Aizkraukle ( German : Ascheraden ) is a town in the Vidzeme region in Latvia , which is the administrative centre of Aizkraukle Municipality on the right bank of the Daugava River . The population in 2020 was at 7,018.
35-517: In the second half of the 14th century, the Livonian Order built the Aizkraukle Castle , a few kilometres downstream from the ancient hillfort of Livs . The ruins of the castle still remain today. Before World War I , the settlement that stood near the site of modern-day Aizkraukle was known by its German name of Ascheraden . The modern town was established in 1961 as a settlement to house
70-680: A constant struggle for superiority in the rule over the lands by the Church, the order, the secular nobles of German descent who ruled the fiefs and the citizens of the Hanseatic town of Riga. Two major civil wars were fought in 1296–1330, 1313–1330, and in 1343–1345 the Estonian revolt resulted in the annexation of the Danish Duchy of Estonia within the Teutonic Ordensstaat. The most important ally of
105-661: Is also used as a poetic name for Latgale region. The lands on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea were the last part of Europe to be Christianized by the Roman Catholic Church . In 1193 Pope Celestine III called for a crusade against the pagans in Northern Europe . This crusade is often compared to the crusade of the Franks and Charlemagne. However, this crusade was not officially announced until 1197 or 1198, but
140-652: The Bishopric of Courland (4,500 km , 1,700 sq mi), Bishopric of Dorpat , and Bishopric of Ösel-Wiek . The nominal head of Terra Mariana as well as the city of Riga was the Archbishop of Riga as the apex of the ecclesiastical hierarchy. In 1240, Valdemar II created the Bishopric of Reval in the Duchy of Estonia by reserving (contrary to canon law) the right to appoint the bishops of Reval to himself and his successor kings of Denmark. The decision to simply nominate to
175-690: The Duchy of Estonia ( dominum directum to the king of Denmark ); the Archbishopric of Riga ; the Bishopric of Courland ; the Bishopric of Dorpat ; the Bishopric of Ösel–Wiek ; and territories under the military administration of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword . After the 1236 Battle of Saule , the surviving members of the Brothers merged in 1237 with the Teutonic Order of Prussia and became known as
210-520: The Duchy of Livonia and the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia . The island of Saaremaa became part of Denmark . Since the beginning of the 20th century Terra Mariana ( Estonian : Maarjamaa ) has been used as a poetic name or sobriquet for Estonia. In 1995 the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana , a state decoration , was instituted to honor the independence of Estonia. Terra Mariana ( Latvian : Māras zeme)
245-717: The Livonian Order . In 1346 the Livonian Order bought the Duchy of Estonia from Denmark. Throughout the existence of medieval Livonia there was a constant struggle over supremacy, between the lands ruled by the Church, the Order, the secular German nobility, and the citizens of the Hanseatic towns of Riga and Reval . Following its defeat in the Battle of Grunwald in 1410, the Teutonic Order and
280-573: The Livonian War , however, the order suffered a decisive defeat by troops of Muscovite Russia in the Battle of Ergeme in 1560. The Livonian Order then sought protection from Sigismund II Augustus , King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania , who had intervened in a war between Bishop William of Riga and the Brothers in 1557. After coming to an agreement with Sigismund II, Augustus and his representatives (especially Mikołaj "the Black" Radziwiłł ),
315-647: The State of the Teutonic Order fell into decline, but the Livonian Order managed to maintain its independent existence. In 1561, during the Livonian War , Terra Mariana ceased to exist. Its northern parts were ceded to the King of Sweden and formed into the Duchy of Estonia , its southern territories became part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania – and thus eventually of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth – as
350-470: The German knights had conquered and subdued the territories of several indigenous tribes : Finnic -speaking Estonians and Livs , and Baltic -speaking Latgalians , Selonians , Semigallians and Curonians . Medieval Livonia was intermittently ruled first by the Brothers of the Sword, since 1237 by the semi-autonomous branch of Teutonic knights called Livonian Order and the Roman Catholic Church . By
385-551: The Livonian Branch of the Teutonic Order separated from the Prussian Branch. Between 1237 and 1290, the Livonian Order conquered all of Courland , Livonia , and Semigallia . In 1298, Lithuanians took Karkus Castle north of Riga, and defeated the order in the Battle of Turaida , killing Livonian Land Master Bruno and 22 knights. In 1346, the order bought the Duchy of Estonia from King Valdemar IV of Denmark . Life within
