Alūksne Castle ( lv, Marienburgas pils, Alūksnes pils; german: Marienburg) is a castle of

Teutonic Knights The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...

in current

Alūksne Alūksne ()) is a town on the shores of Lake Alūksne in northeastern Latvia near the borders with Estonia and Russia. It is the seat of Alūksne municipality. Alūksne is the highest elevated Latvian city, located in East Vidzeme Upland at 217 ...

, North-Eastern

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

History

The castle was built in 1342 on the largest of the islands in the

Lake Alūksne Lake Alūksne ( lv, Alūksnes ezers) is located in Alūksne Municipality, Latvia. The city of Alūksne is located by the lake. Lake Aluksne is the 11th biggest lake in Latvia (15.437 km²). At its deepest the lake is 15.2 m deep, but t ...

and called ''Marienburg'' (after

Mary, the mother of Jesus Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...

). The first castle was constructed by the Landmeister Burkhard von Dreileben. It was part of a major reinforcement of the Eastern border of

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 ...

, the same year another major castle nearby (in

Vastseliina Vastseliina ( vro, Vahtsõliina) is a small borough (') in Võru Parish, Võru County in southeastern Estonia. Vastseliina is the birthplace of wrestler and 1924 Olympic Gold Medalist Eduard Pütsep Eduard Pütsep (21 October 1898 – 22 Aug ...

) was founded as well. Soon thereafter, center of komturei was moved from Gaujiena to Alūksne. Tuulse, Armin (1942). ''Die Burgen in Estland und Lettland'', pp 147-148. Dorpater Estnischer Verlag The strength of the castle was repeatedly proven by repelling a number of attacks in the 16th century. Alūksne was captured by the troops of

Ivan IV of Russia Ivan IV Vasilyevich (russian: Ива́н Васи́льевич; 25 August 1530 – ), commonly known in English as Ivan the Terrible, was the grand prince of Moscow from 1533 to 1547 and the first Tsar of all Russia from 1547 to 1584. Ivan ...

in 1560 during the

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 (pre ...

. It was incorporated into the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Crown of the Kingdom of ...

in 1582. The town became part of the

Swedish Empire The Swedish Empire was a European great power that exercised territorial control over much of the Baltic region during the 17th and early 18th centuries ( sv, Stormaktstiden, "the Era of Great Power"). The beginning of the empire is usually ta ...

in 1629. After the fall of the Old Livonia, the castle remained habitable. It was finally destroyed in 1702 in the

Great Northern War The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedi ...

by its Swedish garrison to avoid falling in the hands of Russians. The ruins remained largely untouched. Today, it houses an open-air scene and forms a part of a recreational area of the Pils (Castle) Island.

Architecture

The initial castle was built of wood. Later, the outer walls were constructed of fieldstone and the convent house of bricks. The plan is in many ways similar to that of Viljandi Castle, including the convent building with a flanking tower. The outer wall originates partly from the same time as the convent house, partly from later periods, notably from the time of the political tensions in the early 16th century. The main gate, protected by two round towers, is also of late medieval origin. Later, at the end of the 17th century, the castle was supplied with

ravelin A ravelin is a triangular fortification or detached outwork, located in front of the innerworks of a fortress (the curtain walls and bastions). Originally called a ''demi-lune'', after the ''lunette'', the ravelin is placed outside a castle ...

es and ramparts.

Gallery

File:Alūksne Castle southern wall inside.jpg, The walls from inside, 2010. File:Alūksne Castle plan.jpeg, Plan of the castle according to Karl von Lövis of Menar.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aluksne Castle Alūksne Castles in Latvia Castles of the Livonian Order