The castle in Kętrzyn (Rastenburg) was built in the 14th century as the seat of the Teutonic pfleger (Pfleger zu Rastenburg, provisor in Rastenburg). After the secularization of the Teutonic Order in Prussia, from the 16th century it was the seat of the Prussian ruler’s governors called Hauptmanns (the district captains).
In the hall on the ground floor of the main wing, the width of the castle’s external Gothic walls is clearly visible in the window recesses. The walls are built of stone and fired brick.
The original layout of the rooms and floors has not survived. Subsequently rebuilt and modified several times over the centuries, the castle was adapted for offices and apartments for officials after 1910. In 1945 it was burned down by the Soviets along with other monuments of the Old Town. It was rebuilt in the years 1961-1967, restoring its external Gothic appearance.
Due to the castle’s past fate, almost none of its original interior furnishings survived. The few preserved exceptions include ceramic tiles and slabs, found during archaeological excavations on the castle grounds.