Grobiņa medieval castle with bastions
Lielā iela 56, Grobiņa
The ruins of Grobiņa stone castle with the bastions are situated to the northwest of Grobiņa hillfort and today they form a visually unified ensemble. The castle was built in the 13th century by the Livonian Order, but the fortifications have been repeatedly repaired and modernised. The Medieval castle was built in immediate vicinity of the Grobiņa hillfort and between the two monuments are cultural layers relating to the Scandinavian settlement, indication the continuity of the two constructions. Furthermore, researchers believe that the Medieval castle was built on the site of a Scandinavian settlement. Therefore, Grobiņa Medieval Castle with Bastions is one of the sites in transnational serial nomination "Viking age sites in northern Europe" to UNESCO`S world heritage list.
Legend of Grobiņa Medieval Castle
It is said that Grobiņa Castle was very beautiful and rich. Under the Castle there were two underground passages, one leading to the church, the other - to Iļģi settlement cemetery. Once there lived a knight who had a very beautiful daughter. The Castle owner married his daughter off to a noble young man, but the girl did not like the young man. The knight with his subordinates was a pillager. They took captives and made them do the most difficult work. The unbending captives were kept in an underground prison. A young, handsome captive was once taken to the Castle. He did not want to comply, so he was imprisoned in one of the underground cellars. The knight`s daughter took a fancy to a young man, and so she decided to rescue him. The brave woman took the young man through the underground passage to Iļģi settlement cemetery. The young man escaped, but the young lady`s cruel father and husband trapped her and immured alive in one of the underground passages. People tell that even today you can hear the woman`s groans around the Castle that come somewhere from underground.
Grobiņa archaelogical ensemble consists of several archaelogical monuments of the same period: Grobiņa hillfort (Skābarža hill) and the ancient town, Grobiņa Medieval castle with bastions, Priediens ancient burial site, Porāni (Pūrāni) burial mound site, Smukumi flat-grave burial site, and Atkalni flat-grave burial site, which are located compactly in Grobiņa and its surroundings. These monuments mostly date back to the 7th - 9th centuries and they are related to the impressive Scandinavian settlement, which under the name Seeburg was mentioned in the 9th century written sources.
Grobiņa archaelogical ensemble is an authentic and very well preserved set of archaeological sites and structures, mainly from the Viking age. The amount and diversity of materials, gained in archaeological excavations, show that at that time Grobiņa was one of the most important spots of the Viking world in the eastern part of the Baltic Sea. Therefore the sites of Grobiņa archaelogical ensemble are included in the transnational serial nomination "Viking age sites in northern Europe" to UNESCO`S world heritage list.'