Goldingen Castle
Goldingen Castle ( Latvian Kuldīgas pils , Latin castrum Guldinge ) was a castle of the Livonian Order in historic Courland . Today the former castle mill and a city park with the castle ruins are still located there.
history
The founding time of this castle as a southern outpost of the order is said to be between 1242 and 1245. Initially the castle was called Jesusburg, then, after the Curonian name for the place, Goldingen Castle. For the first time in 1252 a commander of the Kurds , whose seat was in Goldingen, is mentioned.
At the end of the 13th century, all friars in Courland were subordinate to the Commander of Goldingen. Goldingen became a defense and administrative center in the 14th century.
From 1252 to 1560 there are 47 commander in charge. Goldingen then served for some time as the ducal residence of the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia . After the death of the first Duke Gotthard Kettler in 1587, the duchy was divided among the sons and Wilhelm Ketteler became ruler of the part of Courland with his seat in Goldingen. On October 28, 1610, his son Jakob Kettler was born at Kuldiga Castle .
In 1801 Goldingen Castle was already in ruins with still towering walls.
Coordinates: 56 ° 58 ′ 8.3 " N , 21 ° 58 ′ 35.2" E
Individual evidence
- ^ Armin Tuulse: The castles in Estonia and Latvia (= negotiations of the Estonian learned society . Volume 33 ). Õpetatud Eesti Seltsi Toimetused, S. 159 .
- ^ Karl Woldemar von Löwis of Menar : Burgenlexikon für Alt-Livland . Walters and Rapa, Riga 1922, p. 60 ( digitized version ).