Insterburg Castle
Insterburg Castle
HISTORY
Insterburg Castle is situated in Kaliningrad Region, in Chernyakhosk. It is locatet on Zamkovaya street. The Catle was founded in 1336 by magister of German Order Ditrich fon Altenburg who was a builder and a military man.
The Castle appeared on the place of the town Unzetrapis which was ruined in 1256 during he war of the Order in Nadrovia later the settlement appeared near the fwalls of the Castle.In 16th century it had got the rights of the town. The ruins of Instenburg Castle are still situated in the centre of the town.
Being built on the place where the Prussian fortrees had been,the Castle was made of wood. Then crusaders built the fortress with high walls and four towels in each corner.
There was a ditch around the Castle which exists till nowadays.
Like many other Castles Insterburg Castle has got its mystical stories.
Sagas of Easten Prussia confirm that here, in Insterburg,the last wich was burnt torture.She was burnt after the awful torments which crusaders wee very skilled to fulfil.
The witch was tortured in the towel which does not exist now.
But you can go into the cellar.The cellars were the places were the torments took place.
Insterburg Castle is situated in Kaliningrad Region, in Chernyakhosk. It is locatet on Zamkovaya street. The Catle was founded in 1336 by magister of German Order Ditrich fon Altenburg who was a builder and a military man.
The Castle appeared on the place of the town Unzetrapis which was ruined in 1256 during he war of the Order in Nadrovia later the settlement appeared near the fwalls of the Castle.In 16th century it had got the rights of the town. The ruins of Instenburg Castle are still situated in the centre of the town.
Being built on the place where the Prussian fortrees had been,the Castle was made of wood. Then crusaders built the fortress with high walls and four towels in each corner.
There was a ditch around the Castle which exists till nowadays.
Like many other Castles Insterburg Castle has got its mystical stories.
Sagas of Easten Prussia confirm that here, in Insterburg,the last wich was burnt torture.She was burnt after the awful torments which crusaders wee very skilled to fulfil.
The witch was tortured in the towel which does not exist now.
But you can go into the cellar.The cellars were the places were the torments took place.
legend.
One more Insterburg story was connected with sorcery. It's about one girl whose name was Verona.She was adopted by a smith's family. Gradually the girl became very beautiful and she was also a witch who ruined solid German families.
The leaders of the town decided to get rid of her. They broke ice in the river and drowned her. Some time later she started to come to the town overy night and took one man after another who were found hanged in the morning. Nobody knows how the citizens ofthe town gotrid of such wisfortune.Prussian sagas don't give any inbormation about it.But some remedy was found ,otherwise the town would be devastated completely. But the most famous local ghosts were the spivits of Prussian Knight Kamsvikus and his wife.The story says that before arrival of Tutonic Order in 13th centry,not far from Chernyakhovsk,here was a castle of the local lord.(This place was not far from Timofeyevka).Kamsvikeis,the lord of thr castle,was a very violent person. He even killed his own son when the latter wanted to protect the citizens.Then he put his own wife into cellar when she didn't please him.Prussian Goods tried to put up with his bad and crull behaviour.But when their patience finished they sent the flood to the castle.His poor wife died together with Kamsvikus.The woman was doomedto appear in the image of the black cow which was followed by a black cat. The spirit of the cruel knight was in the black cat.
According to the legend,the embodiment of the God's punishment was a black rider who followed the cow and the cat and beat them with a long black lash.As the legend says,"Often at midinight people see all three ghosts rushind in the woods."People built the wonument to the kind knight,Kamsvikus's son.This is a stone 25 paces length.One more ghost of a cat lives just near Insterburg Castle.But it is not black,it's green!
Long time ago at the bank of the medieval ditch,which was changed into a pond,there was a small inn "Green cat".Of course,white time passeds,nothing was left of th inn.The one reminder about it is a "green cat" which was thrown from it's usual inhbitat and it is usually seen among the trees near the bank of thr pond.It rumbles in a low voice and flashes with it's angry eyes,as it it want to say,"Where is my inn?!"
One more Insterburg story was connected with sorcery. It's about one girl whose name was Verona.She was adopted by a smith's family. Gradually the girl became very beautiful and she was also a witch who ruined solid German families.
