Russia · 16th century
Round Tower (Russian: Круглая башня, Finnish: Pyöreä torni, Swedish: Runda tornet) is a fortification at the market square of Vyborg. It was built in 1547–1550 by the order of Gustav I of Sweden as a part of the medieval town wall. Today it serves as a restaurant and is one of the most popular sights in Vyborg.
Round Tower was originally an arsenal. It was later used as a prison called "The Mutton Prison", a warehouse and since 1861 by the city magistrate. In 1938, as Vyborg was part of Finland, the tower was renovated for restaurant use after the design of architect Uno Ullberg. Tower's diameter is approximately 21 meters (69 feet).
Text adapted from “Round Tower (Vyborg)” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Round Tower ranks #1,949 of 9,079 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #62 of the 146 mapped in Russia. Founded 1547, it is older than 39% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 891 atlas entries founded in the 16th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 3,308 times in the last 60 days, more than 80% of the atlas. 3 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. See how Russia compares in the castle statistics.
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