This historic place can be reached by train (about 40 minutes and a price of 2 euros) or by bus (which is slightly more expensive - 8 euros). We preferred to catch the direct train to Trakai. As soon as we got off the train, we had an amazing view - a huge frozen lake, like in the movies. At the train station there are information signs which oriented us where to go. A trail that circled the entire lake and offered amazing views led us to a bridge that we had to cross over the lake to get to the island castle of Trakai.
A wooden sculpture awaited us at the top of the bridge, which we later found out was of the father of Lithuania's most beloved ruler - Vytautas the Great.
Statue of Vytautas the Great in Trakai Island Castle
The town of Trakai was the birthplace of Vytautas and the former capital of Lithuania. Due to the town's strategic location, namely surrounded on all sides by water, it was never conquered. Only when the lakes froze could this well-defended city be attacked.
The first thing that strikes me after entering the castle is its size. Trakai Castle is not one of the biggest, but it is definitely one of the most beautiful castles I have seen so far. The surrounding nature contributes to this. At the time when Lithuania was one of the countries that made up the Soviet Union, the castle was left to its fate. As a result, some of the buildings were demolished. Subsequently, however, after leaving the Soviet Union - the castle was restored. Even today one can see the remains of the old castle and its extension.
Ticket office of the castle
Sculpture of Trakai island castle
I would definitely advise you to hire a guide to explain in more detail about the history of Trakai. Here I think this is the time to mention what I know.
Trakai Castle was not built with the main purpose of being a protective fortress for the king and his relatives. Vytautas' mother did not like the location of the old town of Trakai, which was in the plains about 10 km from the present town. She constantly told her husband, King Kestutis. She really liked living near the sea. As a result, her husband decided to surprise her by building her an entire castle and in the middle of a lot of water. Thus the island castle of Trakai was created.
There are two souvenir shops on the castle grounds. Prices are cheap. From there we crossed a wooden bridge to the royal palaces. A tall tower rising about 70 meters and from which you can see a great view of the surroundings. Our tour started from the king's bedroom. Nowadays, you can hardly tell by anything that this room used to be the royal bedroom. Each room in the castle was separated from the others, with the goal of fighting for each room if someone invaded the castle. Only the royal bedroom had two exits. One was a secret exit from which the king could escape in the event of an attack. We managed to get through it and headed for the other buildings.
There is definitely something to see in every room. The best thing for visitors to this castle is that all the information boards are translated into both English and Russian.
I was very impressed with the stained glass of Vytautas the Great. The bright rays of the sun lit up the stained glass window and every time the king as he came to life.
In another room, knights' armour was on display. Our tour of the castle took about 1 hour. From there, we decided to head back to the city center and do some more souvenir shopping.
Thank you for your attention! If you have some recommendations what to see next in Lithuania, don't hesitate to share them in the comments!
Hi Gali, very interesting to read about this. Thank for your effort :-)
Looks very interesting.
Any idea why that large hole was cut into the ice? It looks like a place that people would go polar dipping (or whatever it's called when people swim in frozen lakes).
Hello, @leaky20! Yes, actually 2-3 days before we went to Trakai, there was a swimming contest, and hundreds of people participate in it. On this photo you can see the podium for the best participants. It was made of the ice bricks they got out from the lake.
Interesting. That's really neat. 👍
I thought that the podium was a bench but that would be awful to sit on in a swim suit lol.
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