Ritterswerder
Ritterswerder (Lithuanian Ritersverderis ) was an island in the Memel in present-day Lithuania . In the 14th and 15th centuries there was a wooden castle of the Teutonic Order here .
Its location is believed to be near Lampėdžiai , now part of Kaunas .
history
The castle was probably built in 1391 when the knights of the order conquered the castle of the Lithuanian Grand Duke in Vilnius at the request of the Lithuanian Prince Vytautas .
In the spring of 1392 Vytautas received Bishop Heinrich von Płock here, who made him an offer to take over the Grand Duchy of Lithuania on behalf of the Polish King Władysław II Jagiełło .
About 3 weeks later Heinrich married Ryngaila, a sister of Vytautas, here, which caused a lot of noise in the area.
Soon afterwards, Vytautas destroyed Ritterswerder Castle after reaching an agreement with Władysław, as well as two other wooden castles of the order.
In 1394, knights of the order tried to rebuild the castle during an attack on Vilnius, but could not finish it due to a Lithuanian counterattack.
In 1404 the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order stayed here at the time of the negotiations on the Peace of Raciąż.
Today the island no longer exists due to a changed course of the Memel river. It is probably an elevation on the right bank of the river.
literature
- Zenonas Ivinskis: Ritterswerder , in: Lietuvių enciklopedija , Vol. XXV, Boston, Massachusetts: Lietuvių enciklopedijos Leidykla 1953–1966, p. 348
- Ritersverderis , in: Jonas Zinkus, et al .: Tarybų Lietuvos enciklopedija , Vol. 3, Vyriausioji enciklopedijų redakcija Vilnius 1985–1988, p. 555
- William Urban: Samogitian Crusade , Lithuanian Research and Studies Center Chicago, 2006, ISBN 0-929700-56-2 , pp. 208ff.
- Juozas Kapočius: Ritterswerder , in: Simas Sužiedėlis (ed.): Encyclopedia Lituanica , Vol. IV , Boston, Massachusetts 1970–1978, p. 502
Remarks
- ^ Mettenburg and Neugarten