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Founded: ca. 1400Category: Castles and fortifications in Estonia
Historical period: Danish and Livonian Order (Estonia)
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Laiuse Castle was the first castle in Estonia built to cope with firearms. The oldest part of the castle was probably built in the end of 14th century by the Livonian Order. It was first mentioned in 1406. In 1558 during the Livonian War the castle was conquered by Russian troops and badly damaged. Nonetheless the castle was later still in use both by Polish and Swedish rulers. During the Great Northern War, from 1700 to1701, after the Battle of Narva, the Swedish king Charles XII established his winter quarters here. For five months Laiuse was the administrative center of Swedish Empire.
References:The Church of St Donatus name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the Roman forum. It is the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia.
The beginning of the building of the church was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to have been completed in the 9th century. The Zadar bishop and diplomat Donat (8th and 9th centuries) is credited with the building of the church. He led the representations of the Dalmatian cities to Constantinople and Charles the Great, which is why this church bears slight resemblance to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in Aachen, and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. It belongs to the Pre-Romanesque architectural period.
The circular church, formerly domed, is 27 m high and is characterised by simplicity and technical primitivism.