The Bishop's Castle is the pride and beauty of Kuressaare. It is the only castle in the Baltic States that has been preserved in its medieval form to the present day. The castle is a square building, measuring 42 metres by 42.5 metres, with 40-metre high watchtowers and mighty bastions.
It is believed that the first fortress was built by the Danish Danish Empire, that the first fortress was built by the Danes in 1222, in the centre of the courtyard was a watchtower, now the Long Herman Tower. This structure fulfilled not only as a watchtower, but also as a last refuge for a small number of defenders in the event of an invasion by an enemy.
It is believed that since the middle of the fourteenth century, that from the middle of the 14th century the castle was the residence of the Saare-Läääneme bishop after the Haapsalu. The main construction of the castle, as we see it today, 1345-1365.
In the 1430s a bypass wall was built around the castle. wall was built around the castle in the 1430s. It was supplemented by semicircular towers with loopholes for firearms. В 1559 Kuressaare castle was sold by the last bishop Johann von Münchhausen to the Danish King Frederick von Münchhausen. The Danish king, in turn, gave the Saaremae bishopric together with the castle of Kuressaare to his younger brother Duke Magnus.
At the end of the 16th century, the first earthen fortifications were erected, with the corners of the fortifications crowned by massive corner bastions. All this construction was surrounded by water. At the end of the 17th century bastions and ravelins were erected around the castle (architects P. von Essen and E. Dahlberg).
During the Livonian War the fortress was unaffected. During the Great Northern War in 1710, Arensburg was captured by Gen. Bour, and henceforth the city became part of the Russian Empire. However, the fortress was badly damaged (presumably in 1711) during this war, but was rebuilt.
During the castle's long time of the castle's existence, legends have emerged. One of them is called the legend of the walled-up knight. According to the legend, the Russian engineer who created the plan of the convention building, in 1785 in the eastern corner of the inner courtyard of the castle in the eastern corner of the castle courtyard. In the middle of this room was a table at which a male skeleton sat in a chair upholstered in leather. When touched, the skeleton, according to legend, collapsed to the floor, but an art teacher at the local school had time to sketch of the discovery. The remains are believed to be those of a knight who was walled up alive alive by order of a bishop during the Reformation. Since the Catholic Saare-Läääne bishop seemed to have submitted to the Protestant vassals, he appealed to the to the Pope of Rome for help. The Pope sent a Spanish inquisitor, a Spaniard by birth, whose steadfastness and faith the vassals decided to test with the help of a blonde girl. And the knight could not resist - he fell in love with the girl. The mystery was soon solved - the girl's hair was shaved off and she was sent for reform to the monastery of Kaarma. The enamoured Spaniard decided to try to save the girl, but the letter, which was hidden in a loaf of bread, as planned, but to the bishop's desk. Since the inquisitor had completely lost his way, it was decided to brick him up alive in the cellar of Kuressaare Castle. To this day, this cellar is remembered as the cellar of the walled-up knight.
There is another legend called "The Lion's Pit". The Long Herman Tower can be accessed by a bridge over an insulated shaft 10 metres deep. From the bridge, you can see the toilets or dansker. In the past, the shaft was also used as a waste disposal well. According to legend has it that the Bishop of Saare-Lääne visited his estates on Saaremaa in spring and autumn. His duties included judicial proceedings. After the judgement was pronounced in the wall of the courtroom, the door of the mine was opened and hungry lions were kept there. That's where the person sentenced to death to death. The lions would carry out the sentence immediately, tearing the condemned man to pieces. To this day, the shaft surrounding the tower of Long Hermann is still called the Lion's Pit. It is believed that Bishop Henrik III was killed during a quarrel with members of the chapter in the castle in 1381.
Nowadays the castle building houses a museum and art gallery, where you can learn about the history of Saaremaa and Kuressaare, as well as the nature of the area. The area of the castle is usually used as an open-air stage.
