In 1601 Carl Gyllenhielm, the so-called royal bastard, was brought to Rawa. Gyllenhjelm was captured in Valmiera by Lithuanians of Krzysztof Mikołaj "the Thunderbolt" Radziwiłł and Poles of Jan Zamoyski, during the Polish–Swedish War (1600–11). It is not known how long the Swedish official was kept here. Another famous prisoner of the Rawa Castle was Wawrzyniec Gradowski, a sorcerer and courtier of King Stephen Bathory, who in 1578 tried to poison him. Gradowski was locked in the castle, and died there.