Viļaka Castle (, Mariensee Castle, Marienhausen, ) is a ruined castle in

Balvi Municipality Balvi Municipality (, ) is a municipality in northern Latgale, Latvia. The municipality was formed in 2009 from parts of the Balvi district, by merging Balvi parish, Bērzkalne parish, Bērzpils parish, Briežuciems parish, Krišjāņi par ...

in the

Latgale Latgale (; ; ; ; ; ; Belarusian Latin alphabet, Belarusian Latin: ''Łathalija''; ), also known as Latgalia or Latgallia, is one of the Historical Latvian Lands. It is the easternmost region of the country and lies north of the Daugava River. Wh ...

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 ...

. The castle is located close to the town of

Viļaka Viļaka (, ; ; ; , ''Vilyaka''; Yiddish: ויליאקי, ''Vilyaki'') is a town in Balvi Municipality in the Latgale region of Latvia. The population in 2020 was 1,223. Viļaka is located 246 km from Riga, and 8 km from border with Russi ...

, on the only (unnamed) island in Viļaka Lake. The island on which the castle was built was donated in 1293 by the Archbishop of Riga, Johann II von Vecht, to the Cistercian monks, in order to build a monastery there. It was named Marienhausen, or the House of Mary. At that time, it was a place very far to the east from other Crusader centers, surrounded by swamps, far from the main communication routes, inaccessible. The buildings erected by the Cistercians were probably mostly wooden, although they could have funded one stone tower. The stone castle built by the

Archbishopric of Riga The Archbishopric of Riga (, ) was a Catholic diocese and civil government in Medieval Livonia, subject to the Holy See. It was established in 1186 and ended in 1561. History The diocese was established in 1186 as the Bishopric of Livonia a ...

in 1342 as a wooden castle, rebuilt as a stone castle after 1516. The castle was destroyed in 1702 during the

Great Northern War In the Great Northern War (1700–1721) a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern Europe, Northern, Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the ant ...

. The outer walls are 1.6m thick, remaining fragments of the walls are up to 2 meters high. In 2020, a pontoon bridge between the island and the mainland and a walking path on the island were unveiled. The island trail is more than 400 meters in length. A scale model of the original castle is on display next to the bridge. An additional option to visit the island is by renting a SUP board (

paddleboard Paddleboarding is a water sport in which participants are propelled by a swimming motion using their arms while lying or kneeling on a paddleboard or surfboard in the ocean or other body of water. Paddleboarding is usually performed in the open ...

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Castles in Latgale Castles of the Teutonic Knights Balvi Municipality {{Latvia-castle-stub

See also

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