Koknese Castle ( lv, Kokneses pils, german: Burg Kokenhusen) is a complex in

Koknese Koknese () is a town in Aizkraukle Municipality in the Vidzeme region of Latvia, on the right bank of the Daugava River. It has a population of nearly 3,000. According to the provisions of the 2021 Latvian administrative reform, Koknese gained ...

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 ...

, dating from the 13th century. The

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

was situated on a high bluff overlooking the

Daugava , be, Заходняя Дзвіна (), liv, Vēna, et, Väina, german: Düna , image = Fluss-lv-Düna.png , image_caption = The drainage basin of the Daugava , source1_location = Valdai Hills, Russia , mouth_location = Gulf of Riga, Baltic Se ...

river valley. In 1965 a hydroelectric dam was built downriver, creating a reservoir that partially submerged the castle and flooded the surrounding valley.

History

Before the arrival of the

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 ...

, Koknese was the site of a wooden hill fort inhabited by the

Balts The Balts or Baltic peoples ( lt, baltai, lv, balti) are an ethno-linguistic group of peoples who speak the Baltic languages of the Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. One of the features of Baltic languages is the number ...

. In 1209 Bishop

Albert of Riga Albert of Riga or Albert of Livonia or Albrecht (german: Albert von Buxthoeven, lv, Alberts fon Buksthēvdens; c.1165 – 17 January 1229) was the third Bishop of Riga in Livonia. In 1201 he allegedly founded Riga, the modern capital of Lat ...

ordered the construction of a stone castle at the site, naming it ''Kokenhusen''. For the first 50 years of its existence, Koknese was solely used as a defensive fort, but by 1277, Koknese had enough population to receive

city rights Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...

. Koknese also became a member of the

Hanseatic League The Hanseatic League (; gml, Hanse, , ; german: label=Modern German, Deutsche Hanse) was a medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central and Northern Europe. Growing from a few North German to ...

thanks to its strategic location on the

trade route. The castle was heavily contested between

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

and

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

forces in the 16th and 17th centuries. It changed hands many times, while the native inhabitants endured periodic slaughter, capture, and famine. In 1701, during 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 ...

, Koknese was finally blown up by retreating forces to avoid the strategic castle falling into advancing Russian hands. The castle was never rebuilt after this and was left unattended for 200 years before being turned into a tourist attraction by the USSR. The town around Koknese began to reappear in the 19th century, after serfdom was abolished and a railroad station was built in the village, facilitating movement to the area. In 1900, a park was established around the castle ruins, and Koknese became a popular summer resort. The area was known for its scenic waterfalls, cliffs, and look-outs. In 1965, the Soviet government built Pļaviņas Hydro Power Plant in the town of

Aizkraukle Aizkraukle (german: Ascheraden) is a town in Vidzeme region in Latvia, the administrative centre of Aizkraukle Municipality on the right bank of the Daugava River. The population in 2020 was 7,018. History In the second half of the 14th century ...

. The reservoir flooded the entire length of the Daugava to

Pļaviņas Pļaviņas (; german: Stockmannshof) is a town in Aizkraukle Municipality in Latvia. The town is located on the Daugava river. The population in 2020 was 2,974. Latvian law defines the town of Pļaviņas as belonging partly to the Vidzeme region an ...

. Koknese Castle, once sitting atop a high bluff, was placed at the river's edge, while the scenic Daugava valley was submerged.

Gallery

File:Koknese 1.JPG File:Koknese 3.JPG File:Koknese 4.JPG File:Koknese 6.JPG File:Koknese Burg Koknese 09.JPG File:Koknese Burg Koknese Hof 03.JPG File:Koknese Blick von den Burgruinen auf die Umgebung 1.JPG File:Kokneses pilsdrupas - panoramio.jpg

References

External links

* {{Castles in Latvia Koknese Castles in Latvia Castles of the Livonian Order Demolished buildings and structures in Latvia Buildings and structures demolished in 1701

History

Gallery

See also

References

External links