The reconstruction of the first floor of the Kuressaare bishop’s castle has been completed and an elevator has also been installed in the medieval castle. During the renovation works, the castle walls revealed a well that had remained hidden until now.
If the former master builders who built Kuressaare’s bishop’s castle centuries ago could come and see their work now, they would be a little shocked. For example, many wooden doors are now transparent and open with the help of technology. However, some wooden doors are now made of copper. From now on you will be able to see lions even in the lion’s den, and soon you will be able to move around the walls with a modern elevator.
According to the museum managers, with the reconstruction work the first floor of the fortress has become a modern museum.
“The aim is to ensure, for the first time in the museum’s history, better access for people with reduced mobility. This has never happened before,” said Olari Vainokivi, director of the Saaremaa Museum.
“It was of course subjected to a very serious examination and during the entire construction process it was monitored that both materials and technologies meet all heritage protection requirements,” he added.
Although the castle has survived for centuries, it still manages to surprise even historians with its secrets. No one had any idea before that there was a well hidden in the castle walls.
“It’s still a completely authentic medieval thing, and we had no idea. These kind of wells are not known anywhere else, they are completely embedded in the wall. /…/ This water is completely genuine, genuine Saaremaa water ,” said Tõnu Sepp, project manager of the Saaremaa Museum.
And if these dignified castle walls could still surprise, the surprises were now also left to future generations. During the renovation work, for example, more than four kilometers of electrical cables were hidden in the walls of the first floor.
2024-01-28 19:25:00
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