Lojsta Castle

The Lojsta Castle ( Swedish Lojsta Slott ) is a ruined castle in the parish ( Swedish socks ) Stånga on the Swedish island of Gotland . Contrary to what the name suggests, Lojsta Castle is not actually a castle or chateau. In the Middle Ages it was a defensive structure that was on an island in a small lake in the middle of Gotland. It is believed that the fortress was used by the Vitalienbrüderm , who supported the then captured Swedish King Albrecht IV of Mecklenburg . The Vitalien Brothers were pirates who used Gotland as their base. In 1404 they were defeated by the Teutonic Knight Order and forced to give up Lojsta Castle and their other two bases on Gotland.

Not much has survived from this fortress today. At the beginning of the 20th century, archaeologists explored the area, but their theories are being challenged today, for example about house foundations in the fortress. The buildings were most likely made of wood; today there is no longer any trace of it above ground.

The fortress was surrounded by a ditch which, together with a dam and a palisade, separated the inner courtyard of the fortress from the outer one. Today the lake's water level is about 2.5 meters lower than it was in the Middle Ages, and the lake is divided into three smaller ones. When the fortress was in use, it had a drawbridge to the mainland, remains of which can still be seen. Today the remains of the fortress can be reached by land.

See also

• Lojsta hall
• Lojsta Church

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Tim Ecott: On Gotland pond. In: The Guardian , August 20, 2005.

Web links

• Museum International / Archaeological sites and site museums. (PDF; 2.6 MB) In: unescodoc.unesco.org. Retrieved January 24, 2012 . 
• Kulturstig Lojsta. In: Länsstyrelsen Gotland. Retrieved January 24, 2012 (Swedish). 
• Lojsta Slott. In: gotland.info. Retrieved January 22, 2012 (Swedish). 
• Lojsta Slott. In: guteinfo. Retrieved January 22, 2012 (Swedish). 
• Lojsta Hall and Slott. In: guteinfo. Retrieved January 24, 2012 (Swedish). 
• Lojsta Castle - entry in the "Fornsök" database of the Riksantikvarieämbetet (Swedish)
• Lojsta Castle - entry in the "Fornsök" database of the Riksantikvarieämbetet (Swedish)

Coordinates: 57 ° 19 ′ 14 ″  N , 18 ° 25 ′ 10 ″  E