Top 15 Castles to Visit in Russia

Top 15 castles to visit in Russia

Russia has always been known to set high standards in just about everything from a unique and unmatched natural scenery that can only be best described as a snowy wonderland to its rich and divers history with glorious wars and edgy revolutions.

The snowy wonderland offers one of the most impressive castle architecture with their famous domes, odd moat and common drawbridge. This medieval castles gives you the opportunity to walk the same path as Russia’s victorious kings, powerful queens and people who shaped the political scene in Russia. Here are the top 15 castles that deserve your attention while in Russia.

1. Novgorod Detinets

Novgorod Detinets – Wikipedia

The Novgorod Detinets is one of Russia’s oldest Kremlin originally built in the 9^th century by Prince Yaroslav. Located on the West Bank of the Volkhov River. It was the seat of power from the 11^th to 15^th century before the Moscow Kremlin overshadowed it. In the 14^th century it was rebuilt with brick to what it is today.

Today this heavily fortified tower is a cultural and tourist center that is surrounded by an enchanting woodland. It houses the Cathedral of the Holy Wisdom with its silver domes, the Novgorod State United Museum and the Millennium of Russian monument. From its 41 m high watch tower, called Kokuy towerat, you get an amazing aerial view of the surrounding and the meandering Volkhov below.

2. The Kremlin, Moscow

Moscow Grand Kremlin Palace – Wikipedia

It is the most famous castle in Russia providing the most stunning sight especially during the night when it is lit up above the banks of the Moskva River. The fortified complex is one of the largest in the whole country housing five palaces, four cathedrals and the magnificent Kremlin Palace itself.

Originally the Tsar’s Moscow residence today the complex serves as the official residence of the President and a museum. From the palace you get an aerial view of the meandering Moskva River to the south, Saint Basil’s Cathedral and the famous Red Square to the east and the Alexander garden to the West.

3. Vorontsovsky Palace

Alupka Castle – Wikipedia

It often referred to as the Alupka Palace and considered the most attractive castle in the world. Winston Churchill best describes its beauty “The setting of our abode was impressive … Behind the villa, half Gothic and half Moorish in style, rose the mountains, covered in snow, culminating in the highest peak in the Crimea. Before us lay the dark expanse of the Black Sea, severe, but still agreeable and warm even at this time of the year. Carved white lions guarded the entrance to the house, and beyond the courtyard lay a fine park with sub-tropical plants and cypresses.”

The palace was built between 1828 and 1848 at the foot of the Crimean Mountain as the personal summer residence for Prince Mikhail Semyonovich. It was designed by English architect Edward Blore and his assistant William Hunt in a mishmash of styles that can be best described as the East meets the West at a cost of nine million silver roubles.

4. Balga, Kaliningrad Oblast

Balga Castle – Wikipedia

Balga was a medieval castle that was at the forefront of one of the greatest battles in World War II. Today it is a relic of its past glory with many of its ruins located at the shore of the Vistula Lagoon. The remaining standing walls feature some of the most impressive architecture by the Teutonic masons. It is one of the oldest Teutonic structures in the region.

The hill of Balga was originally the site of an Old Prussian Fortress, called Honeda, before it was seized besieged by the Wetting margrave Henry III of Meissen on his 1237 Prussian Crusade. In 1239, it was again conquered by the forces of the Teutonic Order who built the current fortress to control naval traffic on the Vistula Lagoon.

5. Kerch Fortress

Kerch Fortress- Wikipedia

It features some of the best defensive architectural designs that have enabled the fortress to stand the test of time and retain more or less its initial architectural structure despite defending Russia, successfully, against its enemies, time after time. Today it is a symbol of the glorious times of Imperialist Russia.

Located on Cape Ak-Burun, in English “White Cape” in eastern Crimea at the narrowest point of the Kerch Strait. This currently sprawling demilitarized fortress was built in the 19^th century to protect the southern border of the Russian Empire.

6. Meyendorff Castle

Meyendorff Castle – Wikipedia

This palace is associated with very many great people who have lived there and very many great architectures who have contributed to its style. The castle resembles the set of fairy tale movie has been able to prove one of the oldest sayings, “make cooks spoil the broth” wrong. Despite being associated with very many architects from different eras the castle is magnificent.

Originally the castle-style was old French architecture and was the residence of the Meyendroff family. After the break of the Great War, the family abandoned the castle. Later it was occupied by state dignitaries such as Soviet leader Joseph Stalin who used it as state dacha.

7. Ivangorod Fortress, Leningrad

Ivangorod Fortress – Wikipedia

The medieval border fortress between Russia and Estonia is a well-preserved castle that provides a stunning view of the Narva River and the Narva fortress. It has a museum that exhibits restored antique builds, models and paintings that tell the whole story of Ivangorod from local history to tradition.

Ivangorod castle was built in 1942 along the Narva River by Ivan III to act as a soldier barrier against the Teutonic Order and to reaffirm Muscovy’s right to access the Baltic Sea. The fortress slowly grew from a simple village of soldiers to what it is today.

