Vyborg Castle
Photo: Ludvig14, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
A Swedish castle on an island with St. Olaf's Tower.
Vyborg Castle was founded by the Swedes in 1293 during a crusade into Karelian lands. Excavations have shown that there was previously a Karelian fortification on this island, which the Swedes destroyed. In the center they erected a powerful square tower and named it after the Norwegian king Olaf the Holy, the baptizer of Scandinavia. Until the 17th century the castle was the residence of Swedish governors. The island is quite small — 170 by 120 meters. It is one of the few monuments of Western European medieval military architecture in Russia.
Tip: Climb St. Olaf's Tower: from there you can see all of Vyborg and the bay. The staircase is narrow and steep.
Walks in Peterhof / Day trips
🏰 Vyborg: a medieval castle and a rocky park
The most 'European' town in the region: a Swedish castle, the narrow streets of the old town and the cliffs of Monrepos.