Story
The story of Cēsis Castle
In 1577 the army of Ivan the Terrible besieged and bombarded Cēsis Castle for five days. Inside, some 300 people, realising they could no longer defend themselves, chose to blow themselves up with four barrels of gunpowder. In 1974 archaeologists uncovered two basement rooms from the collapsed western range, with the remains of adults and children, dated by coins to that year.
The castle's story began much earlier. In 1208 the Livonian Brothers of the Sword settled in the hillfort of the Wends, a small local tribe, and in 1213 or 1214 began a stone castle beside it. From 1237 the Teutonic Order rebuilt it into one of its largest and mightiest castles, and at the end of the 15th century it became the permanent residence of the Livonian Masters.
Under Wolter von Plettenberg, master from 1494 to 1535, it reached its greatest flourishing. Look for the Master's Chamber, whose brick vaulting from around 1500 still survives.
This story is compiled from Wikipedia and other open sources; dates and numbers are checked against the source. The text is shared under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence. Source ↗
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More highlights in Cēsis
- Ērgļu klintisDevonian sandstone cliffs on the left bank of the Gauja River; a protected geological natural monument of national importance.
- Church of the transfiguration of Christ in CēsisThe Orthodox Church of the Transfiguration of Christ in Cēsis, at the north-east of the castle park; St Catherine's Church, ruined in wars, once stood on the site.
- Rozbeķi Castle ruinsRuins of a 14th–16th century vassal castle of the Archbishopric of Riga near the village of Rozula.
- Victory Monument in CēsisA monument on Vienības Square in Cēsis dedicated to the victory of Latvian and Estonian troops in the Battle of Cēsis during the Latvian War of Independence.
- Mazstraupe CastleA 15th-century vassal castle of the Archbishopric of Riga by the Brasla River in Straupe, about one kilometre north of Lielstraupe Castle.
- Church of Saint John the Baptist in CēsisA Lutheran church in Cēsis built in the Brick Gothic style; it is one of the oldest Gothic masonry churches in Latvia and the largest medieval basilica outside Riga.