The infobox lists Grand Duke Algirdas as builder, and the body text says only that he likely built it. The castle is first mentioned in 1311 and was probably timber at first. The present brick and stone castle is dated to the late 14th century, though the introduction says the first half of the century. It is Brick Gothic, using fieldstone and brick, on a rectangular plan on flat ground. Walls are about 49 feet (15 m) high and 6.5 feet (2 m) thick, and the donjon is about 98 feet (30 m) tall. The defensive perimeter covers 6.5 hectares.
The Teutonic Knights burned it in 1402, and fires led to its abandonment in the 15th and 16th centuries. Conservation ran in 1961 to 1963, and the donjon was reconstructed from 1994 to 2000.
It is a national cultural monument since 1998 and a museum.
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