The article says the castle is generally considered 13th century, and ties it traditionally to Birger Jarl's Second Swedish Crusade. It calls that dating contested, since no finds can be firmly dated before the 1320s. A 1308 document and a 1311 chronicle may refer to Hakoinen castle, about 20 kilometers away.
It has a central keep, curtain walls and a moat. The lower tiers are masoned granite, and the upper tiers are red brick. The keep once had five turrets, and two remain visible. The castle was originally on an island and now sits on the shore of Vanajavesi.
It served as a prison after the Finnish War until 1953. Restoration ran from 1953 to 1988, and the Finnish National Board of Antiquities runs it as a museum.

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