Schaaken Castle

Schaaken Castle, a ruined fortress in Nekrasovo, Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia (formerly Liska-Schaaken in East Prussia), was originally constructed for the Teutonic Knights. Heavily modified during the 1800s, it has fallen into ruin since the Second World War.

The earliest record of a stronghold at this location appears in the Teutonic Knights' chronicle from 1258. Around 1270, the order built its first castle there, atop an ancient Prussian fort and trading post named Shoken—meaning "grass" or "grassland" in Old Prussian. This walled enclosure was octagonal, matching the shape of the earlier earthen fort, and featured two outer baileys. The castle belonged to the Bishop of Samland. The initial structure was wooden; a stone rebuild began in 1328. In 1525, when the Teutonic Order’s lands were secularized, it became a ducal residence. A fire destroyed the castle in 1606, leading to a partial reconstruction.

Peter the Great visited Schaaken Castle three times. During the Seven Years' War, the castle was occupied by Russian forces, but contrary to some claims, Alexander Suvorov—then a junior officer—did not command from here. In the early 1800s, the residential building was remodeled in a Romantic Gothic style, gaining a new roof and slender corner towers, while the kitchen building, underground vaults, and stone ring wall stayed largely as they were.

By World War II, the castle and 600 hectares of land operated as a family farm. The Red Army captured it in January 1945, and the farm was later turned into a kolkhoz. The castle also briefly housed a children's home. Since 1975, it has been a ruin. A German and a Russian association formed to stabilize and reconstruct it, proposing uses like a German-Russian friendship center or a museum of 13th-century architecture. In 2002, Kaliningrad architect Yuri Sabuga examined the site and concluded it could be saved. Some repairs followed, and a small medieval museum and a horse ring were established. A fire in March 2012 damaged the museum.