Sēlpils Castle (; ) is an ancient castle in
Sēlpils Parish,
Jēkabpils Municipality in the
Selonia region of Latvia.
History
It was built in place of the ancient Sēlpils hillfort (), a military and political center of ancient
Selonia, a land of the
Balts
The Balts or Baltic peoples (, ) are a group of peoples inhabiting the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea who speak Baltic languages. Among the Baltic peoples are modern-day Lithuanians (including Samogitians) and Latvians (including Latgalians ...
. When the
Livonian Order entered the land, they built a stone castle known as Selburg in German.
Today, the village of
Vecsēlpils ("old Sēlpils") is located nearby. The ruins of the hillfort were on the left bank of
Daugava near Vecsēlpils. After the construction of
Pļaviņas Hydroelectric Power Station and reservoir, the ruins are on an island.
Archeological findings
Archaeological evidence shows that Sēlpils, 17 km northwest of modern
Jēkabpils, was a major settlement between the 10th and 13th centuries. Used as a base for raids by the Selonians and their
Lithuanian allies into
Latgalian and
Livonian lands, Sēlpils was first mentioned in the
Chronicle of Henry of Livonia, which describes its capture by the
Livonian Order and their
Christianized ethnic Livonian allies in 1208. Sēlpils was briefly the seat of a Selonian
diocese
In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...
(1218–1226), and then came under the rule of the Livonian Order, which constructed fortifications there for the Advocate () of the Order. These were destroyed by the
Swedes
Swedes (), or Swedish people, are an ethnic group native to Sweden, who share a common ancestry, Culture of Sweden, culture, History of Sweden, history, and Swedish language, language. They mostly inhabit Sweden and the other Nordic countries, ...
in 1704, during the
Great Northern War
In the Great Northern War (1700–1721) a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern Europe, Northern, Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the ant ...
, and only traces of the foundations are visible at the site today.
Since the early 17th century, the ancient city of Sēlpils also existed.
[Das Inland : eine Wochenschrift für Liv-, Esth- und Curländische Geschichte, Geographie, Statistik und Litteratur. Jg. 1, Nr. 1 (1836)-Jg. 28, Nr. 52 (1863) Dorpat : C.A. Kluge, 1836-1863 nr.; 25-32 cm. ISSN 1691-8428.] The importance of Sēlpils as a trading center on the Daugava declined after the military devastation of the early 18th century.
See also
*
Battle of Selburg
References
Further reading
*Arveds Švābe, ed.: ''Latvju enciklopēdija''. Stockholm: Trīs Zvaigznes, 1952-1953.
*Edgars Andersons, ed.: ''Latvju enciklopēdija 1962-1982''. Lincoln: American Latvian Association, 1983-1990. Entry "Sēlija" available a
historia.lv Retrieved 26 February 2006.
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sēlpils Castle
Archaeological sites in Latvia
Castles of the Livonian Order
Jēkabpils Municipality
Jaunjelgava county
Selonia