Ragnit Castle

Order Castle of the Ragnit Fortress is an Order's fortress situated in Neman, Kaliningrad Region. In 1289, the knights of the Teutonic Order built their own Landeshut fortress where the Raganita fortress captured by Prussians once stood. Later, the Prussian name transformed into Ragnit returned to the fortress.

The fortress consisted of several sites. The castle was located above a cliff with a height of more than 40 m. The size of the fortress was 109x50 m. In front of the fortress there were several forburgs (foremost defenses) separated by graffs fr om each other. In the 13th-14th centuries, the Lithuanian detachments repeatedly attacked the fortress. Sometimes, they managed to seize and destroy the fortress. These Lithuanian attacks forced the Teutonic Order to build a stone fortress of impressive size. In its construction (1397-1409) the architect Nikolaus Fellenstein took part, who also erected a fortress in Tilsit.  Thirty masters from different towns of Prussia were attracted to participate in the construction, and many local residents were mobilized. The main building of the castle was built of brick in Gothic masonry manner, it had a size of 59x59 m. The area of the courtyard was 575 square meters, the height of the main floor reached 12 m, the height of the first defensive floor was 2 m, the thickness of the external walls was 3 m. A dam was made on the stream near the castle, wh ere a pond was formed and the mill was placed. Then they began to build a new forburg. By the time the castle was completed, it was a massive four-floor structure with a gate to the west. A two-floor gallery was on the perimeter of the courtyard; the castle was surrounded by additional buildings. Later, a 25-meter-high square tower was built to the castle.

The Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, Ulrich von Jungingen, arrived at the solemn consecration of the castle in Ragnit. The castle was occupied by the commander of the district and local administrative services, and after the liquidation of the Order in 1525 it was occupied by the district governor residence. In the first half of the 18th century, the castle lost its military significance, the dam was demolished, the defensive wall was dismantled. The forburg disappeared at the beginning of the 19th century. The castle was decided to use as a prison, which resulted in a significant internal restructuring. In 1828, the castle was completely burned out. After the fire, it was rebuilt again: in addition to the prison, it housed judicial institutions. After 1945, the castle remained practically unharmed. A part of the premises was used as warehouses, and the courtyard became an urban market. But over time, the castle became empty and began to collapse. On its background, films devoted to the wartime were shot. By the middle of the 1960s, many buildings of the castle were already in a critical condition. Household buildings of local residents began to appear around it, and the walls were demounted.

Currently, work is underway at the site of the castle ruins to strengthen and partially restore the walls. The site functions as a museum. You can only access the site through a guided tour.