Vyborg Castle

Vyborg Castle (Выборгский замок; Viipurin linna; Viborgs slott) is a fortress in Vyborg, Russia. It was built by the Swedes during the Middle Ages around which the town of Vyborg evolved. The castle became the stronghold of the Swedish realm in the Karelian region. Throughout the centuries, it was the first defence of the kingdom against the Russians. Its military and strategic status in the late Middle Ages was second only to the fortified capital Stockholm. Currently it serves as the site of Vyborg Regional Museum. Vyborg Castle was one of the three major castles of Finland, the three being the castles of Turku (Åbo in Swedish) and Hämeenlinna (Tavastehus), and Vyborg (Viborg). It was built as the easternmost outpost of the medieval Kingdom of Sweden: it is located on the Karelian Isthmus, on a little islet in the innermost corner of the Gulf of Finland, in a tight strait which connects Zashchitnaya Bay to Vyborg Bay. It was originally constructed in the 1290s on the site of Karelian fortress after the Third Swedish Crusade to Finland. The town was originally located inside the outer fortifications of the castle, at the fortress island, but it had to be moved to its present location off of the island because of lack of space. Excavations in 1980s indicated that a Karelian fortress pre-dated the castle built by the Swedes in 1293. The oldest layers of occupation have been discovered in the so-called Smith's Courtyard. A man-made breastwork of sand with timber posts was found from this area. Also charred remains of buildings, which some were linked to the breastwork, were also found. Tjulenev suggests that the Karelian fort had a wooden tower. Tjulanev's several finds from the area include a bent sword which was dated to the period between 1130 and 1200. Construction of the next phase of the fortress started in 1293 by orders of Torkel Knutsson, Lord High Constable of Sweden, who in the 1290s made a supposed crusade against Karelia, the Third Swedish Crusade. The crusade was part of the ongoing Swedish–Novgorodian Wars, against the Russians of the Novgorod Republic.