In the 2nd post of my series on Castles and Forts from the Baltics I am featuring the beautiful medieval castle at Cesis, Latvia.

Each of the posts in the series will focus on a castle and/or fort in the Baltic region. This includes Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, and Northwest Russia with a few more thrown in for good measure. I will also include other castles from around the world as my travels take me to some very interesting destinations. Take a look at my first post on the subject - https://steemit.com/history/@energyaddict22/castles-are-cool-defending-trade-forts-and-castles-part-1

If you enjoy the splendor, history, romanticism and even the economic/historical importance of castles like I do, then you will want to follow along and share these with your friends. I will also take suggestions on others that need to be included in the series.

Cesis (Wenden) and Medieval Christian Knights

Built: Early 17th Century by the Livonian Brothers of the Sword
Current Status: Ruin and Museum
Location: 1 hour and 20 minutes by car Northeast of Riga, Latvia
Initial Purpose: Protection from Livonian Pagans from modern day Latvia and Estonia
Type: Medieval Stone with Draw Bridge and Outer Walls

History

The castle at Cesis is one of the several beautiful historical structures in Latvia. It is a popular tourist destination for people in the Baltic region as well.

The builder and original occupants were the Livonian Brothers of the Sword. This was a group of German Catholic warrior monks sactioned by the Bishop of Riga and later by the Pope. They fought against Finnish and Baltic pagans in an effort to spread Christianity in the region. After their defeat, the remnants of the Livonian Brothers merged with the Teutonic Knights as an independent branch.

The castle remained intact until the Livonia War in 1577 against the Russian Czar, Ivan IV (otherwise known as Ivan the Terrible). During the war the castle was destroyed by the garrison occupying it in order to keep it out of the hands of the Russians. It was rebuilt in the late 17th century when Sweden conquered the territory, but was destroyed again at the hands of the Russians during the Great Northern War. It has remained abandoned since, but a new smaller castle was built directly next to it as an estate and it remains intact since the late 18th century. The new castle serves as the home of the museum and visitors center at the site today.

Interesting Fact - During the siege of the castle by Ivan the Terrible's forces in 1577, the garrison committed suicide using a large explosion in order to avoid capture. Approximately 300 people were killed in the explosion. However, even more interesting is that later the remains of a woman and child were found under the rubble during an archaeological excavation. It has been theorized that the two of them chose to skip the mass suicide, but were killed by the rubble from the explosion.

When travelling to Latvia, the Cesis castle is highly recommended to visit. Tours are available with guides, but also walking tours can be taken with the help of a lantern to see your away around the several floors of the large towers. Additionally, the site hosts a large array of festivals throughout the year with Summer being the most popular.

Like this article? Please share, upvote and comment.
Don't like it? Comment and tell me why. Let's discuss it.
All intelligent comments get an upvote for effort.
Send me a copy of one of your posts and I will try to read it quickly.

All photos are mine.

Follow me on:

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/jr.byers.58
VK - https://vk.com/id185155240