The Nun's Chapel

This room with its stellar-vaulted ceiling was built in the 1480s, likely for the lord of the castle to use as a banquet hall. The shape of the vaults suggests that their constructors came from Central Europe or the Baltic region. In the Middle Ages, warm air from a central furnace below the room flowed through hatches to heat the space. The hatches were located where there is a wooden covering in the current floor.

In the autumn of 1562, Duke John was wedded to the princess of Poland, Catherine Jagiellon, in Vilnius. Princess Catherine, Duchess of Finland, arrived at her new home on Christmas eve of the same year. According to her marriage contract, she could keep practising Catholicism, and this vaulted room became Catherine Jagiellon’s place of worship. Along with the Duchess, three Catholic priests also arrived from Poland. After the Reformation, Catholic churches were known as monk churches. The name "The Nun's Chapel" refers to Catherine Jagiellon herself, since no nuns ever lived in the castle.

As far as is known, the room was not used for religious purposes after Catherine's time. The Nun's Chapel was known in the 17th century as "the big, vaulted flour pantry", since it served as a storage place for sacks of flour at the time. The room's original vaulted ceilings were demolished in the 18th century when the space was converted into an artillery stores room. During the restoration of the castle in the 1950s, the roof was restored to its original state, thanks to there being sufficient surviving remains of the medieval roof structure.

Today, the Nun's Chapel displays medieval statues, portraying saints of the Catholic era. The oldest wooden statues originate from the 13th century, and the newest ones from the early 16th century.