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Founded: 14th centuryCategory: Castles and fortifications in Latvia
Historical period: State of the Teutonic Order (Latvia)
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Nurmuiža Castle walls date from the 14th century castle built by the Livonian Order. The castle was erected in the 16th-17th centuries, less as a fortification, more as an economic centre. At the same time a passable tower was built, too, in the 19th century decorated in the Empire style. In the centre of the castle there is a small yard. The windows of the main facade have ornamental sgraffito framings in mannerism. In the castle the building structure of a fortified castle is combined with details characteristic of classicism.
The castle was rebuilt both at the end of the 17th century and shortly before World War I (according to the project by the architect W. Bockslaff). Since the last reconstruction the building has retained interiors in neoclassicism, as well as mural and ceiling paintings.The complex of the manor represents buildings erected in the 17th-19th centuries when the manor belonged to the von Fircks. In the courtyard there is a memorial stone (1982) to the developers of the Latvian carriage horse breed.
At the castle there is a park that was started to lay out in the 17th century, with two ponds, chestnut tree lined pathways and about 22 exotic species of trees and shrubbery.
References:The Petersberg Citadel is one of the largest extant early-modern citadels in Europe and covers the whole north-western part of the Erfurt city centre. It was built after 1665 on Petersberg hill and was in military use until 1963. It dates from a time when Erfurt was ruled by the Electors of Mainz and is a unique example of the European style of fortress construction. Beneath the citadel is an underground maze of passageways that can be visited on guided tours organised by Erfurt Tourist Office.
The citadel was originally built on the site of a medieval Benedictine Monastery and the earliest parts of the complex date from the 12th century. Erfurt has also been ruled by Sweden, Prussia, Napoleon, the German Empire, the Nazis, and post-World War II Soviet occupying forces, and it was part of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). All of these regimes used Petersberg Citadel and had an influence on its development. The baroque fortress was in military use until 1963. Since German reunification in 1990, the citadel has undergone significant restoration and it is now open to the public as a historic site.