Mežotne is a town 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...

 10 km west of Bauska

Bauska

Bauska is a town in Bauska municipality, in the Zemgale region of southern Latvia. The town is situated at the confluence of the rivers Mūsa and Mēmele where they form the Lielupe River...

 and 40 km south of the capital of Latvia, 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,...

. It lies in the historical region of Zemgale on the left bank of the Lielupe

Lielupe

The Lielupe is a river in central Latvia. Its length is 119 km . The surface area of its basin is 17,600 km²...

 river near the Lithuania

Lithuania

Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...

n border.

Mežotne Palace

An ancient Semigallian

Semigallian

Semigallian may refer to:*Semigallians - a Baltic tribe*Semigallian language - an extinct Baltic language*Zemgale - a region in Latvia...

 castle mound is located near Mežotne. Palace of Mežotne was the former Lieven

Lieven

The Lievens are one of the oldest and noblest families of Baltic Germans. They claim descent from Caupo of Turaida , the Livonian quasi rex who converted to Christianity in 1186, when Bishop Meinhard attempted to Christianize the region...

 family estate and now serves as the main residence of Freemasonry

Freemasonry

Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...

 Grand Lodge of Latvia. Countess, later HSH Princess Dorothea von Lieven, a noblewoman and wife of Prince Christopher Lieven, Russian ambassador to London called "Sibylle of the European Diplomacy" was buried in the family cemetery near the palace.

Sources