Cesis
Encyclopedia
Cēsis is a town
in Latvia
located in the northern part of the Central Vidzeme Upland. Cēsis is on the Gauja
River valley, and is built on a series of ridges above the river overlooking the woods below. Cēsis was one of the candidate cites for the title of European Capital of culture 2014
, (however Riga
was the Latvian city to win the 2014 title).
. The 18 m (59.06 ft) high mound with its partly preserved fortification system can still be seen in the Castle Park. This settlement was located near major trade route
s from west to east and dominated the regional countryside.
German crusaders known as the Livonian Brothers of the Sword
began construction of a castle Wenden near the hill fort in 1209. When the castle was enlarged and fortified, it served as the residence for the Order's Master. In 1577, during the Livonian War
, the garrison destroyed the castle to prevent it from falling into the control of Ivan the Terrible
, who was decisively defeated in the Battle of Wenden (1578). In 1598 it was incorporated into the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Wenden Voivodeship
was created. In 1620 Wenden was conquered by Sweden. It was rebuilt afterwards, but destroyed again in 1703 during the Great Northern War
by the Russian army
and left in a ruined state. From the end of the 16th century, the premises of the Order's castle were adapted to the requirements of the Cēsis castle estate. When in 1777 the Cēsis castle estate was obtained by Count Sievers, he had his new residence house built on the site of the eastern bloc
k of the castle, joining its end wall with the fortification tower. Since 1949, the Cēsis History Museum has been located in the New Castle on the Cēsis Castle estate. The front yard of the New Castle is enclosed by a granary and a stable-coach house, which now houses the Exhibition Hall of the Museum. Beside the granary there is the oldest brewery in Latvia — Cēsu Alus
, which was built in 1878 during the latter years of Count Sievers' residency, but its origins date back to the period of the Livonian Order.
Further on is the Cēsis castle park, which was laid out in 1812. The park has the romantic characteristic of that time, with its foot-paths, exotic plants, and the waters of the pond reflecting the castle's ruins.
with a church was in the centre of the town. The centre of housing was the stone castle of the Livonian Order with its three fortified towers. The town was also encircled by a dolomite stone wall
with eight towers and five gates. Buildings from the medieval ages
include St. John
's Church (built 1281–1284), the ruins
of the Order's castle, Cēsis Castle and fortification walls, fragments of which can still be seen at Vaļņu and Palasta Streets. In addition, ancient road networks and building plots have survived from medieval times
, although many of the buildings themselves have been ruined (the last destroyed in 1748). 18th century buildings can be seen at 16 and 25 Rīgas Street, while houses built in the first part of the 19th century are at 15 and 47 Rīgas Street, 6 Gaujas Street, and other urban roads.
In the second half of the 19th century, the construction of the Rīga-Pskov
highway (1868) and the Rīga-Valka railway
line (1889) accelerated the development of the town. Raunas Street, leading from the railway station to the Old Town, was developed as a wide, presentable street with the Latvian Society House at 10 Raunas Street (architect A. Malvess), the Building of the Regional Court at 14 Raunas Street (architect P. Mengelis), and other important buildings.
The Battle of Cēsis in June 1919 when Estonian and Latvian forces defeated the Germans was one of the decisive battles in the Latvian War of Independence.
Cēsis was also developed as a health resort
. Upmarket summer house
s and health centres were built in the vicinity of the Gauja. 'Cīrulīši' near the Svētavots (Holy Spring) Cave is the most remarkable of them, with a spring believed to possess healing powers.
with:
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
in Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
located in the northern part of the Central Vidzeme Upland. Cēsis is on the Gauja
Gauja
The Gauja is one of the longest rivers in Latvia, with a length of and a catchment area of . Its source is in the hills southeast of Cēsis. It first flows east and north and forms the border with Estonia for about . South of Valga and Valka, it turns west towards Valmiera, continuing southwest...
