Cesvaine Palace ( lv, Cesvaines pils; german: Schloss Seßwegen) is located in the town of

Cesvaine Cesvaine () (german: Seßwegen) ) is a town in Madona Municipality, Vidzeme Region, Latvia. It is home to the Cesvaine Palace, built in 1896 near the ruins of previous medieval castles. History During the period before the Livonian Crusade in t ...

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

Madona Municipality Madona Municipality ( lv, Madonas novads) is a municipality in Vidzeme, Latvia. The administrative center is Madona. The total area of the municipality is , and the population in January 2013 was 26,953.Madona municipality Population Register ...

. Next to the palace lies remains of the old bishop's castle.

History

Cesvaine Palace was built in 1896 for the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

baron (not to be confused with the von Wolf baronial family). Authors of the project were

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Hans Grisebach Hans Grisebach (26 July 1848 – 11 May 1904) was a German architect whose buildings provided a backdrop for many celebrities from the arts world. Life Hans Otto Friedrich Julius Grisebach was born at Göttingen where August Grisebach (1814– ...

and August Dinklage from

Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

. The palace is built in the late Tudor

Neo-Renaissance Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century Revivalism (architecture), architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival architecture, Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival ...

style. At the end of the 19th century,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

abandoned the reproduction of old German prototypes and turned to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

in search of inspiration, namely to late Tudor-style architecture. The style had preserved certain

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

elements. Picturesque frames, towers and turrets of different forms and sizes, high decorative chimneys and steep roofs were all characteristic features of the style. 20011020 40sant Latvia Postage Stamp

Cesvaine Palace is an impressive construction representing this trend in Latvia. Abandoning forms of the

German Renaissance The German Renaissance, part of the Northern Renaissance, was a cultural and artistic movement that spread among German thinkers in the 15th and 16th centuries, which developed from the Italian Renaissance. Many areas of the arts and sciences ...

, Griesebach created an unusual, noble and welcoming construction. It is a romantic and picturesque building, and its architecture harmonizes with the landscape. The palace is built of stone, skilfully using the colour and texture of the material. The architect has applied the principle of contrast- the facade is enriched by balconies and impressive

pediment Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pedim ...

s. The round tower with a ''helmet'' appears to be a successful addition. The building is renowned not only for its size and frame, but also for the quality of construction. The facades are in medieval style, creating the impression of medieval fortification. In 2002, due to numerous fire safety regulation violations a fire broke out and destroyed the palace's roof, parts of second floor and the representative spaces in the first floor. In 2003,

restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration *Restoration ecology ...

work commenced and was finished in 2022 when the palace was once again reopened to visitors.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Cesvaine Palaces in Latvia Vidzeme

History

See also

References

External links