Sēlpils Castle ( lv, Sēlpils pils; la, Castrum Selonum) is an ancient castle in

Sēlpils Parish Sēlpils is a village in Sēlpils Parish, Jēkabpils Municipality in the Selonia region of Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, L ...

, Jēkabpils Municipality in the

Selonia Selonia ( lv, Sēlija; lt, Sėla), also known as Augšzeme (the "Highland"), is one of the Historical Latvian Lands encompassing the eastern part of the historical region of Semigallia ( lv, Zemgale) as well as a portion of northeastern Lithuani ...

region of

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 ...

History

It was built in place of the ancient Sēlpils hillfort ( lv, Sēlpils pilskalns), a military and political center of ancient

, a land of the

Balts The Balts or Baltic peoples ( lt, baltai, lv, balti) are an ethno-linguistic group of peoples who speak the Baltic languages of the Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. One of the features of Baltic languages is the numbe ...

. When 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 t ...

entered the land, they built a stone castle known as Selburg in German. Today, the village of

Vecsēlpils Vecsēlpils ("old Sēlpils", formerly Sēlpils; german: Selburg) is a village in Sēlpils Parish, Jēkabpils Municipality in the Selonia region of Latvia, on the location of the ancient Selonian town of Sēlpils. The ruins of the ancient Sēlpil ...

("old Sēlpils") is located nearby. The ruins of the hillfort were on the left bank of

Daugava The Daugava ( ltg, Daugova; german: Düna) or Western Dvina (russian: Западная Двина, translit=Západnaya Dviná; be, Заходняя Дзвіна; et, Väina; fi, Väinäjoki) is a large river rising in the Valdai Hills of Russ ...

near Vecsēlpils. After the construction of

Pļaviņas Hydroelectric Power Station The Pļaviņas Hydroelectric Power Station has the largest hydroelectric power plant in the Baltics and one of the biggest in the European Union. It is located in Aizkraukle on the Daugava River. It has ten individual water turbines with an instal ...

and reservoir, the ruins are on an island.

Archeological findings

Archaeological evidence shows that Sēlpils, 17 km northwest of modern

Jēkabpils Jēkabpils (; german: Jakobstadt; pl, Jakubów) is a state city in Jēkabpils Municipality in southeastern Latvia roughly halfway between Riga and Daugavpils and spanning the Daugava River. Historic Jēkabpils lies on the left bank, in Seloni ...

, was a major settlement between the 10th and 13th centuries. Used as a base for raids by the Selonians and their

Lithuanian Lithuanian may refer to: * Lithuanians * Lithuanian language * The country of Lithuania * Grand Duchy of Lithuania * Culture of Lithuania * Lithuanian cuisine * Lithuanian Jews as often called "Lithuanians" (''Lita'im'' or ''Litvaks'') by other Jew ...

allies into Latgalian and Livonian lands, Sēlpils was first mentioned in the

Chronicle of Henry of Livonia The ''Livonian Chronicle of Henry'' ( la, Heinrici Cronicon Lyvoniae) offers a Latin narrative of events in Livonia (roughly corresponding to today's inland Estonia and the northern part of Latvia) and surrounding areas from 1180 to 1227. It was ...

, which describes its capture by the

and their

Christianized Christianization ( or Christianisation) is to make Christian; to imbue with Christian principles; to become Christian. It can apply to the conversion of an individual, a practice, a place or a whole society. It began in the Roman Empire, conti ...

ethnic Livonian allies in 1208. Sēlpils was briefly the seat of a Selonian

diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associat ...

(1218–1226), and then came under the rule of the Livonian Order, which constructed fortifications there for the Advocate (german: Vogt) of the Order. These were destroyed by the Swedes in 1704, during the

Great Northern War The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swed ...

, and only traces of the foundations are visible at the site today. Since the early 17th century, the ancient city of Sēlpils also existed.Das Inland : eine Wochenschrift für Liv-, Esth- und Curländische Geschichte, Geographie, Statistik und Litteratur. Jg. 1, Nr. 1 (1836)-Jg. 28, Nr. 52 (1863) Dorpat : C.A. Kluge, 1836-1863 nr. ; 25-32 cm. ISSN 1691-8428. The importance of Sēlpils as a trading center on the Daugava declined after the military devastation of the early 18th century.

History

Archeological findings

See also

References

Further reading