Lielstraupe Castle

One of the six medieval castles in the Gauja Valley. The most intact, but at the same time the most heavily reconstructed – from the distance it will look like some large modern country estate. The castle is believed to have been built in 1263, but its architect is unknown. In the fourteenth century Lielstraupe Castle became a vassal castle for the archbishop of Riga. During the second half of the 16th century, it was destroyed by numerous times and consequently rebuilt in the style of Baroque. The church adjacent to the castle is the only building that survived. It is connected to the residency by a covered passage and stands out from yellow buildings with its white colour and rectangular shape. However, also the church was burned, collapsed, and then in the middle of the 18th century was converted from a three-nave into a one-nave version. In 1905, the castle again was burned, by rebellious peasants this time, and afterwards carefully restored in the former style of Baroque. During Soviet times, Narcological Hospital was moved into the castel, which still there to this day. Check out the church behind the castle, and further behind it, a wooden bell tower from 1848. The bell tower was added later, when the church became a parish church. Before it was just part of the castle and did not need a bell.

Source: Wikivoyage, „Straupe“ · authors per page history · CC BY-SA 4.0 · as of 10/19/2017