The Barclay de Tolly Mausoleum commemorates one of the most famous Russian commanders who fought Napoleon in 1812 and 1813 and who culminated his triumph with a march through Paris in March 1814. His family was partially of Scottish extraction but from the 17th century had lived in what is now Latvia and Lithuania. Following the Russian conquest of Finland in 1809, he was the first governor-general there until 1812.
Jõgeveste was the estate of his wife's family and his body was brought back there after his death in East Prussia in 1818. The mausoleum was completed in 1823 on the instructions of de Tolly's wife Eleanor von Smitten. She commissioned Apollon Shchedrin, a leading St Petersburg architect, to design it and its structure has remained intact since then, although the two coffins were opened during World War II. The exterior design suggests parallels to a Roman triumphal arch, the interior to a chapel with an altar recess where the bust of de Tolly is placed. The statue on the right is of Athena, the Greek goddess of war, and on the left the statue of a sitting woman represents the symbol of mourning. Outside are the tombs of de Tolly's son and daughter-in-law and a Soviet memorial to soldiers killed in the 1944 invasion of Estonia.
Trenčín Castle is relatively large renovated castle, towering on a steep limestone cliff directly above the city of Trenčín. It is a dominant feature not only of Trenčín, but also of the entire Považie region. The castle is a national monument.
History of the castle cliff dates back to the Roman Empire, what is proved by the inscription on the castle cliff proclaiming the victory of Roman legion against Germans in the year 179.
Today’s castle was probably built on the hill-fort. The first proven building on the hill was the Great Moravian rotunda from the 9th century and later there was a stone residential tower, which served to protect the Kingdom of Hungary and the western border. In the late 13th century the castle became a property of Palatine Matúš Csák, who became Mr. of Váh and Tatras.
Matúš Csák of Trenčín built a tower, still known as Matthew’s, which is a dominant determinant of the whole building.