Kuressaare - Piiskopilinnus

The island of Saaremaa was conquered in 1227 by the Order of the Brothers of the Sword. It fell under the rule of the Teutonic Order a short time later, after the latter had united with the Order of the Brothers of the Sword.

The present town formed around a bishop's castle. The settlement itself has been documented since 1424. The town grew and flourished around the fortress. It became the see of the Bishopric of Ösel-Wiek.

Johann von Münchhausen, bishop since 1542, converted to Protestantism. With the advance of the troops of Tsar Ivan IV of Russia in the course of the Livonian War, he sold his lands to King Frederick II of Denmark in 1559 and returned to Germany. Frederick sent his brother Magnus to Kuressaare where he was elected bishop the following year. The bishopric was finally secularised in 1572 and Kuressaare fell to the Danish Crown.

In 1645, it passed to Swedish control, but the city was burnt to the ground by Russian troops in 1710 during the Great Northern War and was incorporated into the Russian Empire in 1721.

The earliest mention of the castle dates from the 1380s when the Teutonic Order began its construction for the bishops of Ösel-Wieck (now Saare-Lääne). As the inhabitants of Saaremaa fiercely resisted efforts to Christianise them, the castle was undoubtedly built as part of the Crusaders' efforts to control the island. It was an episcopal fortress from the beginning and remained one of the most important castles of the bishopric until its dissolution during the Livonian War.

In 1559, Denmark-Norway seized control of Saaremaa and the castle. As a result, the fortifications were modernised. In 1645 Saaremaa passed into Swedish hands. The Swedes continued to modernise the fortress until 1706. After the Great Northern War, Saaremaa and Kuressaare Castle became part of the Russian Empire.

In the early 20th century the castle was restored. In 1941, the castle was used as a fortress by the Soviet occupation forces, who executed 90 civilians in the castle courtyard. In the subsequent Nazi invasion and occupation, over 300 people were killed on the castle grounds.

Today the castle houses the Saaremaa Museum.