Alsunga Castle (; ) is a castle in

Alsunga Alsunga (also Alšvanga, ) is a village in Alsunga Parish, Kuldīga Municipality in the Courland region of Latvia. Alsunga is the center of the Suiti, a small Catholic community in the Lutheran western part of Latvia. There are approximately 13 ...

village, in

Alsunga Parish Alsunga Parish () is an administrative territorial entity of Kuldīga Municipality in the Courland region of Latvia. Prior to 2009, it was part of the now defunct Kuldīga district Kuldīga () () is a town in the Courland region of Latvia, in ...

Kuldīga Municipality Kuldīga Municipality () is a municipality in Courland, Latvia. The municipality was formed in 2009 by merging Ēdole parish, Gudenieki parish, Īvande parish, Kabile parish, Kurmāle parish, Laidi parish, Padure parish, Pelči parish, ...

in the

Courland Courland is one of the Historical Latvian Lands in western Latvia. Courland's largest city is Liepāja, which is the third largest city in Latvia. The regions of Semigallia and Selonia are sometimes considered as part of Courland as they were ...

region of

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

. It was built for the

Livonian Order The Livonian Order was an autonomous branch of the Teutonic Order, formed in 1237. From 1435 to 1561 it was a member of the Livonian Confederation. History The order was formed from the remnants of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword after thei ...

during the first half of the 14th century.

History

Alsunga Castle was built near the Curonian castle mound, which was later called Alsungas Dižgabalkalns, in written sources it was mentioned as '' Aliswangis''. The settlement was mentioned in the written sources for the first time in 1231 in a contract between the elders of a Curonian tribe and the papal envoy

Baldwin of Alna Baldwin of Alna ( or ''Alva''; died in 1243) was an envoy and later a papal legate of Pope Gregory IX in the Baltic region. He played a diplomatic role in both the Northern Crusades and the Barons' Crusade. He was a monk of the Cistercian Aulne ...

. During the time of the king Alsunga was part of his Bandava country. In 1341, the

Kuldiga Commandry in Alsunga was fortified, and in 1372 the Order built a quadrangular stone castle, which was later supplemented with round towers. The Order Cemetery, which was subordinated to the Kuldīga Commandry, was established there. In the

Duchy of Courland and Semigallia The Duchy of Courland and Semigallia was a duchy in the Baltic states, Baltic region, then known as Livonia, that existed from 1561 to 1569 as a nominal vassal state of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and subsequently made part of the Crown of th ...

from 1573 to 1728, Alsunga Castle Manor belonged to Marshal Schwerin of the Duchy of Courland in the

. In 1623, then landlord Johan Ulrich von Schwerin married in the Catholic Church tradition Miss Barbara KonarskaBarbara von Schwerin (Konarska h. Ossoria)
/ref> of Polish-Lithuanian descent and Catholic. In 1632, he brought the Jesuits to Alsunga. As a result of the Jesuit missionary work, part of the people turned to the Catholic faith, nowadays their descendants live in Latvia Suiti folklore. In 1738, Alsunga came into the possession of the dukes of Duchy of Courland and Semgallen. Since then, the complex was the administrative center of the estate Alsunga. In 1741 the castle was rebuilt into a

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

in the

baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

style. After the castle had been nationalized in 1920, a

dairy A dairy is a place where milk is stored and where butter, cheese, and other dairy products are made, or a place where those products are sold. It may be a room, a building, or a larger establishment. In the United States, the word may also des ...

was established there in 1925. In 1939 the second floor was extended and the building rebuilt for the local school.

References

External links

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Alsunga Castle
Castles in Courland Kuldīga Municipality Castles of the Livonian Order Castles of the Teutonic Knights Aizpute county {{Latvia-castle-stub

History

See also

References

External links