The castle of Laiuse, or Schloss Lais, was founded by the Livonian Order in the 14th century. Construction continued until the middle of the 15th century. This castle was built as an auxiliary castle and was adapted for the use of firearms.
The centre part, measuring 21x11.6 m, and the circumferential wall in the shape of a trapezoid were built first. The walls were originally 9 metres high and just over 1 metre thick. Later, in the 15th century, the height and thickness of the castle walls were increased. The maximum height of the preserved wall is 13.8 metres, and the height of the partially destroyed tower is 22 metres. The diameter of the bathhouse at the base is 14 metres and the thickness of the walls is 4 metres.
The first attempts to capture the castle were made by Russian troops in 1501 and 1502, but they were unsuccessful, the castle could not be captured. Serious battles for the castle took place during the Livonian War. In February 1559 Russian troops repeatedly tried to capture the castle, but they succeeded only in August. At the end of the same year, the Master of the Livonian Order Gotthard Kettler attempted to retake the castle, but failed to do so.
In 1582, the Peace Treaty of Jam-Zapolski was signed, according to which the Laiuse Castle and its surroundings were transferred into the possession of Poland. On the instructions of the regional headman, the castle and the surrounding dwellings were going to be rebuilt. The peace treaty did not last long and was broken by the Swedish-Polish War, which lasted from 1600 to 1629. At the very beginning of this war, the Swedes besieged the castle. After a 4-week siege of the castle, the Polish troops surrendered. The castle was taken over by the Swedes, though not for long; a year later the Poles took the castle back. On 5 January 1622 the Swedish commander Henrik Fleming stormed the castle of Laiuse. During the Russo-Swedish War (1656-1661), Russian troops reached the castle (in 1657), but there was no attempt to capture the castle then.
By the beginning of the Great Northern War, most of the castle had been destroyed. In the courtyard of the castle ruins, dwellings were built. Prominent among them was a large one-storey house where the Swedish King Charles XII stayed. He came here after the famous battle of Narva, in which Peter the Great's troops were defeated. Nowadays we can only observe the ruins of the Laiuse Castle.
