Jaunpils Castle

Jaunpils, Latvia

Jaunpils Castle was erected in 1301 by the Master of the German branch of the Livonian Order, Gottfried von Roga. The tower was added in the 15th century. The castle was heavily damaged in war by Swedes in 1625. Later a third floor was added and the old fortress became a manor with all conveniences in the end of the 17th century. The building was partly reconstructed in 18th century. The castle was burned down during the Russian Revolution of 1905. A year later it was rebuilt by architect Wilhelm Bockslaff.

From the 16th century until 1920 the castle belonged to the family of the Baltic German baron von der Recke. One of the family members who lived there in the 18th century was the poet Elisa von der Recke. After the Latvian agrarian reforms of 1920s, the castle complex housed a cattle-breeding experimental station. During the Soviet occupation of Latvia, the interior of the castle was heavily reconstructed and today Jaunpils castle has typical Soviet interiors from the 1960s. More of a manor house than properly a fortified castle, it has now been converted into a hotel.

References:

Comments

Your name

Website (optional)


Address

P104, Jaunpils, Latvia
See all sites in Jaunpils

Details

Founded: 1301
Category: Castles and fortifications in Latvia
Historical period: State of the Teutonic Order (Latvia)

More Information

www.jaunpilspils.lv
en.wikipedia.org
www.latvia.travel
www.pilis.lv

Rating

4.6/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby


Slokenbeka Castle (29,9 km)
Kandava Castle Ruins (37 km)
Tukums Castle Tower (27,3 km)
Dobele Castle Ruins (19,5 km)
Durbe Manor (28,3 km)
Aizupe Manor (33,8 km)
Nurmuiza Castle (57,4 km)
Tervete Hill Fort (35,5 km)
Cere Manor (43 km)

User Reviews

Thomas Meurer (2 years ago)
Delicious Meal and Drinks Inside the Tavern. Looks like the past and the feeling is great. We will come again.
Katya Mu (2 years ago)
Amazing castle! And it’s totally worth to stay here overnight. What you can do here: * You can rent an awesome medieval style room with fireplace * You can dress in a medieval costume and makr photosession * You can have a private guide who will tell you everything about the castle and touch reaaaly old armor * You can walk around and enjoy nature * Food in local restaurant is amazing. And portions are huge!
Veronika Varep (2 years ago)
Nice place with great local guides! :)
Jon Comeaux (2 years ago)
Not much to see unless your on a guided tour. Better options to sightsee unless your in the area for a long time.
feenikss (2 years ago)
Nice medieval style rooms and pub, great food. Also great adventure quest available
Powered by Google

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Most beautiful castles in Lithuania
Photo from Flickr, copyright Peer.Gynt

Historic Site of the week

Saint Sophia Cathedral

The St Sophia's Cathedral was built between 1045-1050 inside the Novgorod Kremlin (fortress). It is one of the earliest stone structures of northern Russia. Its height is 38 m. Originally it was taller, for during the past nine centuries the lower part of the building became concealed by the two-metre thick cultural layer. The cathedral was built by Prince Vladimir, the son of Yaroslav the Wise, and until the 1130s this principal church of the city also served as the sepulchre of Novgorodian princes. For the Novgorodians, St Sophia became synonymous with their town, the symbol of civic power and independence.

The five-domed church looks simpler but no less impressive than its prototype, the thirteen-domed St Sophia of Kiev. The cathedral exterior is striking in its majesty and epic splendour evoking the memories of Novgorod's glorious past and invincible might. In the 11th century it looked more imposing than now. Its facade represented a gigantic mosaic of huge, coarsely trimmed irregular slabs of flagstone and shell rock. In some places (particularly on the apses), the wall was covered with mortar, smoothly polished, drawn up to imitate courses of brick or of whitestone slabs, and slightly coloured. As a result, the facade was not white, as it is today, but multicoloured. The play of stone, decorative painting and the building materials of various texture enhanced the impression of austere simplicity and introduced a picturesque effect.

The two-storied galleries extend along the building's southern, western and northern sides, with a stair-tower constructed at the north-eastern corner. The cathedral has three entrances - the southern, western and northern, of which the western was the main one intended for ceremonial processions. A gate standing at the entrance is known as the Sigtuna Gate (mid-12th century); according to legend, it was brought from the Swedish town of Sigtuna in 1187. The second name of the gate derives from the town of Magdeburg, where it was made. The two leaves are decorated with biblical and evangelical scenes in cast bronze relief. In the lower left corner there are portraits of the craftsmen who created this superb specimen of medieval Western European bronze-work. An inscription in Latin gives their names, Riquin and Weissmut. The small central figure - judging from an inscription in Slavonic - is a representation of the Russian master craftsman Avraam, who assembled the gate.

There is yet another bronze gate in the cathedral, called the Korsun Gate. Made in the 11th century in Chersonesos, Byzantium, it leads from the southern gallery into the Nativity Side-Chapel. Legend has it that the gate was handed over to Novgorod as a gift of Prince Yaroslav the Wise (c. 978 - 1054).

The interior of the cathedral is as majestic as its exterior. It is divided by huge piers into five aisles, three of which end in altar apses. In the south-western corner, inside the tower, there is a wide spiral in relatively small, modest buildings of the 12th - 16th centuries.

Map Top Sights Tags Historical Periods City Guides About Us Sign Up Upload new site
© 2020 SpottingHistory.com. All rights reserved.