Valmiera Castle ( lv, Valmieras pils, german: Schloß Wolmar) was a castle in

Valmiera Valmiera (; german: link=no, Wolmar; pl, Wolmar see other names) is the largest city of the historical Vidzeme region, Latvia, with a total area of . As of 2002, Valmiera had a population of 27,323, and in 2020 – 24 879. It is a state cit ...

, Latvia. Today its ruins lie in the city centre.

History

The medieval castle was built on the site of an old Latgalian fortification during the 13th century by the Livonian Order as an ''

Ordensburg ''Ordensburg'' (plural ''Ordensburgen'') is a German term meaning "castles/fortresses of (military) orders", and is used specifically for such fortified structures built by crusading German military orders during the Middle Ages. Medieval Or ...

''. It protected the right bank of the river

Gauja The Gauja River ( et, Koiva jõgi, german: Livländische Aa) is a river in the Vidzeme region of Latvia. It is the only large river of Latvia that begins and ends its flow in Latvia. Its length is 460 km, of which 93.5 km (approxim ...

. The castle had a certain political importance since it hosted '' Landtags'' (i.e. assemblies of representatives) of the Livonian Confederation. The fortress was burnt down by Russian troops 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-Swed ...

in 1702 and was subsequently used as a

quarry A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their envir ...

for local residents to collect building materials. The former castle grounds today contain a museum and a shop and is used as an open-air venue for concerts and celebrations.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Castles in Latvia Castles of the Livonian Order 13th century in Latvia