List of castles in Latvia

Riga Castle

This is the List of castles in Latvia, which includes fortified residences of Western European conquerors built in the area of present-day Latvia before the 17th century. There are about 140 medieval castles in the area, therefore this list is not complete. After the name of the castle comes the year of construction and a short description of its present-day condition.

Table of contents

Courland Name Town Parish Established Status Notes Refs Aizpute Aizpute End of the 13th century Ruins Alsunga Alsunga parish Before 1341 Preserved In use Dunalka Old Manor Dunalka parish Built after 1578 Ruins Dundaga Dundaga parish Late 13th century Preserved In use Ēdole Ēdole parish From 1264 to 1267 Preserved In use Embūte Embūte parish Around 1265 Ruins Walls stand up to 7 meters high Grobiņa Grobiņa 1253 Ruins A wooden castle before 1265 Nurmuiža Lauciene parish Around 1598 Preserved Under reconstruction Piltene Piltene End of the 13th century Ruins Ventspils Ventspils Before 1290 Preserved In use Zemgale Name Town Parish Established Status Notes Refs Bauska Built after 1443 Under reconstruction Medieval part in ruins and Renaissance part reconstructed Dobele Dobele From 1335 to 1359 Impressive ruins Jaunpils Jaunpils Jaunpils parish 1301 Preserved In use Šlokenbeka Milzkalne Smārde parish Built before 1544 Preserved and transformed In use [1] Vidzeme Name Town Parish Established Status Notes Refs Aizkraukle Aizkraukle Aizkraukle parish Second half of the 14th century Ruins Walls standing up to 5 meters high Alūksne Alūksne Around 1342 Ruins Walls higher than 5 meters high Burtnieki Burtnieki Burtnieki parish Built before 1366 Ruins Walls up to 4 meters high Cēsis Cēsis Around 1213-1218 Impressive ruins Daugavgrīva Daugavgrīva 1208 Only earthen ramparts Gaujiena Gaujiena Gaujiena parish Around 1236-1238 Ruins Walls standing higher than 10 meters Koknese Koknese Koknese parish Around 1210 Impressive ruins Krimulda Sigulda Sigulda parish Middle of the 13th century Ruins Lielstraupe Straupe Straupe parish End of the 13th century Preserved In use Lielvārde Lielvārde Built before 1248 Ruins Rauna Rauna Rauna parish Built before 1381 Impressive ruins Riga Riga Built in the 1340s Preserved In use Salacgrīva fortress Salacgrīva Built in 1226 Ruins Barely visible [2] Sigulda Sigulda From 1207 to 1209 Impressive ruins Turaida Turaida Built in 1214 Partly reconstructed Vecdole Salaspils parish Built before 1226 Ruins Barely visible Vecpiebalga Vecpiebalga Vecpiebalga parish Built before 1318 Ruins Walls standing up to 6 metres high Latgale Name Town Parish Established Status Notes Refs Dinaburga Castle East of Daugavpils Naujene parish Around 1273-1277 Excavated and exposed ruins Krustpils Castle Jēkabpils Second half of the 13th century Preserved In use Ludza Castle Ludza Built in the 14th century Impressive ruins Viļaka Castle Viļaka End of the 15th century Ruins Stone castle after 1516 Rēzekne Castle Rēzekne Built before 1324 Ruins [3][4]

See also

• List of castles
• List of castles in Estonia
• List of palaces and manor houses in Estonia
• List of palaces and manor houses in Latvia
• List of castles in Lithuania

Additional information

References

1. Zarāns, Alberts (2006). Latvijas pilis un muižas. Castles and manors of Latvia (in Latvian and English). Riga. ISBN 9984-785-05-X. OCLC 72358861.
2. Gertrud Westermann (1990). Baltisches historisches Ortslexikon (in German). Böhlau Verlag Köln Weimar. pp. 538–. ISBN 978-3-412-06889-9. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
3. Saul Bernard Cohen (2008). The Columbia Gazetteer of the World: P to Z. Columbia University Press. p. 3185. ISBN 978-0-231-14554-1.
4. Ellen Chivers Davies (1937). A wayfarer in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. R.M. McBride & company. p. 160.

Sources

• Zarāns, Alberts (2006). Latvijas pilis un muižas. Castles and manors of Latvia (in Latvian and English). Riga. ISBN 9984-785-05-X. OCLC 72358861.
• Ose, I. (2004). Latvijas 12. gadsimta beigu - 17. gadsimta vācu piļu leksikons (in Latvian). Riga.

External links

• Ambermarks - Medieval castles of Latvia - list

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