🖼 Vyborg Castle and St Olaf's Tower

Выборг, Замковый остров

A 13th-century Swedish fortress on a rocky island in the middle of the strait, with a tall tower rising above the walls.

The Swedes founded the castle in 1293 on the orders of regent Torgils Knutsson, during the Third Crusade against the Karelian lands.
The tower is named after the Norwegian king Olaf the Holy, who christened Scandinavia; it was long considered the tallest keep in Scandinavia.
In 1564 St Olaf's Tower was raised to seven storeys: the top became octagonal, with cannon embrasures in three-metre walls.
The castle stayed impregnable for over 400 years — it fell only in June 1710 to Peter the Great's troops after a two-month siege.
In 1856 the tower burned to the ground: festive illuminations in its dome marked the opening of the Saimaa Canal.
In the 19th century the castle housed the provincial prison — the Decembrists Mikhail Lunin, Ivan Annenkov and others were held here.
The castle museum opened in 1970, and in 2018 archaeologists found a 16th-century brick scored for a board game.

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