Trakai, Lithuania

Trakai Castle, Lithuania
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Trakai_(7).jpg
Author: Reza1615


Trakai is a lake resort in southeastern Lithuania. Located 28 km to the west of Vilnius, it has a population of around 5,500 people (2011 estimate). The city is surrounded by some 200 lakes, with the deepest being Galvė.

The history of Trakai goes back to 1337, when it was first mentioned by the Germans, as Tracken. The area has been inhabited since the first millennium AD. Legend has it that the settlement was founded by Grand Duke Gediminas in the 13th century, after he discovered in during a hunting expedition. However as the city was first recorded in 1337, that is taken as its official founding date.

Trakai is said to have developed around the Peninsula Castle built by Grand Duke Kęstutis on an island in Lake Galvė. After Vytautas regained Trakai from Grand Duke Jogaila, he turned it into the political and administrative center for the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, although the official capital was Vilnius.

Approaching Trakai Island Castle
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Trakaibro.JPG
Author: Pernilla Larding


Inside Trakai Castle
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Trakai_(5).jpg
Author: Reza1615


The merger of Poland and Lithuania in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth took away Šiauliai's position, and the town began to slip behind in importance. It was plundered and razed during the war between Russia and Poland in 1654 and 1667, and its castle was in ruins. The Great Northern War of 1700-1721 again brought destruction to Trakai, as did the plague that swept Lithuania.

With the Partition of Poland in 1795, Trakai became part of the Russian Empire. Following World War I, it was made part of the Republic of Poland. However, it was soon annexed by the Soviet Union in the Polish Defensive War of 1939, occupied by Nazis during the Second World War, and after the war reverted to the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic. The independence of Lithuania made Trakai part of the newly independent nation.

Church of the Visitation of the Holy Virgin Mary, Trakai
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Trakai_Church.jpg
Author: Julius

Visiting Trakai

There are trains and buses to Trakai from Vilnius. The journey takes less than an hour.

Places of Interest in Trakai

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