Cesvaine Castle

Cesvaine Castle was first mentioned in the 13th century, but it was a wooden Latgal castle on the left bank of the Sula River.

The archbishop’s castle was probably built at the end of the 14th century, as the settlement by the castle is mentioned in the annals in 1410. Cesvaine Castle itself was first mentioned in 1461. In 1479, the castle occupied the order for many years.

The Rusov’s chronicle states that during the Livonian War, in 1577, the castle of Cesvaine was occupied by the Russian troops of Ivan the Terrible. The inhabitants of the castle were captured, but no special damage was inflicted on the structure. The castle was inhabited until the middle of the 17th century. It is likely that Cesvaine castle was destroyed during the Russian-Swedish war. During the construction of the buildings, the ruins of the old castle were almost removed, and in its place the Cesvaine castle was built in the eclectic style, built of granite boulders according to the project of architects G. Grisebach and A. Dinklag. Near the castle, the buildings of the former estate and a romantic park are preserved – there are about 70 species of trees and shrubs.

Cesvaine Castle was built on the right bank of the Sula River. From the north and west it was guarded by a river valley about 50 meters wide and more than 10 meters deep. The river itself is shallow, about 3 meters wide. On the east side was a mill pond. On the south side was a bastion, which was surrounded by a moat, traces of which have survived to this day.

The main castle in the plan was a square. To the south was a bastion of the same square shape. In the southwestern corner of the bastion was a semicircular tower, in which there was an entrance. Later, the entry was moved to the south wall. After the appearance of firearms, in the XVI century, earthen ramparts were poured in the northern corners of the bastion.

Now only the foundation of the western wall is preserved from the old castle, about 50 meters long and about 1 meter high. The width of the base of the wall was 1.5 meters. At the southern end of the wall, the ruins of a 1-2-meter-high southwestern semicircular tower were also preserved.

Tourists, accompanied by a guide, can explore the premises of the castle, and climb the 30-meter observation tower, from which they can see the surroundings within a radius of 20 km.