River valley, and is built on a series of ridges above the river overlooking the woods below. Cēsis was one of the candidate cites for the title of European Capital of culture 2014
European Capital of Culture
The European Capital of Culture is a city designated by theEuropean Union for a period of one calendar year during which it organises a series of cultural events with a strong European dimension....
, (however Riga
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
was the Latvian city to win the 2014 title).
Castle
The oldest settlement in Cēsis is the hill fort on Riekstu hill, a fortified wooden castle built by a tribe known as the VendsVends
The Vends were a small tribe who lived in the twelfth-sixteenth centuries in the area around the town of Wenden in what is now north-central Latvia...
. The 18 m (59.06 ft) high mound with its partly preserved fortification system can still be seen in the Castle Park. This settlement was located near major trade route
Trade route
A trade route is a logistical network identified as a series of pathways and stoppages used for the commercial transport of cargo. Allowing goods to reach distant markets, a single trade route contains long distance arteries which may further be connected to several smaller networks of commercial...
s from west to east and dominated the regional countryside.
German crusaders known as the Livonian Brothers of the Sword
Livonian Brothers of the Sword
The Livonian Brothers of the Sword were a military order founded by Bishop Albert of Riga in 1202. Pope Innocent III sanctioned the establishment in 1204. The membership of the order comprised German "warrior monks"...
began construction of a castle Wenden near the hill fort in 1209. When the castle was enlarged and fortified, it served as the residence for the Order's Master. In 1577, during the Livonian War
Livonian War
The Livonian War was fought for control of Old Livonia in the territory of present-day Estonia and Latvia when the Tsardom of Russia faced a varying coalition of Denmark–Norway, the Kingdom of Sweden, the Union of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland.During the period 1558–1578,...
, the garrison destroyed the castle to prevent it from falling into the control of Ivan the Terrible
Ivan IV of Russia
Ivan IV Vasilyevich , known in English as Ivan the Terrible , was Grand Prince of Moscow from 1533 until his death. His long reign saw the conquest of the Khanates of Kazan, Astrakhan, and Siberia, transforming Russia into a multiethnic and multiconfessional state spanning almost one billion acres,...
, who was decisively defeated in the Battle of Wenden (1578). In 1598 it was incorporated into the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Wenden Voivodeship
Wenden Voivodeship
Wenden Voivodeship was a unit of administrative division and local government in the Duchy of Livonia, part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, since it was formed in 1598 till the Swedish conquest of Livonia in the 1620s...
was created. In 1620 Wenden was conquered by Sweden. It was rebuilt afterwards, but destroyed again in 1703 during the Great Northern War
Great Northern War
The Great Northern War was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in northern Central Europe and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedish alliance were Peter I the Great of Russia, Frederick IV of...
by the Russian army
Armed Forces of the Russian Federation
The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation are the military services of Russia, established after the break-up of the Soviet Union. On 7 May 1992 Boris Yeltsin signed a decree establishing the Russian Ministry of Defence and placing all Soviet Armed Forces troops on the territory of the RSFSR...
and left in a ruined state. From the end of the 16th century, the premises of the Order's castle were adapted to the requirements of the Cēsis castle estate. When in 1777 the Cēsis castle estate was obtained by Count Sievers, he had his new residence house built on the site of the eastern bloc
Eastern bloc
The term Eastern Bloc or Communist Bloc refers to the former communist states of Eastern and Central Europe, generally the Soviet Union and the countries of the Warsaw Pact...
k of the castle, joining its end wall with the fortification tower. Since 1949, the Cēsis History Museum has been located in the New Castle on the Cēsis Castle estate. The front yard of the New Castle is enclosed by a granary and a stable-coach house, which now houses the Exhibition Hall of the Museum. Beside the granary there is the oldest brewery in Latvia — Cēsu Alus
Cēsu Alus
Cēsu Alus is a brewery and alcohol beverage producer in Cēsis, Latvia. As the roots of the brewery dates back in 1590, Cēsu Alus is considered to be the oldest brewery in Baltic and Nordic countries.-History:...
