Haapsalu Episcopal Castle
| Haapsalu Episcopal Castle | ||
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 The Haapsalu bishop's castle today |
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| Castle type : | Niederungsburg | |
| Conservation status: | Received or received substantial parts | |
| Place: | Haapsalu | |
| Geographical location | 58 ° 56 '50 " N , 23 ° 32' 19" E | |
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The Bishop's Castle Haapsalu ( Estonian Haapsalu piiskopilinnus ) is a medieval castle and cathedral complex in the town of Haapsalu (German Hapsal ) in the west of Estonia . It was founded in the 13th century as one of the centers of the Diocese of Ösel-Wiek (Estonian Saare-Lääne piiskopkond ).
History of the castle
In 1228, shortly after the Christianization of Estonia and Livonia , the Riga bishop Albert von Buxthoeven (1165–1229) established the diocese of Ösel-Wiek. Gottfried , an abbot from the Cistercian monastery of Dünamünde (today Daugavgrīva in Latvia ), became the first bishop of the diocese in the same year. In addition to the islands of Saaremaa (Ösel) and Hiiumaa (Dagö), it included large parts of today's Lääne County . In 1234, William of Modena, as a papal legate, finally determined the boundaries of the diocese. The Diocese of Ösel-Wiek was subordinated to the Archdiocese of Riga in 1246 .
The first residence of the Diocese of Ösel-Wiek was in the castle of Lihula (Leal) until 1251 , which the Order of the Brothers of the Sword expanded into a strong stone fortress. After disputes with the Livonian Order , the bishop's residence moved to Alt-Pärnu (Alt-Pernau) on the western estuary of the Pärnu River , although it was burned there ten years later by the Lithuanians. Haapsalu was chosen to be the new spiritual and secular center of the diocese . The castle there was first mentioned in a document in 1279. Other residences of the bishop were in Lihula (Leal) , Koluvere (Lohde) and Kuressaare (Arensburg) , which then became the main castle of the Bishop of Ösel-Wiek from the 14th century.
The first phase of the construction of the Haapsalu bishop's castle was completed around 1300. The castle is on an artificial hill. The original height of the walls was 8 m. In the 14th century, two square towers were attached to the north side of the castle. In the 15th century a cloister was laid out in the inner courtyard. The east gate of the castle was given a smaller outer bailey . At the end of the 15th century, the walls were further strengthened. In 1507/08 the large eastern bailey was completed. The largest dimensions of the castle were more than three hectares. The thickness of the walls was between 1.2 and 1.8 meters. Under Bishop Johannes IV. Kievel (1515–1527) the walls were raised to 10 m, later again to 15 m.
On the west side of the castle there is a 29 m high watchtower from the 13th century. It was supposed to probably protect the main portal of the church. It was raised to 38 m in the 15th century and was also used as a bell tower.
During the Livonian War (1558–1583), the castle was further strengthened, but suffered greatly from the attacks. Several walls and the outer defenses were partially completely destroyed. At the end of the war, the bishopric of Ösel-Wiek was destroyed, the area came under Swedish rule after the provisions of the Peace of Pljussa . In the 17th century, Haapsalu Castle lost its defensive function. When Estonia 1710 de facto and de jure in 1721 to Russia fell, the walls of the castle of Haapsalu under Tsar were Peter I partially demolished . The castle remained in ruins.
Haapsalu Cathedral
The cathedral of Haapsalu was part of the castle . The seat of the Bishop of Ösel-Wiek and his office were located there and in the so-called Small Fort . With an area of 425 m², the cathedral was one of the largest single-nave churches in the Baltic States . The construction of the church was based on the design rules of the Cistercian order. The cathedral was the evangelist John ordained .
The first written source of the church comes from Bishop Hermann I, the founder Haapsalus. The cathedral was probably built around 1260 and falls in the transition period between Romanesque and Gothic . The plant ornaments on the capitals of the pilasters are of the Romanesque style . The star vaults are Gothic in character. The portal was originally Romanesque with an eyelash on a round arch that provided space for the figure of the patron saint in a niche . The inner walls were decorated with paintings. The floor of the church was covered with tombstones of clergymen and nobles. A round baptistery was built in the second half of the 14th century.
