Introduction
Town and capital of Cēsis Municipality, Latvia
"Cesis" redirects here. For other uses, see Cesis (disambiguation).
"Kieś" redirects here. For other uses, see Kies.
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Town in Cēsis Municipality, LatviaCēsisTownCēsis skyline
FlagCoat of armsCēsisLocation in LatviaCoordinates: 57°19′N 25°16′E / 57.317°N 25.267°E / 57.317; 25.267Country LatviaMunicipalityCēsis MunicipalityFirst mentioned in chronicles1206Government • MayorJānis RozenbergsArea • Total19.27 km2 (7.44 sq mi) • Land18.71 km2 (7.22 sq mi) • Water0.56 km2 (0.22 sq mi)Elevation119 m (390 ft)Population (2025) • Total15,020 • Density802.8/km2 (2,079/sq mi)Time zoneUTC+2 (EET) • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)Postal codeLV-410(1-3)Calling code+371 641Number of municipal council members19Websitewww.cesis.lv/en/
Cēsis (Latvian pronunciation: [tseːsis] ⓘ; (German: Wenden, Livonian: Venden, Estonian: Võnnu, Polish: Kieś) is a town in Latvia and the center of Cēsis Municipality, located in the northern part of the Central Vidzeme Upland. Cēsis is on the Gauja River valley, and is built on a series of ridges above the river, overlooking the woods below.
Cēsis was selected to be one of the candidate cities for the title of the European Capital of Culture 2014 (Riga was the Latvian city that won the title), as well as for the European Capital of Culture 2027 (Liepāja took the title).
History of the town
[edit]
View of Cēsis in 1793
The planning of the town of Cēsis was done in the second half of the 13th century. The marketplace with a church was in the centre of the town. The centre of housing was the stone castle of the Livonian Order, with its three fortified towers. The town was also encircled by a dolomite stone wall with eight towers and five gates. Buildings from the Middle Ages include St. John's Church (built 1281–1284), the ruins of the Order's castle, Cēsis Castle and fortification walls, fragments of which can still be seen at Vaļņu iela and Palasta iela. In addition, ancient road networks and building plots have survived from medieval times, although many of the buildings themselves have been ruined (the last destroyed in 1748). 18th century buildings can be seen at 16 and 25 Rīgas iela, while houses built in the first part of the 19th century are at 15 and 47 Rīgas iela, 6 Gaujas iela, and other streets. Cēsis was occupied by the Swedish king Gustavus Adolphus in 1621 during the Polish–Swedish War.
In the second half of the 19th century, the construction of the Rīga-Pskov highway (1868) and the Rīga-Pskov railway line (1889) accelerated the development of the town. Raunas iela, leading from the railway station to the Old Town, was developed as a wide, presentable street with the Latvian Society House at 10 Raunas iela (architect Augusts Malvess), the Building of the Regional Court at 14 Raunas iela (architect P. Mengelis), and other important buildings.
The Battle of Cēsis in June 1919, when Estonian and Latvian forces defeated the Germans, was one of the decisive battles in the Latvian War of Independence.
Cēsis was also developed as a health resort. Upmarket summer houses and health centres were built in the vicinity of the Gauja. 'Cīrulīši' near the Svētavots (Holy Spring) Cave is the most remarkable of them, with a spring believed to possess healing powers.
Castle
[edit]
Main article: Cēsis Castle
Ruins of Cēsis Castle
The oldest settlement in Cēsis is the hillfort on Riekstu Hill, a fortified wooden castle built by a tribe known as the Vends. The 18-metre-high (59.06 ft) mound with its partly preserved fortification system can still be seen in the Castle park. This settlement was located near major trade routes from west to east and dominated the regional countryside.
German crusaders known as the Livonian Brothers of the Sword began construction of Wenden Castle near the hill fort in 1209. When the castle was enlarged and fortified, it served as the residence for the Order's Master. In 1577, during the Livonian War, the garrison destroyed the castle to prevent it from falling into the control of Ivan the Terrible, who was decisively defeated in the Battle of Wenden (1578). In 1598, it was incorporated into the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Wenden Voivodeship was created. In 1620 Wenden was conquered by Sweden. It was rebuilt afterwards, but destroyed again in 1703 during the Great Northern War by the Russian army and left in a ruined state. From the end of the 16th century, the premises of the order's castle were adapted to the requirements of the Cēsis Castle estate. When in 1777 the Cēsis Castle estate was obtained by Count Sievers, he had his new residence house built on the site of the eastern block of the castle, joining its end wall with the fortification tower. Since 1949, the Cēsis History Museum has been located in New Castle on the Cēsis Castle estate. The front yard of New Castle is enclosed by a granary and a stable-coach house, which now houses the Exhibition Hall of the Museum. Beside the granary there is the oldest brewery in Latvia—Cēsu Alus, which was built in 1878 during the latter years of Count Sievers' residency, but its origins date back to the period of the Livonian Order.
