Lauken Castle

Lauken Castle (Lauken) is a castle in the village of Saranskoye, Kaliningrad Oblast. Other names of the castle: Laukishken (Laukischken), Bieberstein (Bieberstein), Friedrichsburg (Friedrichsburg).

It is first mentioned in 1258 as the locality Lovke after the division of Samland between the Order and the bishop; the fortress itself was built later. The Order’s fortress Lauken was probably founded around 1260 or immediately after the second Prussian uprising around 1270. From 1270, Lauken fortress served as a bridgehead on the bank of the Laba (now the Deima River) for the Order’s advance into Nadrovia. Apparently, at the initial stage of the conquest of Nadrovia, the fortress played a more important role than Labiau, and therefore by 1327 it had been rebuilt in stone. From 1390, it housed the chamberlain (treasurer).

The castle is mentioned in 1466 in the documents of the Second Peace of Toruń and the Kraków treaty of 1525. After the church reform of 1525, during the time of Duke Albrecht, the castle was converted into a hunting lodge.

From 1581 to 1584, by order of Duke Georg Friedrich, the castle was rebuilt by architect Blasius Berwart. The architect completely reconstructed the building, turning it into a palace. The house was named Friedrichsburg. Soon after the reconstruction, the duke gave an audience to the Swedish envoy at the castle. Currently, Lauken Castle is a nearly rectangular two-story building with a basement, mansard roof, and attic. On the southern facade, there is a single-story entrance group in the center, flanked by two-story risalits. To the south, adjoining the facade, is a rectangular high earthen platform bounded by a retaining wall, in the western facade of which there is a staircase with intermediate landings and L-shaped flights in two directions. On the western facade, at the levels of the basement and first floor, there is a polygonal corner risalit; at the levels of the second floor and mansard, there is a built-in half-tower. The eastern facade features a polygonal risalit. The northern facade has a rectangular side risalit.

In Lauken, Johann Sigismund in 1595, still a young man at the time, established a residence for hunting. In these areas lived the European bison, a very rare wild animal in Europe, preserved by that time only in Prussia. In subsequent years, the castle became a knight’s estate and was repeatedly rebuilt.

In 1826-29, Giese reported that only the foundation (walls made of boulders) with several cellars remained of the fortress. The outer bailey was on the southern side, surrounded by water.

At the end of the 19th century, Lauken became the property of the von Bieberstein family. The last owner of the castle was Ludwig Meilender Rogalla von Bieberstein, imprisoned as an opponent of the Nazi regime and found hanged in his cell in 1940.

After the end of World War II, the castle was in good condition. In the post-war years, the building began to be used as a school. Another building was added on the northern side. The building has remained in this form until the beginning of the 21st century. The cellars from the Order’s times have been preserved.

Sources:

https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lauken_Castle

https://www.prussia39.ru/sight/index.php?sid=349

https://apb-to.jimdofree.com/teutonic-order/laukischken/