The castle of Trakai


The town of Trakai is located at 28 km westward to Vilnius.
It is surrounded of a whole chain of lakes (61 on the whole). The old medieval capital of Lithuania is today a tourist center.
The largest of the lakes is the lake Galve. On one of its islands, at opposite of the town of Trakai, draws up the castle of Trakai, a monument of the Middle-Age. There, remains nothing the primitive castle. In that place, from the end of XIVth century and the beginning of XVth, a more powerful citadel was set up to defend Trakai which remained a center of important trade after the transfer of the capital in Vilnius (1323).

The system of defensive installations of Trakai was completed at the beginning of XVth with the construction of three turns about 7 m height and a thickness of 3,5m, connected by a wall and constituting an external belt of fortifications. A deep ditch separates the castle itself from the châtelet. A drawbridge in front of the tower of 34m carries out to the interior court surrounded of powerful walls.

In summer, concerts are organized the Sunday in the court of the castle, one can hear there the whole of national music and other folk communities.

Lithuanian custom : carrying the weeding over several bridges the day of marriage