Restoration Project of the Castle of Cesvaine
Cesvaine is situated in the South of Vidzeme, 180 km far from Riga – capital city
in Republic of Latvia. The name of the town is created from six roads which cross here
— Sechswegen (German). Going from Madona to Gulbene you can see the “Cesvaine's
towers” greeting from the hill at a distance.
The Cesvaine castle, occasionally referred to as the Cesvaine manor house, was
built between 1894 and 1896 on the site of the 14th-century castle of the Archbishop of
Riga, which was destroyed in 1577. In addition to being an outstanding example of
Eclectic architecture, it is a monument with cultural and historical significance and much
notable artwork.
The building was commissioned by Adolf Gerhard Boris Emil von Wulf and
designed by the German architects Hans Griesebach and August Dinklage. This unique
work of art is the product of the architects' creativity and the abilities of highly skilled
local craftsmen. The walls are made of split granite fieldstones, which are found locally.
The rough-hewn surfaces of the walls and the smoothly worked stones of the
architectonic details contrast natural and man-made beauty. The poetic expressiveness of
the building is a result of the combined effect of the architecture, sculpture, metalwork
and painting.
The Cesvaine castle is the only Baltic castle to be included in G. Baranovsky's
late-nineteenth century encyclopedia of architecture. The aim of this publication was to
acquaint the general public with the world's most outstanding architectural achievements
of the age.
In the castle has been located the local school since 1919. In this way the building
was, as far as possible, cared for and kept in order. In 1997 the Cesvaine castle was
added to the list of Europenan heritage buildings. It was named "Castle of Dreams" in the
2002 "Visit the Castles and Manor Houses of Latvia" campaign.
On December 5, 2002 the building was severely damaged in a fire which
completely destroyed the roof and part of the second store.
Because the Cesvaine castle is an architectural monument, the State’s Heritage
Inspection (SHI) determines its cultural-historical value. In addition, the SHI is
responsible for determine the extent and cost of the damage. The value of the Cesvaine
castle has been assessed at 6.01 million LVL (approx. 12 million EURO). The damage as
a result of the fire is assessed at 2 million LVL (4 million EURO).
The following activities are under way as part of the castle restoration project:
1. Documentation for the roof project is being drafted.
2. Work on the new roof of the west wing begins in the second half of September.
It is planned that it could be one-year castle’s restoration project. Its main goal is
to facilitate the replacement of the temporary roof with a permanent, tile roof, and to
bring the Cesvaine castle back into the cultural life of Latvia and reintroduce it as an
object of tourism for all tourists, which are visiting Latvia.
A successful project will bring long-term benefits such as the stimulation of
tourism in the region of Vidzeme and the development of employment opportunities in
the Cesvaine area. Part of the goal of Culture 2000 is to find partners, including
restoration firms and the administrators of other castle estates who could share their
experience on expertise. Partners are invited to plan joint activities within the Castle’s
restoration project - exchange of experience in seminars, to create co-operation network
etc.
Among those to benefit would be not only the inhabitants of Cesvaine, but the
tourism industry and Latvia as a whole, because a cultural monument has a socioeconomic as well as a socio-cultural function. The castle would house municipal
institutions, for example, the museum, tourism information center, library and the music
and art school.
The Cesvaine Tower Council chairman VILNIS ŠPATS
T 371 9461212
E cesdome@madona.lv
contakt: IVETA RAIMO
T 371 6473032
E ivraimo@one.lv