A Visit to the Charming Town of Cesis, Latvia, Cesis, Latvia (B)

As part of my visit to the wonderful Gauja Valley, I planned a day trip from Sigulda to the charming town of Cesis. My time exploring the historic town reinforced how special this part of Latvia is, while furthering my understanding of the history of the country as a whole. Cesis really turned out to be yet another interesting and eye-opening stop in my journey through Latvia. Read on to learn more about what there is to see in Cesis and my experiences there.

The big draw of Cesis for me was probably unsurprisingly the town’s medieval castle. The old castle is the centrepiece of the Cesis Castle Complex and its ruins are the symbol of the town. Dating back from the 13th century, the castle built by the Livonian Brothers of the Sword would later encourage the town of Cesis to be built. For centuries it was known as Wenden, after the local tribe that lived in the area. The castle was destroyed and rebuilt several times through the years until in 1703 when it was not rebuilt and left in ruin. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).