Description of the attraction
Koknese Castle was built in 1209 by the Archbishop of Riga. Only the ruins of the Koknese castle have survived to this day, but they give a certain charm to this ancient place. The village of Koknese, where the castle ruins are located, is located about 30 km from Jekabpils.
In historical chronicles, a wooden castle was mentioned as early as 1200. The wooden structure was burned, and in its place, by order of the bishop, in 1209 they began to build a stone Christian castle. The materials for the construction were dolomite blocks mined on the banks of the Daugava. Bricks were used in the decoration of windows and doorways. In the spring of 1210, the Lithuanians attacked the castle, which was only half built, however, they failed to capture the fortress. Subsequently, armed conflicts have occurred quite often.
Gradually, a city was formed around the castle, which was in a special position. There were only 4 of them in Livonia: Riga, Limbaži, Koknese and Straupe. In 1277, Koknese received the status of a city, assigned to it by Archbishop John I. At the same time, the city boundaries were determined, in addition, the citizens of Koknese were given land plots from the archbishop's possessions.
The built castle existed for 500 years, during this time its owners were replaced, it was rebuilt several times. The castle was blown up by Polish troops at the very beginning of the Northern War, and since then it has not been restored. At the same time, the remains of the city were destroyed. After the war, the castle passed from hand to hand. Its last owner was the Levenshtern family, who owned the estate before the agrarian reform.
At the end of the 19th century, Otto von Levenstern built himself a new Koknese Palace, which became known simply as the New Castle. However, the life of the New Palace was short-lived. It was destroyed during the First World War. It is interesting that the German shells that arrived from the other bank of the Daugava did not cause much harm to the already destroyed castle, but the New Castle was destroyed by grenades. After the end of the war, the ruins of the New Castle were taken away for building materials, while the ruins of the Old Koknese Castle remained intact.
1967 brought new destruction to Koknese Castle. During the construction of the Plavinas HPP, large areas were flooded. It is hard to believe that once the Koknese fortress towered on the top of a mountain, since after the appearance of the hydroelectric power station, the reservoir began to wash the foundation of the castle.
Koknese Castle was erected as a two-storey building with a triangular plan with five towers. The castle rose on a high cliff at the confluence of two rivers. The number of towers has changed throughout the history of the castle, and the castle itself was rebuilt about 6 times. Koknese Castle was surrounded by thick high walls made of dolomite.
There were prisons under the towers on the western side of the castle. On the ground floor of the Koknese castle, a brewery, a bakery and a kitchen were built. On the second floor there were living quarters as well as meeting rooms. Fireplaces and tiled stoves were used for heating.
After the restoration of Latvia's independence, special programs were developed to protect and restore cultural and historical monuments. Since 19991, the Koknese Castle has been carrying out regular conservation work on the ruins in order to stop further destruction of the ruins.
