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Founded: 16th centuryCategory: Castles and fortifications in Latvia
Historical period: State of the Teutonic Order (Latvia)
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Šlokenbeka Castle is a fortified manor and the only existing example of a fortified manor centre in Latvia. The construction was started by the Livonian Order before 1544. It was built in a trapeze-type yard, which was enclosed with stone walls and portholes. In 1772 the attic roofs were added to the building.
In the 17th century towers with portals and weathervanes were erected, but Šlokenbeka lost its defence function, being then adapted for domestic purposes. At the end of the 18th century new buildings were built and old buildings were renewed. New gate towers were added at the north and south walls. Between 1841 and 1845, a new manor house in classicist style was built at the north wall. In the 1930s Šlokenbeka lost some of its buildings. During Soviet times it housed the 5th road maintenance unit. Now it contains the Latvian Road Construction History Museum and a restaurant.
References:Dryburgh Abbey on the banks of the River Tweed in the Scottish Borders was founded in 1150 in an agreement between Hugh de Morville, Constable of Scotland, and the Premonstratensian canons regular from Alnwick Abbey in Northumberland. The arrival of the canons along with their first abbot, Roger, took place in 1152.
It was burned by English troops in 1322, after which it was restored only to be again burned by Richard II in 1385, but it flourished in the fifteenth century. It was finally destroyed in 1544, briefly surviving until the Scottish Reformation, when it was given to the Earl of Mar by James VI of Scotland. It is now a designated scheduled monument and the surrounding landscape is included in the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland.
David Erskine, 11th Earl of Buchan bought the land in 1786. Sir Walter Scott and Douglas Haig are buried in its grounds.