 Varbola ruins | |
  Location of the site in Estonia | |
| Location | Rapla County, Estonia |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 59°02′23.9″N 24°30′37.67″E / 59.039972°N 24.5104639°E |
| Site notes | |
| Condition | In ruins |
The Varbola Stronghold (Latin: Castrum Warbole,[1] Estonian: Varbola Jaanilinn) was the largest circular rampart fortress and trading centre built in Estonia, in Harju County (Latin: Harria) in the 10th – 12th centuries. Parts of the ruins of the 580-metre (1,900 ft) long and 8-to-10-metre (26 to 33 ft) high [2] limestone wall of the fortress stand to this day. The long gateways with multiple gates were built to defend the entrances. In these sections higher defensive towers were erected. There was a 13-metre (43 ft) deep well in the middle of the fortress and the territory held about 90 structures with furnaces for accommodation built with limestone floors and foundations.[3]
- ^ Scriptores Rerum Livonicarum; Published 1853; p. 162
- ^ Mati Laur (2000). History of Estonia. Avita. ISBN 978-9985-2-0324-8.
- ^ (in Estonian)Varbola at guide to Estonia