Cēsis castle ( Latvian Cēsu pils ), known as Venden Castle ( German Ordensburg Wenden ) - the largest and best preserved order castle in Latvia , located 90 km northeast of Riga above the Gauja river. Near the castle arose the modern city of Cesis . The castle acquired the current appearance of the West European castell in the 15th century .
| Castle | |
| Cesis castle | |
|---|---|
 | |
| A country |  Latvia |
| City | Cesis |
| Founder | Vinno von Rohrbach |
| Established | 1209 year |
| Status | partially destroyed |
| condition | is being restored |
History
Wenden was first mentioned in the Livonian Chronicle as a castle founded by the Swordsmen under the master of Vinno von Rohrbach . For a long time there was a belief that it was in this castle that von Rohrbach died at the hands of one of the order brothers. So, Marlinsky in the novel "Wenden Castle" (1821) writes:
“Vinno von Rohrbach, the first master of the sword-bearing order, built Wenden, the first castle in Livonia. Admiring his stately walls, he did not think that they would soon turn into his coffin ... "
Russian chronicles mention that already in 1221 the Novgorodians burned the village of Kes under the canopy of the castle. After the abolition of the Order of the Sword-Bearers (1237), the Venden Castle, located at the crossroads between Riga , Derpt and Pskov , attracted the attention of the first Landmaster of the Livonian Order German von Balk , who made it his residence; as a result, the lands stretching between Memel and Narva were ruled for a long time from Wenden.
In 1261, the Grand Duke of Lithuania Mindovg went on a campaign against Wenden.
The golden age of the castle falls on the reign of Magister Walter von Pletenberg (1494-1535), who built round towers for artillery to the castle, created a network of forburgs , minted a coin in its walls. This master, like some of his predecessors, was buried in the city church of St. John (end of the 13th century ).
Every year in the castle gathered the order general chapter . In 1566, Jan Khodkevich convened a landtag in the castle, which abolished the Riga Archbishopric and approved the subordination of the right-bank part of the former Livonia to Lithuania .
During the battle of Wenden (1577), the castle was shelled by the Russian army under the personal leadership of Ivan the Terrible and received severe damage.
In the XVII century, the castle was restored and strengthened by its new owners - the Swedes, until the destruction of the Polish-Swedish wars and the Northern War brought it into complete disrepair.
During the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna, the castle became the estate of Chancellor Bestuzhev , but in 1748 it burned down and was abandoned for a long time. He was brought back to life in 1777 by Baron Sievers - the Lademaher tower was built on, and the New Castle was built on the site of the adjoining forburg. "New Castle" is a two-story palace with an attic , which in the era of Romanticism was built on "in the Gothic style ." At the estate, the Orthodox Church of the Savior was built.
Restoration work in the castle was carried out in 1912-1914, 1937, 1952-1962. After Latvia gained independence, the order castle in Cesis was restored among the first.
Literature
- Anspak A. Cesis: A Guide to the City and Its Environs / Per. L. Kahan; Hood. G. Kirke. - Riga: Latvian state. Publishing House, 1960 .-- 204 p. - 3000 copies. (in per.)
- D. Vasmanis . Cēsu pils: tās saimnieki un iemītnieki gadsimtu gaitā (“Cesis castle: its masters and inhabitants during the centuries”). - Cēsis, Cēsu muzeju apvienība, 1997. (Latvian)
- A. Anspaks . Cēsis. - Riga: Avots, 1982. (Latvian)
Links
- Cesis castle on the site “Castles of Latvia”