Stenberga Castle

About

Stenberga Castle (also known as Teinperi) was a small medieval castle in Masku, Finland. It was originally built of gray stone, consisting of two towers with outer dimensions of 13 by 13 metres (43 by 43 ft) and 9 by 7 metres (30 by 23 ft), respectively. The castle walls were 2 metres (7 ft) thick.

In a later phase, bricks were also used in the construction. The castle was on a steep rock, presumably an island back then, by the sea near the mouth of Hirvijoki River, flowing from Nousiainen. Due to the post-glacial rebound, the location is now almost 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) from the coastline.

Very little remains of the castle. Excavations have not been carried out on the site since the early 20th century, which has given room to dispute the castle's age. Some historians see it as a 14th-century construction, while others date it to the late 12th century, when King Canute built similar-looking small defensive castles in various parts of Sweden.

According to more or less vague chronicles, Finland seems to have been under special military attention by Danish, Swedish and Russian forces in the 1190s, thus giving the possible context for the construction of the castle. Historian Ericus Olai...