Edole Castle, Edole, Latvia - SpottingHistory.com

Ēdole Castle was built for the bishop of Piltene between 1264 and 1267. It was rebuilt in the 16th century and from 1561 until 1920 it was the property of the Baltic-German Baron von Behr and his descendents.

During the 18th century the castle was expanded and from 1835 to 1841 it underwent a major reconstruction work to become one of the first samples of Neo-Gothic architecture in Kurzeme. The building was partly burned during the Russian Revolution of 1905. Between 1906 and 1907 a household yard and tower were built in one of its corners, being the façade remodelled with its Gothic forms preserved.

Originally consisting of two residential buildings linked by a stone wall, the castle is surrounded by landscape park. It is considered an architectural and archaeological monument of national importance.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Vaidotas Rinkevicius (3 years ago)
Nice castle in beatiful place!

Varis Brežģis (3 years ago)
Beautiful castle and rich muzeum with relik stuff and great geology room. Museum entry costs 5 eur per person but it's definitely worth it.

Armands Virbickis (3 years ago)
Great castle, in which is captured fantastic Latvian movie "Emīla nedarbi".

jānis markuss (3 years ago)
A palace that needs a lot of time to explore all the available rooms and places. There is even access to one of the towers, although it has the capacity of 7 people. I believe it cost me 5€ per person (without a guide)

Andrei Rakickis (3 years ago)
Wonderful castle, gives you feeling as someone lived here recently. Curious history of building and some interesting collections inside. Nice cafe inside.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright nikonaft

Historic Site of the week

Cesis Castle

German crusaders known as the Livonian Brothers of the Sword began construction of the Cēsis castle (Wenden) near the hill fort in 1209. When the castle was enlarged and fortified, it served as the residence for the Order's Master from 1237 till 1561, with periodic interruptions. Its ruins are some of the most majestic castle ruins in the Baltic states. Once the most important castle of the Livonian Order, it was the official residence for the masters of the order.

In 1577, during the Livonian War, the garrison destroyed the castle to prevent it from falling into the control of Ivan the Terrible, who was decisively defeated in the Battle of Wenden (1578).

In 1598 it was incorporated into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Wenden Voivodship was created here. In 1620 Wenden was conquered by Sweden. It was rebuilt afterwards, but was destroyed again in 1703 during the Great Northern War by the Russian army and left in a ruined state. Already from the end of the 16th century, the premises of the Order's castle were adjusted to the requirements of the Cēsis Castle estate. When in 1777 the Cēsis Castle estate was obtained by Count Carl Sievers, he had his new residence house built on the site of the eastern block of the castle, joining its end wall with the fortification tower.

Since 1949, the Cēsis History Museum has been located in this New Castle of the Cēsis Castle estate. The front yard of the New Castle is enclosed by a granary and a stable-coach house, which now houses the Exhibition Hall of the Museum. Beside the granary there is the oldest brewery in Latvia, Cēsu alus darītava, which was built in 1878 during the later Count Sievers' time, but its origins date back to the period of the Livonian Order. Further on, the Cēsis Castle park is situated, which was laid out in 1812. The park has the romantic characteristic of that time, with its winding footpaths, exotic plants, and the waters of the pond reflecting the castle's ruins. Nowadays also one of the towers is open for tourists.

Do you know an ancient castle or magnificent church near you?

Why not share it with other people interested in history? You can add your own historic sites and attractions to SpottingHistory.com.

It's absolutely free, easy, and doesn't even need registration!

Upload data

Edole Castle

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

History of Guernsey & Jersey

Most beautiful castles in Lithuania

Cultural Landscape of Sintra, Portugal

Historic Site of the week

Cesis Castle

Looks like you are a history fan!