Mežotne

Mežotne ( German: Mesothen ) is a place about 10 kilometers west of Bauska ( German: Bauske ) in Latvia and about 40 kilometers south of the state capital Riga ( Latvian: Rīga ). It is located in the historic landscape Semgallen ( Latvian: Zemgale ) on the left bank of the Lielupe ( German: Courland Aa) near the border with Lithuania.

History

Even the late 10th century was built on one of the two hills on the banks of Lielupe a castle. The place appeared as " Medsuna " on an Arabic map of 1154. In 1220, the main rebel stronghold Semigallians was besieged and taken by the Livonian Order,. 1225-1251 resided the newly appointed Bishop of Selien here. After his defeat in 1236 at the Battle of Siauliai ( Lithuanian Šiauliai), the order was united with the Teutonic Order and the area came to the German Order.

The last Grand Master Gotthard Kettler leads the field in 1561 as a secular duchy of Courland under Polish suzerainty and Semgallen. After the extinction of the Kettler dynasty in 1737 was Ernst Johann von Biron to power, and the city became Russian after the third partition of Poland. In the phase 1921-1940 and since 1990, the city is one of Latvia.

Attractions

• Landscaped park on the bank of Lielupe
• The Classicist palace was from the Russian court architect Giacomo Quarenghi (1744-1817) Charlotte von Lieven, governess of the children of Alexander and Konstantin of Tsar Paul, the I., designed and built from 1797 to 1802. Land and money for this building got Charlotte out of gratitude of Catherine the Great, the mother of Tsar Paul. The Mesothen castle was occupied by the family Lieven until 1921 and expropriated during the agrarian reform. After various destructions, as in the years 1919 and 1944, it was restored in 1958-1996 and now serves as a representation of the Latvian government buildings. In some areas, the hotel is set up tours of the castle are available throughout the year.
• Castle ruins