Varakļāni Palace () is a palace in

Varakļāni Varakļāni (; , , , ) is a town in the Latgale historical region of Latvia. The population in 2020 was 1,740. History The town of Varakļāni was founded and established in the Russian Empire in the 18th century. Varakļāni Palace is locate ...

, Varakļāni Municipality in the historical region of

Latgale Latgale (; ; ; ; ; ; Belarusian Latin alphabet, Belarusian Latin: ''Łathalija''; ), also known as Latgalia or Latgallia, is one of the Historical Latvian Lands. It is the easternmost region of the country and lies north of the Daugava River. Wh ...

, in

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

History

After the end of the

Livonian War The Livonian War (1558–1583) concerned control of Terra Mariana, Old Livonia (in the territory of present-day Estonia and Latvia). The Tsardom of Russia faced a varying coalition of the Denmark–Norway, Dano-Norwegian Realm, the Kingdom ...

in 1583, family acquired the Vark castle district, it was called "Vark land" (). The palace was designed by the Italian

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 ...

Vincenzo Macotti at the request of the estate owner, the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

diplomat Count Michał Jan Borch. Construction started in 1783 and completed in 1789. After the death of Count Borch in 1810, his wife, Eleonor Christine (1766-1844), and later their son, Karol Borch (1798-1861), whose daughter Maria married (1834–1876), operated the palace. After his death, the manor was inherited by their daughter, Teresa Sanguszko-Kowelska (1864-1954), who married (1856-1893). After Latvian Agrarian Reform in 1920s Varaklani Manor was nationalized and subdivided. From 1921 to 1944 the Varaklani State Gymnasium, later until 1961 the senior classes of Varaklani High School, operated in the castle. At the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the castle was a

military hospital A military hospital is a hospital owned or operated by a military. They are often reserved for the use of military personnel and their dependents, but in some countries are made available to civilians as well. They may or may not be located on a m ...

. The building housed the

secondary school from 1921 to 1960. In the mid-1980s the castle conservation works began. At the entrance of the castle there is a memorial plaque for the linguist Leonard Latkovsky. Since 1997, the castle has housed the Varaklani Regional Museum, which since 2009 has been the Tourist Information Center.The palace and grounds are currently administered by the town of Varakļāni.

References

External links

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Varakļāni Palace
Palaces in Latgale Varakļāni Municipality Neoclassical palaces in Latvia {{Latvia-castle-stub

History

See also

References

External links