The

ruins Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a variety of factors, such as lack of maintenance, deliberate ...

of Embūte Castle are located in

Embūte Embūte (german: Amboten) is a village in Embūte Parish, South Kurzeme Municipality in the Courland region of Latvia. See also * Embūte Castle The ruins of Embūte Castle are located in Embūte (german: Amboten), Embūte Parish, So ...

(german: Amboten),

Embūte Parish Embūte Parish ( lv, Embūtes pagasts) is an administrative unit of South Kurzeme Municipality in the Courland region of Latvia. The parish has a population of 414 (as of 1/07/2010) and covers an area of 117.6 km2. Villages of Embūte p ...

South Kurzeme Municipality South Kurzeme Municipality ( lv, Dienvidkurzemes novads) is one of the 35 municipalities established in Latvia in 2021. It surrounds Liepāja, Latvia's third largest city. Its first elected municipal council will take office on 1 July 2021. Its sea ...

in the

Courland Courland (; lv, Kurzeme; liv, Kurāmō; German and Scandinavian languages: ''Kurland''; la, Curonia/; russian: Курляндия; Estonian: ''Kuramaa''; lt, Kuršas; pl, Kurlandia) is one of the Historical Latvian Lands in western Latvia. ...

region of

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 ...

, not far from an ancient

hillfort A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Roma ...

erected by

Curonians :''The Kursenieki are also sometimes known as Curonians.'' The Curonians or Kurs ( lv, kurši; lt, kuršiai; german: Kuren; non, Kúrir; orv, кърсь) were a Baltic tribe living on the shores of the Baltic Sea in what are now the western p ...

. It was an ancient Curonian settlement and is mentioned in ancient chronicles as a place with strong Curonian resistance to German crusaders.Embūte Castle ruins
/ref> The bishop's castle was built as a border castle with Lithuania by

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 the ...

on a steep hill on the right bank of the

Lanka Lanka (, ) is the name given in Hindu epics to the island fortress capital of the legendary asura king Ravana in the epics of the ''Ramayana'' and the ''Mahabharata''. The fortress was situated on a plateau between three mountain peaks known ...

river, which flows into left tributary of the Venta. Later manor house was built using the walls of the former castle, which can be seen in the division of the rooms and the building material. Today, the ruins are surrounded by trees and are in poor condition.Embūtes tūrisma centrs.
/ref>

History

Embūte has been known since the end of 1244, when the Curonian wooden castle (german: Amboten) was taken over by the master of the Livonian Order

Dietrich von Grüningen Dietrich von Grüningen (or ''von Groeningen'') (* around 1210, † 3 September 1259) was a Knights Templar, Landmeister in Livonia and Landmeister of Prussia and Deutschmeister of the Teutonic Order. One of the most outstanding figures of the Teu ...

. In 1245 during war with

, castle was attacked by the Grand Duke of Lithuania

Mindaugas Mindaugas (german: Myndowen, la, Mindowe, orv, Мендог, be, Міндоўг, pl, Mendog, c. 1203–1263) is the first known Grand Duke of Lithuania and the only crowned King of Lithuania. Little is known of his origins, early life, or r ...

, but it was not taken. According to the chronicle of Herman Wartberg in 1253 castle was given to the Bishop of Courland.Embūte – bishop’s castle Amboten
/ref> It came in the hands of the

for a short period, but in the end of the thirteenth century it again belonged to the bishop. In 1265 master of the Livonian Order Konrad von Mandern built a stone castle 0.5 km south of the former Curonian wooden castle as a border castle with Lithuania. Since the 16th century castle was unused and was repurposed as

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

. In became a centre of big manor and residence for local

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

landlords. Borowski, Tomasz
Miasta, zamki i klasztory państwa krzyżowego Zakonu Szpitala Najświętszej Marii Panny Domu Niemieckiego w Jerozolimie nad Bałtykiem
' Oficyna Wydawnicza Volumen, 2010, 424 pages In 1700 in course of 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 ...

the castle was destroyed. Some documents from the 18th century tells, that only the castle walls has been preserved. In the same century a manor was erected on the old castle walls. It was expanded in the 19th century by demolishing one of the old gate towers. The last owner of the castle was the widow of Hans

von Hahn The House of Hahn (originally Hane and Hanen) is an ancient German-Baltic noble family which was prominent in the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia and on the Baltic Island Ösel. It was founded in 1230. It is also part of the old Mecklenburg no ...

. In 1919 manor house was burned down by

Bermontians The West Russian Volunteer Army or Bermontians was a pro-German military formation in Latvia and Lithuania during the Russian Civil War in 1918–20. History The Western Russian Volunteer Army, unlike the pro- Entente Volunteer Army, was supp ...

. Local rumors says that the baroness burned the castle in 1920s to avoid it nationalization by the new

n government. During the agrarian reforms in Latvia (1921–1930) all manors and land was nationalized and divided by the Latvian government. After the Second World War, the local Soviet

kolkhoz A kolkhoz ( rus, колхо́з, a=ru-kolkhoz.ogg, p=kɐlˈxos) was a form of collective farm in the Soviet Union. Kolkhozes existed along with state farms or sovkhoz., a contraction of советское хозяйство, soviet ownership or ...

used stones from the castle as building materials.

Today's Castle

Embūte Castle ruins are situated far from the main road, in the sparsely populated region of

. Today's ruins are surrounded by trees and in quite bad condition. Only fragments of some

wall A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or, is decorative. There are many kinds of walls, including: * Walls in buildings that form a fundamental part of the supe ...

s and

tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

s are visible.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Embute Castle Castles in Latvia South Kurzeme Municipality Aizpute County Courland