8. Gatchina Palace

Gatchina Palace – Wikipedia

From the outside, the castle looks like a military institution due to its simple medieval architecture style however the interior was redone in the Neoclassical style that will definitely leave you speechless. To add to the beauty of the palace is a picturesque landscape park next to the enchanting Lake Serebryany. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1990.

The palace was built around 1766 to 1781 by architect Antonio Rinaldi on a hill in central Gatchina, a suburb of the royal capital Saint Petersburg. Catherine the Great commissioned the construction of this palace for one of her favorite subjects, Count Grigori Grigoryevich Orlov.  It was rumored that Grigori had organized the assassination of Tsar Peter III resulting in Catherine becoming the empress.

Impressed by the palace and its surround park, Catherine the great purchased the palace from Grigori’s heirs and presented it to his son, Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich. The palace was inherited from one Tsar family member to another until the revolution. In 1917, it was removed from the family and turned to the current museum we have today.

9. Vyborg Castle

Vyborg Castle – Wikipedia

Before getting started on the castle it is important to know that Vyborg town was initially considered to be in Finland however, today the town is in Russia. This Swedish-built fortress dating back to the 13^th century. It was built as the easternmost garrison of the medieval kingdom of Sweden by command of Torkel Knutsson, Lord High Constable of Sweden. The castle is one of the three major castles of Finland.

This castle that was built by the Swedish when they first seized Karelia from Novgorod today serves as a museum on local history and you can partake in various activities such as; try your hands on Medieval building techniques or try out a locally handmade knights attire in the knights’ chamber. The main attraction is climbing the whitewashed steps of St. Olaf’s Tower where you get a stunning view of the surrounding.

10. Georgenburg, Kaliningrad

Georgenburg Palace 1860 – Wikipedia

The castle is located in Georgenburg, in Chernyakhovsky District of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia. Prior to 1945 Georgenburg. The German name was known Mayovka, Russian name. It is one of the best-preserved fortresses in the country, retaining more than most of the medieval technological advancements it was initially equipped with.

It is a medieval Teutonic castle founded around the Ordensbug fortress. The town grew around the fortress and today it is famous from a local stable for the Trakehner horse breed.

11. Astrakhan Kremlin

Astrakhan – Kremlin – Wikipedia

Today the castle hosts the Astrakhan State United Historical and Architectural Museum-Reserve which comprises 5 historical building; Krasnye Vorota tower, an artillery yard with a gunpowder store from the 16^th century, a Torture Tower also from the 16^th century, expositions of Guardhouse and Arsenal.

During the reign of Ivan the Terrible the wooden Kremlin was built as an outpost in the southeastern frontier in 1558. In the 1680s stone walls and eight towers replaced the wooden structure. The castle forms an improperly-shaped triangle due to its landscape.

12. Peterhof Palace

Peterhof Palace, – Wikipedia

The Peterhof Palace was built by Peter the Great in response to Louis XIV’s construction of Versailles to symbolize Russia’s imperial power. That is why the palace is sometimes referred to as “Russian Versailles.” It is located just outside of St. Petersburg and was used as a summer residence by Peter the Great.

Peter the Great was able to achieve his mission as the castle is stunning on the outside with its bright yellow façade and its interior adorned with brightly colored halls such as the White Dining Room and Blue Reception Room. Hence, it is declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Today the castle is a historical and art museum displaying the personal belongings of Peter the Great, one of the most important figures in Russian.

13. Catherine Palace

Catherine Palace – Wikipedia

This architectural masterpiece is a must-see with its blue and white façade that is perfectly adorned with Atlantes figures, caryatids and lion masks and golden mouldings. The interior of the castle is not left behind when it comes to its beauty and splendor. The Amber Cabinet, the most famous room, is decorated in amber panels with golden leaves and mirrors.

Catherine Palace has more than 300-year history and was the imperial residence of Empress Catherine. It is located 25 km south of St. Petersburg in the town of Pushkin and is surrounded by a massive lovely garden on all sides.

14. Peter and Paul Fortress

Peter and Paul Fortress – Wikipedia

Undoubtedly one of the most theatrical Fortress in Russia starting with its location on the spit of Vasilevskiy Island at the confluence of St. Petersburg’s two great rivers and its Domenico Trezzini’s design that includes a base of two connected starts. Today it is the central and most important part of the State Museum of Saint Petersburg History.

This pompous Castle was commissioned in the early 18^th century by Peter the Great in order to protect the projected capital from a feared Swedish attack. From around 1720, the fort served as the city garrison and as a prison as well for the high-ranking or political prisoners.

15. Winter Castle

The Winter Palace – Flickr

Legend has it that the Palace’s façade keeps changing color throughout history from its original warm yellow to a red brick color during the reign of Emperor Nicholas II. Today the castle is painted in an emerald-blue, white and golden colors.

The palace was the official royal residence for the Russian Tsars from 1732. Today the Winter Castle is one of the six buildings that house the Russian State Hermitage Museum. The museum boasts of having the largest collection of paintings in the world.