Ļaudona (german: Laudohn) is a village in

Ļaudona Parish Ļaudona (german: Laudohn) is a village in Ļaudona Parish, Madona Municipality in the Vidzeme region of Latvia. The Ļaudona Parish of the former Madona District was merged into the municipality (''novads'') of Madona in 2009. History of Ļa ...

Madona Municipality Madona Municipality ( lv, Madonas novads) is a municipality in Vidzeme, Latvia. The administrative center is Madona. The total area of the municipality is , and the population in January 2013 was 26,953.Madona municipality Population Register Of ...

in the

Vidzeme Vidzeme (; Old Latvian orthography: ''Widda-semme'', liv, Vidūmō) is one of the Historical Latvian Lands. The capital of Latvia, Riga, is situated in the southwestern part of the region. Literally meaning "the Middle Land", it is situated in ...

region of Latvia. The

of the former Madona District was merged into the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

(''novads'') of

Madona Madona (; german: Modohn) is a town with town rights in the Vidzeme region of Latvia and is the center of the Madona municipality. History The surrounding area of Madona had been populated in earlier times, which is confirmed by discoveries ...

in 2009.

History of Ļaudona

The historical Latgalian stronghold on the

Aiviekste River Aiviekste is a river in Latvia.Latvian Soviet Encyclopedia, p. 1-99. It begins at Lake Lubāns (the largest lake in Latvia) and drains into the Daugava (the largest river in Latvia). Aiviekste is the largest tributary of Daugava in Latvia. Aivie ...

was rebuilt as a fortress by the Archbishop of Riga in 1274 and used for trade and military purpose. The Laudohn noble family, then

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...

s of Archbishop Henning Scharpenberg, acquired the manor of Toce (''Tootzen'') in 1432. The archbishop's castle had been destroyed in the 16th century

Livonian War The Livonian War (1558–1583) was the Russian invasion of Old Livonia, and the prolonged series of military conflicts that followed, in which Tsar Ivan the Terrible of Russia (Muscovy) unsuccessfully fought for control of the region (pr ...

. With

Livonia Livonia ( liv, Līvõmō, et, Liivimaa, fi, Liivinmaa, German and Scandinavian languages: ', archaic German: ''Liefland'', nl, Lijfland, Latvian and lt, Livonija, pl, Inflanty, archaic English: ''Livland'', ''Liwlandia''; russian: Ли ...

, Ļaudona was conquered by King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden by the 1629

Truce of Altmark __NOTOC__ The six-year Truce of Altmark (or Treaty of Stary Targ, pl, Rozejm w Altmarku, sv, Stillståndet i Altmark) was signed on 16 (O.S.)/26 (N.S.) September 1629 in the village of Altmark (Stary Targ), in Poland, by the Polish–Lithuani ...

, and upon the 1721

Treaty of Nystad The Treaty of Nystad (russian: Ништадтский мир; fi, Uudenkaupungin rauha; sv, Freden i Nystad; et, Uusikaupunki rahu) was the last peace treaty of the Great Northern War of 1700–1721. It was concluded between the Tsardom of ...

belonged to the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

. The famous

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

Field Marshal

Ernst Gideon von Laudon Ernst Gideon von Laudon, since 1759 Freiherr von Laudon (originally Laudohn or Loudon; 13 February 171714 July 1790), was a Baltic German-born Austrian generalisimo and one of the most successful opponents of the Prussian king Frederick the Great ...

was born here in 1717. Villages in Latvia Former buildings and structures in Latvia Kreis Wenden Madona Municipality Vidzeme {{vidzeme-geo-stub lv:Ļaudonas pagasts