Jaunpils Castle (german: Schloß Neuenburg) is a castle in
Jaunpils Parish,
Tukums Municipality
Tukums Municipality ( lv, Tukuma novads) is a Latvian municipality situated partly in the region of Semigallia, partly in Courland and partly in Vidzeme. The municipality was formed in 2009 by merging Degole Parish, Džūkste Parish, Irlava P ...
in the
Semigallia
Semigallia, also spelt Semigalia, ( lv, Zemgale; german: Semgallen; lt, Žiemgala; pl, Semigalia; liv, Zemgāl) is one of the Historical Latvian Lands located in the south of the Daugava river and the north of the Saule region of Samogitia. ...
region of
Latvia. More of a manor house than properly a fortified castle, it has now been converted into a hotel.
History
The castle in Jaunpils is first time mentioned in 1411. Most likely it's built in the end of the 14th century. The tower was added in the 15th century.
In the first half of 16th century Jaunpils Castle was the place where many old and weak brothers of Livonian Order settled.
In 1576 Jaunpils Castle became property of last
komtur
Commander ( it, Commendatore; french: Commandeur; german: Komtur; es, Comendador; pt, Comendador), or Knight Commander, is a title of honor prevalent in chivalric orders and fraternal orders.
The title of Commander occurred in the medieval mili ...
of
Dobele
Dobele (; german: Doblen) is a town in the cultural region Zemgale in Latvia, and is located near the center of Latvia on the banks of the river Bērze. It received town rights in 1917 whilst being a part of the German occupied Courland Governor ...
Matthias von der Recke. Castle was owned by his descendants until 1920.
The castle was heavily damaged in war by
Swedes in 1625.
Later a third floor was added and the old fortress became a manor with all conveniences in the end of the 17th century. The building was partly reconstructed in the 18th century. The castle was burned down during the
Russian Revolution of 1905
The Russian Revolution of 1905,. also known as the First Russian Revolution,. occurred on 22 January 1905, and was a wave of mass political and social unrest that spread through vast areas of the Russian Empire. The mass unrest was directed again ...
. A year later it was rebuilt by architect
Wilhelm Bockslaff
Wilhelm Ludwig Nikolai Bockslaff ( lv, Vilhelms Ludvigs Nikolajs Bokslafs, russian: Вильгельм Людвиг Николай Бокслаф; , Riga – 9 March 1945, Poznań) was a Baltic German architect working in Riga. He is considered ...
.
From the 16th century until 1920 the castle belonged to the family of the
Baltic German
Baltic Germans (german: Deutsch-Balten or , later ) were ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since their coerced resettlement in 1939, Baltic Germans have markedly declined ...
baron von der Recke. One of the family members who lived there in the 18th century was the poet
Elisa von der Recke
Elisabeth "Elisa" Charlotte Constanzia von der Recke (née von Medem; 20 May 1754 – 13 April 1833) was a Baltic German writer and poet.
Family
Elisa von der Recke was born in Schönberg, Skaistkalne parish, Courland (present-day Skaist ...
.
[ After the Latvian agrarian reforms of the 1920s, the castle complex housed a ]cattle-breeding
Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, selective breeding, and the raising of livestock. Husbandry has a long history, start ...
experimental station. During the Soviet occupation of Latvia, the interior of the castle was heavily reconstructed and for many years had typical Soviet interiors from the 1960s. In the 2000s, a team of Latvian designers refitted the interior of the castle. Today it features luxurious medieval style apartments which blend luxuries with glimpses of the castle's history.[Jaunpils pils SIA. "Pakalpojumi". http://www.jaunpilspils.lv/index.php?lang=lat&n1=1&n2=1 Retrieved 7 October 2018.]
See also
*List of castles in Latvia
This is the List of castles in Latvia, which includes fortified residences of Western European conquerors built in the area of present-day Latvia before the 17th century. There are about 140 medieval castles in the area, therefore this list is not ...
References
External links
Jaunpils Castle
*
*
{{Castles in Latvia
Castles in Latvia
Castles of the Livonian Order
Tukums Municipality
Tuckum County
Semigallia