After the Reformation
After the Livonian War, Estonia became part of the Kingdom of Sweden. The cathedral was subordinated to the Lutheran Swedish Church . The church lost its importance as an episcopal church. In 1625 the Swedish King Gustav II Adolf sold the town of Haapsalu, the castle and the surrounding land to the nobleman Jakob De la Gardie (1583–1652). He wanted to convert the castle into a modern fortress. De la Gardie's advisers included the well-known sculptors and builders Arent Passer and Joachim Winter . Jakob De la Gardie's son, Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie (1622–1686), planned to convert the castle into a Renaissance chateau. De la Gardie hired the Augsburg architect Matthias Holl for his project. However, the project remained unfinished. In 1658 he donated the first organ to the church.
On March 23, 1688, the roof of the church, the organ and the living rooms fell victim to a fire. The work of the de la Gardie family was then stopped; the castle remained in ruins for more than 150 years. Only the church was quickly renewed and decorated with a new bell. A violent spring storm destroyed the roof of the church again on March 18, 1726. The Lutheran congregation then gave up the church and moved to the town church of Haapsalu.
In the 19th century the castle complex was converted into a romantic park with alleys . Tennis courts were created in the moat. Between 1886 and 1889, the church was completely restored and partially rebuilt under the architect Rudolf von Bernhardt with donations from the Russian tsarist house, Baltic German nobles and the local population . The Romanesque portal was replaced by a pseudo-Gothic one, fragments of the original wall paintings were whitewashed and the tombstones were removed from the church. On October 15, 1889, the church was reopened and consecrated to St. Nicholas .
After the Soviet occupation of Estonia in 1940, the church was closed to the public. In 1944, rioters broke into the church and destroyed the altar , the altar painting , the organ, the church stalls and the windows. In 1946, an application by the citizens of Haapsalu to place the church under Soviet monument protection failed. It has since been used as a granary.
The church was not restored until 1979. When Estonian regained independence in the early 1990s, it was re- consecrated and opened to the local parish of the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church . On Mother's Day in 1992, the altar dedicated to the mothers murdered during the Soviet occupation of Estonia was consecrated. The statue of the Virgin Mary and Child was made by the Estonian artist Hille Palm .
Legend of the White Lady
The legend of the White Lady has grown up around the cathedral of Haapsalu . After that, on the full moon nights in August, the picture of a white woman should be seen on the inner walls of a certain chapel . The story is based on the following folk legend:
During the reign of the Bishop of Ösel-Wiek, every canon was obliged to live a chaste and virtuous life. Women were prohibited from entering the bishop's castle on the penalty of death. According to legend, a clergyman from the episcopal see was in love with an Estonian girl whom he secretly smuggled into the bishop's castle. There she disguised herself as a choirboy and lived with her lover for a long time. During a visit by the bishop, however, the true gender of the “boy” came to light. The canon starved to death in prison as a punishment. The girl was walled alive in the walls of the chapel. The masons gave her a piece of bread and a jug of water. The girl's cries for help could be heard for a while before they fell silent. But her soul finds no rest and so she has appeared annually for centuries at the middle window of the church chapel to mourn her beloved - as a symbol of the immortality of love.
The music festival “Time of the White Lady” (Valge Daami Aeg) is held in the castle every year in August when the moon is full.
literature
- Anton Pärn: Haapsalu Saare-Lääne piiskopkonna keskuste kujunemisloos . Haapsalu 1997 (= Läänemaa Muuseumi Toimetised, Volume 1).
- Ülla Paras (Ed.): Saare-Lääne piiskopkond. Artiklid Lääne-Eesti keskajast. Diocese of Ösel-Wiek. Collection of articles on the Middle Ages in West Estonia. Haapsalu 2004, ISBN 9985-9133-8-8 .
Web links
- Official website (Estonian and English)