Balga Castle
Balga Castle
The castle of Balga is located on the site where in the III century AD Goths settled, and where in the IV century AD estii built the Honede fortress. The lost wooden structure was located on a vertical cape projecting into the gulf in the east, bounded by the meadows from the north and south, to the west passing into a hill and rising to 25 m above the level of the gulf.
At the beginning of the 13th century the Knights of the Teutonic Knights invaded the land of the Prussians. In 1239, the Crusaders occupied the fortress of Honeda and founded the Order Castle on its ashes giving it the name of Balgea, later Balga. Probably, this name was given because of the multitude of streams and other water sources in the surrounding area, which in German were called balgei. According to other sources, balga means canal, waterway. Perhaps this indicated a strait in Kos, which at that time was opposite the castle.
The Citadel of the Order Castle was originally built from heavy logs and protected from the east by a trench 3 meters deep. Later, in its place, a stone-brick structure was erected. To the west of the castle there was a tower-dancer which provided the sanitary needs of the castle.
In 1242, the castle became the residence of a knight Convent. In 1250 the Order Castle of Balga became the seat of the Comtur. The first one was Brother Matsgoth.
In 1290, when the main construction of Balga was completed in stone, it became one of the strongest and most impressive Order castles. The castle was an irregular hexagon, fitted to the terrain which consisted of three outbuildings located at an obtuse angle to each other. The oldest part is southern, with a beautiful castle chapel; in the north-east there was the hall of the chapter house, in the south-west there was a refectory. The castle had two-nave cellars with granite columns.
On three sides of the castle courtyard there was a massive gallery of columns. From the side of the bay there was a narrow two-storey wing, to which from the north-east the main gate adjoined. Around the castle there was a parkham surrounded by fortified walls. Behind the parkham there was a deep moat separating the main castle from the faubourg which was located concentrically around the castle. In the faubourg there were defensive and watchtowers, guest rooms, warehouses, a hospital, working premises, a smithy, a horse stable, a cattle shed, etc. On the perimeter of the walls there was a gallery with loopholes. Then around the faubourg there was a fortified parkham and a deep moat.
The Order Castle of Balga soon acquired a very great importance and its Komturs occupied the highest Teutonic Order positions.
Defeated in 1410 in the Battle of Grunwald, many castles of Prussia surrendered to the Polish king, except for Balga. Friedrich von Zollern, its new Komtur, refused to recognize himself as a Polish vassal, for which he was later elected the Order Grand Komtur.
In all the repeated uprisings of the Prussian Union of Cities and during the new conflict with Poland in the Thirteen Years' War, the fortress of Balga also stood firmly on the side of the order. In 1457 and in 1518 the fortification of the castle was thoroughly repaired and the moats were considerably deepened.
In 1516, for protection against firearms, the faubourg walls were protected with powerful ramparts which were located behind the fortified faubourg. During the raising banks, a new moat was formed, and as a result, the fortress received a third