Latvia · 13th century
Cēsis Castle (German: Schloß Wenden) is one of the most iconic and best preserved medieval castles in Latvia. The foundations of the castle were laid 800 years ago by the Livonian Brothers of the Sword. The most prosperous period Cēsis Castle experienced was during its next owners, the Teutonic Order. It became one of the key administrative and economic centers of the Teutonic Order in Livonia and was the seat of the Landmeister in Livland. The first serious damage was done to the castle during the Livonian War, when it was besieged by the army of Ivan the Terrible. In the course of the siege of 1577 approximately 300 people within the castle committed mass suicide by blowing themselves up with gunpowder.
Cēsis Castle was still in use during the following century but it fell into disuse after the Great Northern War. Today the castle is the most visited heritage site in Cēsis and one of the 'must see' destinations in the Baltic states.
Text adapted from “Cēsis Castle” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Cēsis Castle ranks #913 of 9,079 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #5 of the 47 mapped in Latvia. Founded 1209, it is older than 74% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 1080 atlas entries founded in the 13th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 4,783 times in the last 60 days, more than 86% of the atlas. 2 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Riga, 81 km away. See how Latvia compares in the castle statistics.
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