Daugavgrīva Abbey or Dünamünde Abbey (; ; ) was a

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

Daugavgrīva Daugavgrīva (; ; or ''Ust`-Dvinsk'') is a neighbourhood in North West Riga, Latvia on the left bank of the Daugava river. In this neighbourhood there is a Swedish-built fortress on the Daugava River's left bank, commanding its mouth. Fortre ...

() in

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

, about 12 kilometres from

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

, of which Daugavgrīva has formed a district since 1959. The site was re-developed from 1305 as

Daugavgrīva Castle Daugavgrīva Castle (; ; or ''Ust`-Dvinsk'') is a former monastery converted into a castle, located at Vecdaugava oxbow on the right bank of Daugava River, Daugava, in the northern part of Riga city, in the Vidzeme region of Latvia. Nowadays ...

History

The

abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christians, Christian monks and nun ...

was founded in 1205 by Albert of Buxhoeveden,

bishop of Riga The Archbishopric of Riga (, ) was a Catholic diocese and civil government in Medieval Livonia, subject to the Holy See. It was established in 1186 and ended in 1561. History The diocese was established in 1186 as the Bishopric of Livonia ...

, on the right bank of the

Daugava The Daugava ( ), also known as the Western Dvina or the Väina River, is a large river rising in the Valdai Hills of Russia that flows through Belarus and Latvia into the Gulf of Riga of the Baltic Sea. The Daugava rises close to the source of ...

river, and settled by monks from Pforta Abbey, of the filiation of Morimond. The first abbot, Theoderich of Treyden, also known as Theoderich of Estland, had already been active in the mission to

Livonia Livonia, known in earlier records as Livland, is a historical region on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. It is named after the Livonians, who lived on the shores of present-day Latvia. By the end of the 13th century, the name was extende ...

. The second abbot, in the 1210s, was Bernard II of Lippe. The abbey's estates were in part extremely distant. For example, it owned 30

oxgang An oxgang or bovate (; ; ; ) is an old land measurement formerly used in Scotland and England as early as the 16th century sometimes referred to as an oxgait. It averaged around 20 English acres, but was based on land fertility and cultivation, a ...

s (''Hufen'') of land at Rägelin in Temnitzquell in Brandenburg that had been given to it by the Edler von Plote, on which it ran a farm. During a revolt of the

Curonians :''The Kursenieki are also sometimes known as Curonians.'' The Curonians or Kurs (; ) were a medieval Balts, Baltic tribe living on the shores of the Baltic Sea in the 5th–16th centuries, in what are now western parts of Latvia and Lithuania. ...

and

Semigallians Semigallians (; ; also ''Zemgalians'', ''Semigalls'' or ''Semigalians'') were the Balts, Baltic tribe that lived in the south central part of contemporary Latvia and northern Lithuania. They are noted for their long resistance (1219–1290) agai ...

in 1228 the monks were killed and the monastery destroyed, although soon rebuilt. In 1263 the wooden church was destroyed by a fire. In 1305 the abbey was sold to the

Livonian Order The Livonian Order was an autonomous branch of the Teutonic Order, formed in 1237. From 1435 to 1561 it was a member of the Livonian Confederation. History The order was formed from the remnants of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword after thei ...

, which established its

commandery In the Middle Ages, a commandery (rarely commandry) was the smallest administrative division of the European landed properties of a military order. It was also the name of the house where the knights of the commandery lived.Anthony Luttrell and G ...

there and converted the site to a fortress,

or Dünamünde Castle. The monks moved to

Padise Abbey Padise Abbey () was a former Cistercian monastery in Padise Parish, Padise in Harju County, Estonia, settled in 1310 by the dispossessed monks of Dünamünde Abbey in Latvia. It was converted into a fortress after its dissolution in 1559 and la ...

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

Site and buildings

The church abutted on its east side onto a strong square tower. Along the east wall of the abbey precinct were two buildings for the use of the monks, while the lay brothers had a building on the west wall. To the north were two towers. The entrance was located in the south-west corner of the outer defensive perimeter, which was surrounded by a moat more than 40 metres wide.

Bibliography

* Dimier, M.-Anselme (1971): ''L'art cistercien hors de France'', p 55. Zodiaque: La Pierre-qui-Vire * Schneider, Ambrosius (1986): ''Lexikale Übersicht der Männerklöster der Cistercienser im deutschen Sprach- und Kulturraum'', in: Schneider, Ambrosius; Wienand, Adam; Bickel, Wolfgang; Coester, Ernst (eds.): ''Die Cistercienser, Geschichte – Geist – Kunst'', 3rd edn., pp 650f. Wienand Verlag Köln

External links

Dünamünde Fortress
History of Riga Roman Catholic monasteries in Latvia Cistercian monasteries Christian monasteries established in the 1200s 13th century in Latvia Buildings and structures completed in 1205 {{Latvia-struct-stub