The exact age of Narva Castle still causes a lot of controversy among historians, but they definitely agree on one thing - the building was founded by the Danes who conquered Northern Estonia.
Presumably in the 12th century they built wooden fortifications at the intersection of the Narva River with the "old road", and already at the beginning of the 14th century they started laying a stone fortress.
The first written mention of the castle dates back to 1329. In 1347, the Danish king sold Northern Estonia, including Narva, to the Livonian Order. By that time, part of the Hermann Tower had already been built.
The castle was built on a steep coastal hill, the river bank was additionally fortified. On the land side there is a defensive moat. The thickness of the walls, as in most medieval castles, is several meters. However, after several centuries it was the proximity to the river and the impossibility of creating earthen ramparts on this side that made the castle vulnerable to powerful artillery fire.
During the XVI-XVIII centuries, the castle was in the possession of the Swedes, and then, during the Northern War, went to the Russian Empire. The heart of the castle and the symbol of Narva is the 50-meter tower Long Herman.
The tower was built in several stages, rebuilt after wars and fires. The tower was last badly damaged during the Second World War. The restoration began in the 1950s and was completed after Estonia gained independence.
Now in this tower there is a permanent exhibition about the history of the medieval castle and the city of Narva.
Promotional video:
Narva River, engraving by V. S. Stavenhagen 1860.
Narva Castle, 2005.
Opposite the Narva Castle on the Russian bank of the Narva is the Ivangorod Fortress, built a century later than Herman. The purpose of the construction of the Ivangorod fortress was to protect the Novgorod land from its western neighbors.
