Sights in Trakai
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Island Castle
The centrepiece of Trakai is its picture-postcard Island Castle atop an island on Lake Galvė. The painstakingly restored red-brick Gothic castle probably dates from around 1400, when Vytautas needed stronger defences than the peninsula castle afforded.
A footbridge links it to the shore and a moat separates the triangular outer courtyard moat from the main tower with its cavernous central court and a range of galleries, halls and rooms. Some house the Trakai History Museum, which charts the history of the castle.
The castle's prominence as a holy site is reflected in its collection of religious art. In summer the castle courtyard is a magical stage for concerts and plays.
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Karaites Ethnographic Museum
The peninsula itself is dotted with old wooden cottages, many built by the Karaites, a Judaic sect and Turkic minority originating in Baghdad, which adheres to the Law of Moses. Their descendants - some 380 families - were brought to Trakai from the Crimea around 1400 to serve as bodyguards.
Only 12 families (60 Karaites) live in Trakai and their numbers - 280 in Lithuania - are dwindling rapidly, prompting fears that the country's smallest ethnic minority is dying out. The Karaites Ethnographic Museum traces their ancestry. Their beautifully restored early-19th-century Kenessa can be visited.
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Collection of Religious Art at Island Castle
Island Castle - Collection of Religious Art The centrepiece of Trakai is its picture-postcard Island Castle atop an island on Lake Galvė. The painstakingly restored red-brick Gothic castle probably dates from around 1400, when Vytautas needed stronger defences than the peninsula castle afforded.
A footbridge links it to the shore and a moat separates the triangular outer courtyard moat from the main tower with its cavernous central court and a range of galleries, halls and rooms. The castle's prominence as a holy site is reflected in its collection of religious art.
reviewed
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Kenessa
The peninsula itself is dotted with old wooden cottages, many built by the Karaites, a Judaic sect and Turkic minority originating in Baghdad, which adheres to the Law of Moses.
Their descendants - some 380 families - were brought to Trakai from the Crimea around 1400 to serve as bodyguards. Only 12 families (60 Karaites) live in Trakai and their numbers - 280 in Lithuania - are dwindling rapidly, prompting fears that the country's smallest ethnic minority is dying out. Their beautifully restored early-19th-century Kenessa can be visited.
reviewed
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Trakai History Museum at Island Castle
The centrepiece of Trakai is its picture-postcard Island Castle atop an island on Lake Galvė. The painstakingly restored red-brick Gothic castle probably dates from around 1400, when Vytautas needed stronger defences than the peninsula castle afforded.
A footbridge links it to the shore and a moat separates the triangular outer courtyard moat from the main tower with its cavernous central court and a range of galleries, halls and rooms. Some house the Trakai History Museum, which charts the history of the castle.
reviewed
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Peninsula Castle
The ruins of Trakai's Peninsula Castle, built from 1362 to 1382 by Kęstutis and destroyed in the 17th century, are at the north end of town.
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Trakai Historical National Park
Trakai is protected by the Trakai Historical National Park, spanning 80 sq km, since 1991.
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