- Type
- Fortress
- Origins
- 1810 · 19th century per Wikidata: founding, first mention or construction
- Style
- Classicism
- Coordinates
- 55.8863°, 26.4953°
History
Work on the fortress by the Daugava began in 1810 on the orders of Tsar Alexander I, as the threat from Napoleon grew. When French troops reached the town in the summer of 1812, only the bridgehead on the left bank was ready; its defenders beat off the first attacks and then withdrew east. Building resumed after the war and went on until 1878, adding bastions, gates, an arsenal and barracks in Neoclassical style. The fortress served the Russian and later the Latvian army; in the Second World War the Germans ran a prisoner-of-war camp here. Soviet troops were stationed in it until the early 1990s.
What to see
The fortress is effectively a district of its own: dozens of buildings stand within the ramparts, some of them lived in. Bastions, moats, monumental gates and the arsenal survive, the last now home to an art centre. Visitors can walk along the ramparts, see exhibitions on the history of the fortifications and wander the restored lanes between the barracks.
Wikipedia article Official website Wikidata Q2666994
Popularity: articles about this site in 14 Wikimedia projects (Wikipedia language editions and others).