Koknese

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Koknese (pronunciation

According to the provisions of the 2021 Latvian administrative reform, Koknese gained city rights (town status) on 1 July 2021.^[1]

History

The site of Koknese was originally a Latgalian and Selonian settlement named Kukenois. By the late 12th century, the settlement of Koknese had fallen under the loose sovereignty of Principality of Polotsk as a tributary sub-principality.

At the beginning of the 13th century, the

The town, known in German as Kokenhusen, received its town privileges in 1277. During the 14th century, Koknese flourished as part of the mercantile Hanseatic League. Archbishop John V of Wallenrodt was able to resolve the conflict with the Teutonic Order and restore the territory to the church in 1397.

During the

During the Russo-Swedish War (1656–1658) the main Russian forces marched along the bank of the Daugava towards Riga, taking Koknese on their way and renaming it to Tsarevich-Dmitriev. All vessels constructed in a shipyard of Koknese founded by the voivode Afanasy Ordin-Nashchokin were used for the siege of Riga (1656) and later destroyed according to the Treaty of Cardis in 1661.

During the Great Northern War the castle was conquered by Saxony in 1700 and destroyed by the Saxons when they were forced to retreat before the Swedes in 1701. By war's end Kokenhusen was incorporated into Russian Empire with the rest of Livonia. Although the Russians had been calling it Kukeinos from the 13th century, they chose to keep the German name.

A

After Latvian independence from Russia and Germany was declared after World War I, a hill in the town was dubbed "Professor's Hill" owing to its popularity as a meeting place for intelligentsia. By then the town was known by the Latvian name Koknese. The Pļaviņas Hydro Power Plant was commissioned near the town in 1966. Its construction left the foundation of the castle ruins underwater.

Other

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• Playwright Rūdolfs Blaumanis lived in the town during the 1880s.
• Koknese is a participant in the New Hanseatic League, an association with the goal of developing the economy and tourism of its constituent cities.
• The
  crosier
  .
• The Koknese Manor Park, located over parts of the medieval town and castle ruins, contains the tallest wooden sculpture in the country. The structure, built by Ģirts Burvis, was opened in 2002 to commemorate the 725th anniversary of the town's foundation.

See also

• Koknese Castle
• Principality of Kukenois

References