The article calls the founder uncertain, suggesting either Hermann of Dorpat with the Livonian Brothers of the Sword, or Bo Jonsson Grip. It was built in the 1370s, with the first phase thought complete between 1373 and 1378 and the first written record in 1378. The castle was meant to protect Swedish interests in southern Finland against the Hanseatic city of Tallinn. The plan resembles a capital D, with a thick round donjon at one corner, a keep on the straight side and a central inner bailey. Two outer baileys were formed by outer walls.
It stood on a small island, but land uplift lowered the sea level and made boat access harder. It was abandoned in 1553, three years after Helsinki was founded. Restoration began in the 1890s.
The ruins are open in summer, and the Raseborg Summer Theatre has staged plays nearby each July since 1966.
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