Aizpute Castle

About

Aizpute Castle (German: Ordensburg Hasenpoth) is a Livonian Order castle in the town of Aizpute in the historical region of Courland, in western Latvia. It was heavily damaged during the Second Northern War (1655–1660). Since 1998, the castle ruins are a Latvian historical monument.

History: The place located on a military road between Kuldiga (German: Goldingen) and Liepāja (German: Libau), was first mentioned as German: Asenputten in papers documenting division of Kurland in 1253 and was at that time probably the site of a Curonian Wallburg. Hasenpoth, former Hanseatic city was the seat of the Order and the seat of the Kurland cathedral chapter. The construction of the Ordensburg, located on the left bank of the Tebra River, begun in 1249 under Order Master Dietrich von Grüningen and served to secure the southern part of the army road from Riga to Goldingen. It was built as a regular Order Castle with a forepart, a corner tower and wooden buildings in the yard. For 1341 Hasenpoth is called as belonging to the Commandery Goldingen and is in 1397 and 1430 explicitly referred to as the castle of the Order. Castle Hasenpoth gained importance as a border castle between religious...