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#1732852069420420-520: The Livonian Order was the German nobility in the Danish Duchy of Estonia. In the beginning of the 14th century Denmark was no longer a powerful state and the local German nobility had effectively become the rulers of the territory. After the Estonians of Harju started a rebellion in 1343 ( St. George's Night Uprising ) the Teutonic order occupied the territories. The overthrow of Danish rule came two days after
455-545: The Order had defeated the Estonian revolt. The Danish viceroy was imprisoned in cooperation with the pro-German vassals. The castles in Reval and Wesenberg were handed over to the Order by the German nobility party on 16 May 1343 and the castle at Narva in 1345. In 1346, the Estonian territories (Harria and Vironia) were sold by the king of Denmark for 19,000 Köln marks to the Teutonic Order . The shift of sovereignty from Denmark to
490-543: The See of Reval was unique in the whole Catholic Church at the time and was disputed by bishops and the Pope. During this era, the election of bishops was never established in Reval, and the royal rights to the bishopric and to nominate the bishops were even included in the treaty when the territories were sold to the Teutonic Order in 1346. Throughout the existence of medieval Livonia there was
525-618: The Teutonic Knights of Livonia signed the Treaty of Stensby with the Kingdom of Denmark . Under this agreement, Denmark would support the expansion ambitions of the order in exchange for northern maritime Estonia . In 1242, the Livonian Order tried to take the city of Novgorod . However, they were defeated by Alexander Nevsky in the Battle on the Ice . Fortresses as Paide in land ceded by Denmark in
560-411: The Teutonic Order took place on 1 November 1346. The Teutonic Order fell into decline after Poland and Lithuania defeated it in the Battle of Grunwald in 1410. The Livonian Order managed to maintain an independent existence, as it did not participate in the battle and suffered no casualties, having obtained a truce with Grand Duke Vytautas . In 1418, Pope Martin V nominated Johannes Ambundii to
595-504: The Treaty of Stensby allowed the order to contain the threat of Russian troops. For that reason, the order focused on its southern borders and Semigallia . Semigallia was a strategic territory for the Livonian Order. Lithuanians passed through Semigallia to raid settlements in Livonia, and they took advantage of the winter ice pack in the Gulf of Riga to reach Oesel Island. Also, this territory kept
630-596: The archbishop of Riga, the bishops of Courland, Dorpat, Ösel-Wiek and Reval; the representatives of the Livonian Order and vassals, and the deputies of Riga, Reval and Dorpat city municipal councils. The states of the Livonian Confederation ceased to exist during the Livonian War of 1558–1582. In 1559, the Bishop of Ösel-Wiek and Courland Johannes V von Münchhausen (1542–1560) sold his lands to King Frederick II of Denmark for 30,000 thalers . The Danish king gave
665-452: The builders of the nearby hydroelectric power plant of Pļaviņas . It was originally called Stučka (or " Стучка ", Stuchka and " имени Петра Стучки ", imeni Petra Stuchki in Russian ), for Pēteris Stučka , a Latvian communist . Town status was granted to it in 1967, which is also when it became the administrative center of Stučkas District . In 1990, it was renamed as Aizkraukle, after
700-642: The crusaders fighting the Estonians from the south, paid a visit to the German King Philip of Swabia and asked permission to attack the Estonians from the North. The last to be subjugated and Christianised were Oeselians , Curonians and Semigallians . This crusade differed from many other crusades because, in this case, the Pope allowed people intending to go on a crusade to the Holy Land to go instead to crusade in Livonia. Members of this crusade were made to wear
735-400: The end of government by the last Archbishop of Riga, William of Brandenburg , Riga became a free imperial city and the rest of the territory was split between two Polish-Lithuanian vassal states : the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia (Polish vassal) and the Duchy of Livonia (Lithuanian vassal). According to Henry of Livonia , Bishop Albert of Riga emphasized to Pope Innocent III
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#1732852069420770-712: The first account of this crusade is in a letter by Pope Innocent III . At the start of the 13th century, German crusaders from Gotland and the northern Holy Roman Empire conquered the Livonian and Latgallian lands along the Daugava and Gauja rivers. The stronghold of Riga (capital of modern Latvia) was established in 1201, and in 1202 the Livonian Brothers of the Sword was formed. In 1218 Pope Honorius III gave Valdemar II of Denmark free rein to annex as much land as he could conquer in Estonia. Additionally Albert of Riga , leader of
805-528: The importance of his see as a crusading venue and its association with Mary , the Mother of Jesus when reporting to the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215: "Sicut", inquit, "pater sancte, terram sanctam Ierosolimitanum, que est terra filii, sanctitatis tue studio fovere non desinis, sic Lyvoniam, que est terra matris, [...] derelinquere non debes." "Holy Father", he said, "as you have not ceased to cherish