The leaders of the town decided to get rid of her. They broke ice in the river and drowned her. Some time later she started to come to the town overy night and took one man after another who were found hanged in the morning. Nobody knows how the citizens ofthe town gotrid of such wisfortune.Prussian sagas don't give any inbormation about it.But some remedy was found ,otherwise the town would be devastated completely. But the most famous local ghosts were the spivits of Prussian Knight Kamsvikus and his wife.The story says that before arrival of Tutonic Order in 13th centry,not far from Chernyakhovsk,here was a castle of the local lord.(This place was not far from Timofeyevka).Kamsvikeis,the lord of thr castle,was a very violent person. He even killed his own son when the latter wanted to protect the citizens.Then he put his own wife into cellar when she didn't please him.Prussian Goods tried to put up with his bad and crull behaviour.But when their patience finished they sent the flood to the castle.His poor wife died together with Kamsvikus.The woman was doomedto appear in the image of the black cow which was followed by a black cat. The spirit of the cruel knight was in the black cat.
According to the legend,the embodiment of the God's punishment was a black rider who followed the cow and the cat and beat them with a long black lash.As the legend says,"Often at midinight people see all three ghosts rushind in the woods."People built the wonument to the kind knight,Kamsvikus's son.This is a stone 25 paces length.One more ghost of a cat lives just near Insterburg Castle.But it is not black,it's green!
Long time ago at the bank of the medieval ditch,which was changed into a pond,there was a small inn "Green cat".Of course,white time passeds,nothing was left of th inn.The one reminder about it is a "green cat" which was thrown from it's usual inhbitat and it is usually seen among the trees near the bank of thr pond.It rumbles in a low voice and flashes with it's angry eyes,as it it want to say,"Where is my inn?!"
There are some other legends about ghost dogs.
Long time ago Prussians lived in this fortress.They were good warriors.They had got dogs which were laught to guard people and the fortress.The dogs didn't take pert in tournaments but they surrounded the place of the battle.Once crousaders captured all people of the fortress and the dogs were left and continued to guard the fortress.They attacked the knights trying to take revenge.The leader of the dogs was a big black dog Yoshtunas. After its death it remained to guard the walls of the castle . People say that the image of a big dog was seen in the castle not once.
There is another version of appearance of this dog,but this legend is not so nice as the previons one .The chief of Prussians,being Frighlened to lose his power wealth and his people joined the Order.
Prussian priests cursed him and after his death his soul will never feind peace in the walls of the castle and will always be wandering in the image of a black dog for his treachery.There are a lot of bricks with the warks of the dog's paws.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There are some rumors which are connected with underground passages.Some people confeim that there is a net of German tunnels which are several kilometres lenght and it may be true !Tunnels and passages do exist,bur they are studied by enthusiasts,not seientists and that's why to make a plan and to measure the lenght of tunnels and passages is rather problematic.
Tunnels.
There are a lot f buildinds which remained after Germans,many of them are in good condition,others are not in a good state.
Long time ago Prussians lived in this fortress.They were good warriors.They had got dogs which were laught to guard people and the fortress.The dogs didn't take pert in tournaments but they surrounded the place of the battle.Once crousaders captured all people of the fortress and the dogs were left and continued to guard the fortress.They attacked the knights trying to take revenge.The leader of the dogs was a big black dog Yoshtunas. After its death it remained to guard the walls of the castle . People say that the image of a big dog was seen in the castle not once.
There is another version of appearance of this dog,but this legend is not so nice as the previons one .The chief of Prussians,being Frighlened to lose his power wealth and his people joined the Order.
Prussian priests cursed him and after his death his soul will never feind peace in the walls of the castle and will always be wandering in the image of a black dog for his treachery.There are a lot of bricks with the warks of the dog's paws.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There are some rumors which are connected with underground passages.Some people confeim that there is a net of German tunnels which are several kilometres lenght and it may be true !Tunnels and passages do exist,bur they are studied by enthusiasts,not seientists and that's why to make a plan and to measure the lenght of tunnels and passages is rather problematic.
Tunnels.
There are a lot f buildinds which remained after Germans,many of them are in good condition,others are not in a good state.
Nowadays.
Today Insterburg Castle is precerved.Pestoration works are not conducted,but what remained is not being ruined.Visitors can estimate the greatness of the construction seeing the remained walls.Some of them reach their original hight. The remained household constructions in the south part of the castle are in satisfactory state.It's impossible to go around the halls of the medieval castle because they simply do not exist.But you can see the roads,ou can imagine the towels which were build on the remained basemend,listen ti many stories about Teutonic Order and get aquainted with the work which is provided by the society "House-Castle".
Today Insterburg Castle is precerved.Pestoration works are not conducted,but what remained is not being ruined.Visitors can estimate the greatness of the construction seeing the remained walls.Some of them reach their original hight. The remained household constructions in the south part of the castle are in satisfactory state.It's impossible to go around the halls of the medieval castle because they simply do not exist.But you can see the roads,ou can imagine the towels which were build on the remained basemend,listen ti many stories about Teutonic Order and get aquainted with the work which is provided by the society "House-Castle".
Затора Варвара и Максимчук Екатерина.
Physics teacher, Denver
