Cēsis

Coordinates: 57°19′N 25°16′E / 57.317°N 25.267°E / 57.317; 25.267
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Cēsis
Town
Cēsis skyline
Cēsis skyline
UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code
LV-410(1-3)
Calling code+371 641
Number of city council members11
Websitewww.cesis.lv/en/

Cēsis (Latvian pronunciation: [tseːsis] ), (German: Wenden, Livonian: Venden, Estonian: Võnnu, Polish: Kieś) is a town in Latvia 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[3] (Riga was the Latvian city that won the title).

Castle

Ruins of the Cēsis Castle

The oldest settlement in Cēsis is 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

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 the 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.

The town

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-Valka 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.

Climate

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)
26.5
(79.7)
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[5][6]
Source 2: NOAA (humidity and precipitation days 1991-2020)[7]

Notable people

Twin towns—sister cities

Cēsis is

twinned with:[8]

Gallery

  • Saint John the Baptist Lutheran church in Cēsis
    Saint John the Baptist
    Lutheran church in Cēsis
  • Rauna Gate
    Rauna Gate
  • Cēsis Transfiguration of Christ Orthodox Church
    Cēsis Transfiguration of Christ Orthodox Church
  • Cēsis Old Town Hall
    Cēsis Old Town Hall
  • The Victory monument in Union square in Cēsis
    The Victory monument in Union square in Cēsis
  • Square of Roses
    Square of Roses
  • City centre at night
    City centre at night
  • Riga's Street (Rīgas Iela)
    Riga's Street (Rīgas Iela)
  • Cēsis Clinic (Cēsu klīnika)
    Cēsis Clinic (Cēsu klīnika)

References

  1. ^ "Reģionu, novadu, pilsētu un pagastu kopējā un sauszemes platība gada sākumā". Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  2. ^ "Iedzīvotāju skaits pēc tautības reģionos, pilsētās, novados, pagastos, apkaimēs un blīvi apdzīvotās teritorijās gada sākumā (pēc administratīvi teritoriālās reformas 2021. gadā) 2021 - 2022". Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  3. ^ "Cēsis - the candidate city of European Capital of Culture 2014". Archived from the original on 22 July 2011.
  4. ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Wenden" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 28 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 518.
  5. ^ "Klimatisko normu dati" (in Latvian). Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Centre. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  6. ^ "Gaisa temperatūras rekordi" (in Latvian). Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Centre. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  7. ^ "Zosēni Climate Normals 1991–2020". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived from the original on 2023-11-15. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  8. ^ "Cēsu novada starptautiskā sadarbība". cesis.lv (in Latvian). Cēsis. Retrieved 2019-08-31.

External links

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