The Teutonic Order began building the castle in the 1380s for the bishops of Ösel-Wiek, though the article says it may be earlier, and some sources claim the first castle was wooden. The style is Late Gothic, marked by simplicity of form. The central convent building is square around a courtyard, with a cloister linking the refectory, dormitory, chapel and bishop's quarters.
A 2,051-foot (625 m) wall was built around the castle in the late 14th and early 15th centuries, and a defense tower rises 121 feet (37 m) at the northern corner. Erik Dahlbergh designed the Vauban-type fortress, whose bastions and ravelins are largely intact.
Karl Rudolf Hermann Seuberlich and Wilhelm Neumann restored the castle from 1904 to 1912, and Kalvi Aluve in 1968. It houses the Saaremaa Museum.
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