Rakvere

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Rakvere Castle

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fizzytom
fizzytom
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3 out of 5
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Rakvere Castle - You'll Be Scared Silly!

  • October 30, 2008
  • Rated 3 of 5 by fizzytom from Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
Rakvere Castle - You'll Be Scared Silly!

Although our guidebook told us the castle was not open that September day (there is limited opening during the off season) the tourist information staff informed us that the castle was fully open.
As one would expect, the castle sits above the town on a high plateau – Vallimägi - that is worth the climb for the views alone. The short route is a challenging walk so people with children might want to take the route by road instead.

This castle dates from the fourteenth century when it was built by the Danish. In the centuries since then it has been under the command of the Danes, the Russians, the Swedes and the Poles. Various battles did damage to the castle but reconstruction was completed in 2004 and the castle is now undoubtedly Rakvere's main attraction.

In actual fact we had been misinformed, the castle was not fully open as some of the more family oriented activities do not take place in the off season. This did not concern us however but I would recommend that families visit in summer to enjoy all the activities. The idea is to demonstrate what went on in this kind of castle in medieval times so there are demonstrations of coin minting, a blacksmith's forge, archery and candle-making, all hands on so that children can have a go at everything.

We toured most of the castle independently although there were several "costumed" staff available for tours if required; a brief leaflet does well at explaining what there is to see. As well as the outdoor "sideshows" there are plenty of hands on things inside the castle buildings too. You are allowed – and encouraged – to try on replica helmets and brandish replica swords – they are still heavy and dangerous though so do take care with children (and big kids at heart too)

One room documents the history of the castle with some worthwhile diagrams and exhibits, other rooms are either empty (though interesting to see) or house more money making opportunities such as the original wine cellar (where tasting now take place) and the Schenkenburg in where you can enjoy a spot of lunch. We didn’t but it did smell very good.

The rather makeshift "Chamber of Horrors" is not to be missed but you need to be escorted through this part of the castle. A young man with good English but not so clued up on British humour led us round the chamber of horrors and gave a memorable commentary. Young children might be alarmed by this but older children will love it. The third room "hell" is funny more than horrific but it will probably be the highlight of your trip.

As we didn’t have a fully guided tour we felt we didn’t learn much about Rakvere Castle but we did have a lot of fun. We paid 60 EEK (the child admission price is 40 EEK). Visit the website at the address below for full details of prices for groups and the additional charges for different activities.

http://www.svm.ee/index.php?objectID=2

Open 01.05 – 30.09
11.00– 19.00
(contact by telephone to arrange a visit outside of the summer months)

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