young singer, with his fragile appearance and gentle voice, aroused the suspicions of the bishop. Then the secret was revealed, and the lovers were severely punished. The monk was thrown to a slow death in the dungeon of the castle, and an innocent girl was walled up alive in one of the walls with a piece of bread and a mug of water. For several days, her pleas for mercy were heard. Since then, every year in August, on the night of the full moon, the ghost of a girl in white appears in one of the windows of the bishop's castle. At first, people were afraid of the ghost, but then it turned out that the White Lady helps lovers find happiness. And you can only meet her once a year. And so it happened: thousands of people annually seek to get on a “date” with a good ghost. This legend served as literary material for the creation of the play about the White Lady, which is shown annually in Haapsalu.

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