, which was built in 1878 during the latter years of Count Sievers' residency, but its origins date back to the period of the Livonian Order.
Further on is the Cēsis castle park, which was laid out in 1812. The park has the romantic characteristic of that time, with its foot-paths, exotic plants, and the waters of the pond reflecting the castle's ruins.
The town
The planning of the town of Cēsis was done in the second half of the 13th century. The market placeMarketplace
A marketplace is the space, actual, virtual or metaphorical, in which a market operates. The term is also used in a trademark law context to denote the actual consumer environment, ie. the 'real world' in which products and services are provided and consumed.-Marketplaces and street markets:A...
with a church was in the centre of the town. The centre of housing was the stone castle of the Livonian Order with its three fortified towers. The town was also encircled by a dolomite stone wall
Stone wall
Stone walls are a kind of masonry construction which have been made for thousands of years. First they were constructed by farmers and primitive people by piling loose field stones in what is called a dry stone wall, then later with the use of mortar and plaster especially in the construction of...
with eight towers and five gates. Buildings from the medieval ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
include St. John
John the Apostle
John the Apostle, John the Apostle, John the Apostle, (Aramaic Yoħanna, (c. 6 - c. 100) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He was the son of Zebedee and Salome, and brother of James, another of the Twelve Apostles...
's Church (built 1281–1284), the ruins
Ruins
Ruins are the remains of human-made architecture: structures that were once complete, as time went by, have fallen into a state of partial or complete disrepair, due to lack of maintenance or deliberate acts of destruction...
of the Order's castle, Cēsis Castle and fortification walls, fragments of which can still be seen at Vaļņu and Palasta Streets. In addition, ancient road networks and building plots have survived from medieval times
Medieval Times
Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament is a family dinner theater featuring staged medieval-style games, sword-fighting, and jousting performed by a cast of 75 actors and 20 horses. Each location is housed in a replica 11th-century castle, with the exception of the Toronto location, which is housed...
, although many of the buildings themselves have been ruined (the last destroyed in 1748). 18th century buildings can be seen at 16 and 25 Rīgas Street, while houses built in the first part of the 19th century are at 15 and 47 Rīgas Street, 6 Gaujas Street, and other urban roads.
In the second half of the 19th century, the construction of the Rīga-Pskov
Pskov
Pskov is an ancient city and the administrative center of Pskov Oblast, Russia, located in the northwest of Russia about east from the Estonian border, on the Velikaya River. Population: -Early history:...
highway (1868) and the Rīga-Valka railway
Rail transport
Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles merely run on a prepared surface, rail vehicles are also directionally guided by the tracks they run on...
line (1889) accelerated the development of the town. Raunas Street, leading from the railway station to the Old Town, was developed as a wide, presentable street with the Latvian Society House at 10 Raunas Street (architect A. Malvess), the Building of the Regional Court at 14 Raunas Street (architect P. Mengelis), and other important buildings.
The Battle of Cēsis in June 1919 when Estonian and Latvian forces defeated the Germans was one of the decisive battles in the Latvian War of Independence.
Cēsis was also developed as a health resort
Spa town
A spa town is a town situated around a mineral spa . Patrons resorted to spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. The word comes from the Belgian town Spa. In continental Europe a spa was known as a ville d'eau...
. Upmarket summer house
Summer house
A summer house or summerhouse has traditionally referred to a building or shelter used for relaxation in warm weather. This would often take the form of a small, roofed building on the grounds of a larger one, but could also be built in a garden or park, often designed to provide cool shady places...
s and health centres were built in the vicinity of the Gauja. 'Cīrulīši' near the Svētavots (Holy Spring) Cave is the most remarkable of them, with a spring believed to possess healing powers.
Twin towns - sister cities
Cēsis is twinnedTown twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
with:
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