One of the most recognisable and well-preserved mediaeval castles of Latvia is Cēsis Castle. The Livonian Brothers of the Sword built the core of the castle 800 years ago. The Teutonic Order, the subsequent owners of the Cēsis Castle, enjoyed the most success during this time. It developed into one of the major administrative and commercial hubs of the Teutonic Order in Livonia and served as the residence of the Landmeister in Livland. The castle is now one of the most popular tourist attractions in the Baltic states and the most visited historical landmark in Cēsis. The Livonian chapter of the Teutonic Order took control of Cēsis Castle in 1237 A.D.. The Csis Castle received extensive refurbishment under the new governor. The previous defences were progressively replaced with a massive square castle i.e. castellum, which was constructed around a courtyard and featured four ranges. The necessity for -- fortified convents -- that were simple to defend and where the residence of the brethren was as little as possible led to the importation of this Teutonic Order castle form from Prussia. As part of the castle complex, outside baileys were constructed to add extra security and make room for numerous service buildings. Cēsis became one of the biggest and mightiest castles of the Teutonic Order as a result of the major restoration. According to an architectural examination of Cēsis Castle, there were three main construction phases. On the location of the existing castle, the Brothers of the Sword erected a stone chapel, chapter house and additional structures , probably made of wood, during the first half of the thirteenth century. One of the few remaining components from this initial stage of building is a chapel with Romanesque corbels, which is located in the eastern corner of the convent castle. Teutonic Knights started converting the structure into a convent-style castle in the late fourteenth century. The castle had four ranges grouped around a quadrangle and provided all the necessary functional amenities for a militant religious community, including a chapel, refectory, dormitories, chapter-house, kitchen and services. The walls of the castle were gradually changed to withstand artillery as firearms were developed. Around 1500 A.D. , three round towers were constructed, two in the outer baileys and one in the northern corner of the covenant castle. The Master-Chamber, located on the first level of the west tower, was richly embellished at the same period with an extraordinary brick vault and painted plasterwork. According to data given by the Cēsis Culture and Tourism Center, 100 000 people visited the castle in 2016. Cēsis Castle is accessible to the public all year round! [Information and Image Credit : Cēsis_Castle , Wikipedia] [Image : Cēsis Castle in 2017] [Images Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International ; Wikipedia Image Author : CesisCastle ; (Please Relate to Individual Image URL for More Usage Property)] [License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en ] [Source-Image-URL : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:CesuPils_2017-09-10.jpg ] #Architecture
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Monuments and Architecture
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