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Founded: 1783-1789Category: Palaces, manors and town halls in Latvia
Historical period: Part of the Russian Empire (Latvia)
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Varakļāni palace was designed by the Italian architect Vincenzo Macotti at the request of the estate's owner, Count Michael Johann von der Borch. Construction was begun in 1783 and completed in 1789. The palace was one of the first buildings in the classicism style in Latvia. It is an architectural monument of national importance consisting of 3 parts, which are connected by galleries. In the central part of it, there is a tower with a gallery, which burned down at the beginning of the 20th century. The palace has two storeys in the middle part of it and in the wings of it.
The building housed the Varakļāni secondary school from 1921 to 1960. The palace and grounds are currently administered by the town of Varakļāni.
References:The Church of St Donatus name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the Roman forum. It is the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia.
The beginning of the building of the church was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to have been completed in the 9th century. The Zadar bishop and diplomat Donat (8th and 9th centuries) is credited with the building of the church. He led the representations of the Dalmatian cities to Constantinople and Charles the Great, which is why this church bears slight resemblance to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in Aachen, and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. It belongs to the Pre-Romanesque architectural period.
The circular church, formerly domed, is 27 m high and is characterised by simplicity and technical primitivism.