Lielstraupe Castle ( lv, Lielstraupes pils; german: Schloss Gross-Roop) is a castle in
Straupe Parish
Straupe Parish ( lv, Straupes pagasts) is an administrative unit of Cēsis Municipality in the Vidzeme region of Latvia (Prior to 2009, it was an administrative unit of Cēsis District). The administrative center is the village of Plācis.
Towns ...
,
Cēsis Municipality
Cēsis Municipality ( lv, Cēsu novads) is a municipality in Vidzeme, Latvia. The municipality was formed in 2009 by merging Vaive parish and Cēsis town, which became the administrative centre. As of 2020, the population was 16,291.
On 1 July ...
, in the
Vidzeme
Vidzeme (; Old Latvian orthography: ''Widda-semme'', liv, Vidūmō) is one of the Historical Latvian Lands. The capital of Latvia, Riga, is situated in the southwestern part of the region. Literally meaning "the Middle Land", it is situated in n ...
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 ...
. It was originally built in the 13th century, and the village of
Straupe
Straupe (german: Groß-Roop) is a village in Straupe Parish, Cēsis Municipality in the Vidzeme region of Latvia.
History
Before the village was founded, the area was a part of the ancient Idumea country. The village of Straupe began to develop ...
began to develop around the castle in the 14th century. A large tower was added around 1600. Severely damaged by fire in 1905, the castle was restored between 1906 and 1909 by
architect
An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
Vilhelms Bokslafs. Between 1963 and 2018 it housed a
drug addiction rehabilitation hospital.
History
City was first established as residence of
Archbishopric of Riga
The Archbishopric of Riga ( la, Archiepiscopatus Rigensis, nds, Erzbisdom Riga) was an archbishopric in Terra Mariana, Medieval Livonia, a subject to the Holy See. It was established in 1186 as the bishopric of Livonia at Ikšķile, then after ...
. The date indicated above the roof of the gate (1263) is considered the year of its construction.
Around 1600, a tower was erected.
From the second half of the 13th century until 1625, the castle belonged to the baron family
Rosen
Rosen is a surname of Ashkenazi Jewish origin, the name deriving from the German word for roses. Notable people with this surname include:
People A–H
* Adam Rosen (born 1984), American-born British luger Olympian
* Al Rosen (1924–2015), Ameri ...
. During the Polish rule, a catholic monastery was located in the castle.
Since 1723, the castle belonged to the governor
Peter Lacy
Peter Graf von Lacy (russian: link=no, Пётр Петро́вич Ла́сси, tr. ; en, Pierce Edmond de Lacy; ga, Peadar (Piarais Éamonn) de Lása; 26 September 1678 – 30 April 1751) was an Irish-born soldier who later served in the I ...
, then the governor-general
George Browne.
In 1866, the castle was acquired by General Baron Johann Gustav von Rosen (1797–1872) and again remained the property of the Rosen family until departure
Hans von Rosen
Count Hans Robert von Rosen (8 August 1888 – 2 September 1952) was a Swedish Army captain and horse rider who competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics and in the 1920 Summer Olympics.
Career
In 1912 he and his horse ''Lord Iron'' were part of ...
to Germany in 1939.
Seriously damaged by fire in 1905, the castle was restored in 1906-1909 by the 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 ...
.
Gradually, a modern village
Straupe
Straupe (german: Groß-Roop) is a village in Straupe Parish, Cēsis Municipality in the Vidzeme region of Latvia.
History
Before the village was founded, the area was a part of the ancient Idumea country. The village of Straupe began to develop ...
was formed near the castle.
In the years
Soviet power
The political system of the Soviet Union took place in a federal single-party soviet socialist republic framework which was characterized by the superior role of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), the only party permitted by the Cons ...
, from 1949 to 1959, a machine-tractor station was housed in the castle. At this time, there were also equipped training rooms, workshops and a hostel for tractor drivers. Between 1963 and 2018 a narcological hospital
[Lielstraupsky castle.](_blank)
/ref> was located in the castle. From the interiors there are oak stairs, door leaves and parquet, as well as beautiful tiled stoves built in the early twentieth century. On the wall of the tower of the castle that faces the inner courtyard there is a clock made of wooden details.
Castle Park
The castle is surrounded by a park with a pond. Local and exotic trees such as Jasmine
Jasmine ( taxonomic name: ''Jasminum''; , ) is a genus of shrubs and vines in the olive family (Oleaceae). It contains around 200 species native to tropical and warm temperate regions of Eurasia, Africa, and Oceania. Jasmines are widely cultiva ...
, Abies balsamea
''Abies balsamea'' or balsam fir is a North American fir, native to most of eastern and central Canada (Newfoundland west to central Alberta) and the northeastern United States (Minnesota east to Maine, and south in the Appalachian Mountains to ...
are growing in the park. In the farthest corner of the park, there is a peculiar separate wood bell tower
A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...
that was built in 1848. The place where the park is now extending in the 14th century since 1374 there was the city of Straupe in accordance with the ''Riga Law'' and also being a member of 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 ...
. However in 17th century city was destroyed and was never restored.
There is also a medieval cemetery in the park, which was the oldest cemetery in the town of Straupe. Victims of the plague epidemic of the 16th century has been buried in this cemetery. Plague devastated city of Straupe which lost 81.5% of the population and only 794 city inhabitants survived. The deceased buried the deceased until 1775, with the exception of the city barons and the city pastor who were buried in the church. Now the baron's gravestones can be seen in the church garden.
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
*
*
Lielstraupe Castle
{{Castles in Latvia
Castles in Latvia
Castles of the Teutonic Knights
Kreis Wolmar
Populated places established in the 1260s
1263 establishments in Europe
Cēsis Municipality
Vidzeme