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Founded during the fourteenth century and the site of two medieval castles, lakeside TRAKAI , 25km west of Vilnius, is the former capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The town's island castle, which was built by Grand Duke Vytautas, under whom Lithuania reached the pinnacle of its power during the fifteenth century, is one of Lithuania's most famous monuments, though for many Vilnius inhabitants boating and swimming in the town's lakes is as much of an attraction as reminders of past glories. Trakai stands on a peninsula jutting out between two lakes. From the train and bus stations follow Vytauto gatve to reach the main sights. After about 500m turn right down Kestuaio gatve to the remains of the Peninsula Castle , thought to have been built by Duke Kestutis, son of Gediminas and father of Vytautas. These days only the walls and a couple of towers remain. Trakai is home to the Karaites , members of a Judaic sect whose ancestors were brought here from the Crimea by Grand Duke Vytautas to serve him as bodyguards, and whose distinctive wooden cottages line Karaimu gatve, the northern continuation of Vytauto gatve. Around two hundred inhabitants of Trakai are Karaites; Lithuania's smallest ethnic minority, they recognize only the laws of the Old Testament. Down the street at no. 30 is their wooden Kenessa , or prayer house, built in the early nineteenth century. A hundred metres or so beyond the Kenessa two wooden footbridges lead to the Island Castle , a cluster of red-brick towers built around 1400 on a small offshore island by Grand Duke Vytautas to provide stronger defences than those of the peninsula castle. Though it fell into ruin from the seventeenth century, a 1960s restoration has returned it to its former glory, and it now houses a museum (Tues-Sun: May-Sept 10am-7pm; Oct-April 10am-5pm; 7Lt). The main tower , built around a galleried courtyard, is separated from the outer buildings by a moat - you cross a footbridge to enter. Within are exhibits covering the history of the castle, plus examples of medieval weaponry and wooden carvings. Captions are in Lithuanian. The castle's outer buildings contain further exhibits, mostly furniture, including a bizarre table-and-chair set made from antlers in the "Hunters' Room". Some captions in this section are in English and German. Trakai's main culinary claim to fame is the kibinas , a Cornish-pasty-like creation filled with grey meat that unleashes a deadly drip of hot fat after a few bites. Buy it from the cafes clustered around the footbridge leading to the Island Castle, or from Kibinine , a homely shack about 1km further on along Karaimu.
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