Construction of the Order's Castle in Cesis, Latvia

The ruin of the Medieval Order's Castle in Cesis is the best preserved castle ruin complex in Latvia. The rich history and spectacular outlook place it amongst the most peculiar and interesting tourist attractions of the whole Baltic region. Investigation of the Castle, begun at the end of the nineteenth century, has continued into modern times. Scarcity of written and visual sources of information has made it necessary to rely on what could be discovered from the investigation of the building itself, including archaeological excavations and architectural survey of the standing structures. Preliminary analysis of the original planning and a summary of the results of previous historical, archaeological and architectural research has provided a broad view of the development of the Castle. The present paper is illustrated with theoretical reconstructions of the Castle, obtained from this analysis.