Further on is Cēsis Castle Park, which was laid out in 1812. The park has the romantic characteristic of that time, with its footpaths, exotic plants, and the waters of the pond reflecting the castle's ruins.
Climate
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Cēsis has a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb).
Climate data for Cēsis (Zosēni [lv], 1991-2020 normals, extremes 1945-present)
Month
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Year
Record high °C (°F)
8.7(47.7)
10.6(51.1)
18.5(65.3)
26.8(80.2)
29.1(84.4)
31.3(88.3)
34.1(93.4)
33.6(92.5)
28.8(83.8)
21.2(70.2)
14.5(58.1)
10.6(51.1)
34.1(93.4)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)
−2.3(27.9)
−1.8(28.8)
2.9(37.2)
10.7(51.3)
16.7(62.1)
20.2(68.4)
22.6(72.7)
21.3(70.3)
15.7(60.3)
8.8(47.8)
2.8(37.0)
−0.7(30.7)
9.7(49.5)
Daily mean °C (°F)
−4.5(23.9)
−4.7(23.5)
−1.0(30.2)
5.5(41.9)
10.9(51.6)
14.6(58.3)
17.0(62.6)
15.8(60.4)
11.0(51.8)
5.4(41.7)
0.8(33.4)
−2.6(27.3)
5.7(42.2)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)
−7.4(18.7)
−8.2(17.2)
−5.1(22.8)
0.1(32.2)
4.1(39.4)
8.6(47.5)
11.2(52.2)
10.3(50.5)
6.6(43.9)
2.3(36.1)
−1.5(29.3)
−4.9(23.2)
1.3(34.4)
Record low °C (°F)
−40.6(−41.1)
−42.2(−44.0)
−30.5(−22.9)
−21.8(−7.2)
−10.5(13.1)
−2.0(28.4)
1.1(34.0)
−1.7(28.9)
−7.3(18.9)
−16.3(2.7)
−24.6(−12.3)
−42.9(−45.2)
−42.9(−45.2)
Average precipitation mm (inches)
57.4(2.26)
43.8(1.72)
40.8(1.61)
41.7(1.64)
58.1(2.29)
80.7(3.18)
79.8(3.14)
75.9(2.99)
57.5(2.26)
78.6(3.09)
58.9(2.32)
56.2(2.21)
729.4(28.71)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm)
13
11
10
8
9
11
10
11
10
12
12
13
130
Average relative humidity (%)
89.1
86.6
78.0
69.9
68.9
74.0
76.5
79.3
83.7
87.4
91.0
90.9
81.3
Mean monthly sunshine hours
27.3
58.4
130.3
190.3
261.1
249.4
265.6
235.9
149.1
79.8
27.9
18.6
1,693.7
Source 1: LVĢMC
Source 2: NOAA (humidity and precipitation days 1991-2020)
Notable people
[edit]
See also: Category:People from Cēsis
Johann Graf von Sievers (1778–1827), Russian general
Emanuel Count von Sievers (1817–1909), Russian Senator
Heinrich Leonhard Adolphi (1852–1918), German-Baltic pastor and chess composer, Evangelical Lutheran martyr
Alfrēds Kalniņš (1879–1951), composer
Eduard Erdmann (1896–1958), German pianist and composer
Max Hildebert Boehm (1891–1968), sociologist
Adolf Rüütel (1906–1981), Estonian national football player
Wilhelm Theodor Georg Lenz (1906–1976), historian
Nina Vatatsy (1908–1997), bibliographer
Anita Stukāne (born 1954), long-jumper
Laima Vaikule (born 1954), singer
Edvīns Ķeņģis (born 1959), chess player
Ingrīda Amantova (born 1960), luger
Gerda Krūmiņa (born 1984), biathlete
Santa Dreimane (born 1985), basketball player
Baiba Bendika (born 1991), biathlete
Rodions Kurucs (born 1998), basketball player
Twin towns—sister cities
[edit]
See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Latvia
Cēsis is twinned with:
Achim, Germany
Baku, Azerbaijan
Gatchinsky District, Russia
Konstancin-Jeziorna, Poland
Rakvere, Estonia
Rokiškis, Lithuania
Tyresö, Sweden
Venafro, Italy
Zhovkva, Ukraine
Loutraki, Greece
Gallery
[edit]
Saint John the Baptist Lutheran church
The Rauna gate
Transfiguration of Christ Orthodox church
Old Town Hall of Cēsis
Victory monument at Union square
Panoramic view (2012)
Square of Roses
Midtown Cēsis at night
Riga Street (Rīgas Iela)
The Cēsis clinic (2021)
