Ludza Castle Ruins, Ludza, Latvia

The first mention of the Ludza Castle dates from 1433 when the Livonian Order built a large and strong fortress to replace an earlier wooden fortress built by the ancient Latgalians. The Ludza stone castle had three stories, six towers, three gates and two foreparts. It was built as an outpost for the Livonian order, mainly to strengthen the eastern border of Livonia and guard trade routes from Russia.

In 1481 the Russians invaded Livonia, occupied and devastated the castle. Only the 1525 through improved relations with the Grand Duchy of Moscow, the Livonian Order rebuilt the castle only to see it destroyed again in 1654 by Russian troops under orders from the Russian tsar Aleksey. At the start of the Livonian War in 1558, German troops attacked Krasnij Gorodok and destroyed a number of parishes in Pskov. In the same year Maskavijas troops of Gregory Temkina occupied the castle, but suffering defeat, he was forced to abandon his conquest.

In 1577 Livonia was once again invaded by Russian troops under the guidance of Ivan IV Vasilyevich and the castle was sacked. The following year the Order had Ludza castle with some others in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania mortgaged, and in 1561 asked the castle to be included in the Inflantia. In 1582 the castle returned to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

During the Polish-Swedish War in 1625 the Swedish army occupied the castle, but the Polish-Lithuania Commonwealth soon got it back. In the Russian-Polish War in 1654 the Russian Voivoda Lev Saltikovs surrounded Ludza and the castle surrendered. According to a decision of the Polish Sejm in 1667, only the Daugavpils castle was maintained and other defenses, including Ludza castle, was neglected. After that the castle was abandoned and left in ruins.

Nowadays the impressive fragments of the castle walls, including a three-floor high fragment, still remain. The ruins are the main tourist attraction in the Ludza District, and is considered a symbol of the town.

References:

Wikipedia

Address

Baznīcas iela 54, Ludza, Latvia

See all sites in Ludza

Details

Founded: 1433
Category: Miscellaneous historic sites in Latvia
Historical period: State of the Teutonic Order (Latvia)

More Information

www.latvia.travel
en.wikipedia.org
www.vietas.lv

Rating

4.7/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby

Rezekne Castle Ruins (24,5 km)

User Reviews

Mattias Haraldsson (2 years ago)
Really nice area!

Jozef Jonas (2 years ago)
Main attraction in Ludzu. It’s possible to go down to the lake and swim. Nice view from the cliff.

Niks Purins (2 years ago)
Must have place if you are visiting Ludza. Will not regret especially in the sun sets!

Krzysztof Bieniek (2 years ago)
Nice lake view. Nearby Catholic church

Kristina Leigaitė (5 years ago)
It takes a breath ehrn you see the whole structure. You can only imagije how big the palace was. Also the place is beautyfull - on top of the hill, there are few lakes and very lovely church nearby.

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Photo from Flickr, copyright Zvonimir Hrvoj

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