The story goes that the second wife of Duke Kęstutis, Birutė came from the Curonian coast and therefore did not want to live in Vilnius which was far from the sea. To make up for it, the Duke built the island castle at Trakai.

There’s another castle on the peninsula built around the same time, and an older castle at Trakai which was destroyed by the Teutonic Order.

Trakai has a significant Karaim minority. They are a Turkic people that speak a Kipchak language, but practice a form of Judaism.

Their traditional houses have three windows facing the street, but the entrance is on the side or back.