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Founded: 1783-1789Category: Palaces, manors and town halls in Latvia
Historical period: Part of the Russian Empire (Latvia)
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Varakļāni palace was designed by the Italian architect Vincenzo Macotti at the request of the estate's owner, Count Michael Johann von der Borch. Construction was begun in 1783 and completed in 1789. The palace was one of the first buildings in the classicism style in Latvia. It is an architectural monument of national importance consisting of 3 parts, which are connected by galleries. In the central part of it, there is a tower with a gallery, which burned down at the beginning of the 20th century. The palace has two storeys in the middle part of it and in the wings of it.
The building housed the Varakļāni secondary school from 1921 to 1960. The palace and grounds are currently administered by the town of Varakļāni.
References:La Hougue Bie is a Neolithic ritual site which was in use around 3500 BC. Hougue is a Jèrriais/Norman language word meaning a \'mound\' and comes from the Old Norse word haugr. The site consists of 18.6m long passage chamber covered by a 12.2m high mound. The site was first excavated in 1925 by the Société Jersiaise. Fragments of twenty vase supports were found along with the scattered remains of at least eight individuals. Gravegoods, mostly pottery, were also present. At some time in the past, the site had evidently been entered and ransacked.
In Western Europe, it is one of the largest and best preserved passage graves and the most impressive and best preserved monument of Armorican Passage Grave group. Although they are termed \'passage graves\', they were ceremonial sites, whose function was more similar to churches or cathedrals, where burials were incidental.