Viljandi castle (Estonian: Viljandi ordulinnus, German: Ordensburg Fellin) of Teutonic Order, construction of which started 1224 in place of a former hillfort, was one of the strongest castles in Livonia. Finally destroyed in the Polish-Swedish wars in early 17th century, ruins of it now form a popular resort area in Viljandi, Estonia.
Famous quotes containing the word castle:
“If, in looking at the lives of princes, courtiers, men of rank and fashion, we must perforce depict them as idle, profligate, and criminal, we must make allowances for the rich men’s failings, and recollect that we, too, were very likely indolent and voluptuous, had we no motive for work, a mortal’s natural taste for pleasure, and the daily temptation of a large income. What could a great peer, with a great castle and park, and a great fortune, do but be splendid and idle?”
—William Makepeace Thackeray (1811–1863)