840-490: The insignia of the cross as well, which showed that they were legally bound to the crusade. After the success of the crusade, the German- and Danish-occupied territory was divided into feudal principalities by William of Modena. This division of medieval Livonia was created by Papal Legate William of Modena in 1228 as a compromise between the church and the Livonian Brothers of the Sword , both factions led by Germans, after
875-471: The last Livonian Master, Gotthard Kettler , secularized the order and converted to Lutheranism . In the southern part of the Brothers' lands he created the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia for his family. Most of the remaining lands were seized by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The north of Estonia was taken back by Denmark and Sweden . From the 14th to the 16th centuries, Middle Low German as spoken in
910-542: The lives of the master and several high-ranking knights, brought the order closer to its neighbors in Livonia . The Livonian Confederation agreement ( eiine fruntliche eyntracht ) was signed in Walk on December 4, 1435, by the Archbishop of Riga, the bishops of Courland , Dorpat , Ösel-Wiek and Reval ; the representatives of the Livonian Order and vassals, and the deputies of Riga, Reval and Dorpat city municipal councils. During
945-477: The mid 14th century, after buying the Duchy of Estonia from Christopher II , the Livonian Order controlled about 67,000 square kilometers of the Old Livonia and the Church about 41,000 km (16,000 sq mi). The lands of the Order were divided into about 40 districts governed by a Vogt . The largest ecclesiastical state was the Archbishopric of Riga (18,000 km , 6,900 sq mi) followed by
980-511: The nearest railway station . The name literally means " beyond the Kraukle River ." General industries in the area include power generation, woodworking, printing, and agriculture. In 2004, Aizkraukle was awarded "The tidiest town in Latvia 2004" in its size group. Livonian Order The Livonian Order was an autonomous branch of the Teutonic Order , formed in 1237. From 1435 to 1561 it
1015-520: The order's territory is described in the Chronicle of Balthasar Russow ( Chronica der Provinz Lyfflandt ). The Teutonic Order fell into decline following its defeat in the Battle of Grunwald in 1410 and the secularization of its Prussian territories by Albert of Brandenburg in 1525, while the Livonian Order managed to maintain an independent existence. The Livonian Order's defeat in the Battle of Święta (Wiłkomierz) on September 1, 1435, which claimed
1050-509: The position of Archbishop of Riga . He became known as the organizer of the Livonian confederation. Conflict commonly occurred between the Order, the bishops, and the powerful Hanseatic cities throughout the existence of medieval Livonia. To solve internal disputes, the Livonian Diet or Landtag gathered in 1419 at the initiative of Archbishop Ambundii. The city of Walk was chosen as
1085-535: The site of the Diet. The Diet comprised members of the Livonian Order, Livonian Bishops, vassals and city representatives. On 1 September 1435 the Livonian Order's defeat in the Battle of Wiłkomierz , claiming the lives of the Master and several high-ranking knights, brought the order closer to its Livonian neighbours. The Livonian confederation agreement ( eiine fruntliche eyntracht ) was signed in Walk on 4 December 1435, by
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1120-472: The territory to his younger brother Duke Magnus of Holstein who in 1560 landed with an army on Ösel . In 1561, a Swedish army landed in Reval and gained control over the northern part of Old Livonia. The Livonian Order was dissolved by the Treaty of Vilnius in 1561. The following year, the Livonian Diet decided to ask protection from Sigismund II Augustus (King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania ). With
1155-3816: The towns of the Hanseatic League was the established language, but was subsequently succeeded by High German as official language in the course of the 16th and 17th centuries. The Livonian Master, like the grandmaster of the Teutonic Order, was elected by his fellow knights for a life term. The grandmaster exercised supervisory powers and his advice was considered equal to a command. The grandmaster of Teutonic knights did not limit local autonomy, he rarely visited Livonia or sent ambassadors for oversight. ● Hermann Balk 1237–1238 ● Dietrich von Grüningen 1238–1242 ● Dietrich von Grüningen 1244–1246 ● Andreas von Stierland 1248–1253 ● Anno von Sangershausen 1253–1256 ● Burkhard von Hornhausen 1256–1260 ● Werner von Breithausen 1261–1263 ● Konrad von Mandern 1263–1266 ● Otto von Lutterberg 1266–1270 ● Walther von Nortecken 1270–1273 ● Ernst von Rassburg 1273–1279 ● Konrad von Feuchtwangen 1279–1281 ● Wilken von Endorp 1281–1287 ● Konrad von Herzogenstein 1288–1290 ● Halt von Hohembach –1293 ● Heinrich von Dinkelaghe 1295–1296 ● Bruno 1296–1298 ● Gottfried von Rogga 1298–1307 ● Gerhard van Joeck 1309–1322 ● Johannes Ungenade 1322–1324 ● Reimar Hane 1324–1328 ● Everhard von Monheim 1328–1340 ● Burchard von Dreileben 1340–1345 ● Goswin von Hercke 1345–1359 ● Arnold von Vietinghof 1359–1364 ● Wilhelm von Vrymersheim 1364–1385 ● Robin von Eltz 1385–1389 ● Wennemar Hasenkamp von Brüggeneye 1389–1401 ● Konrad von Vietinghof 1401–1413 ● Diderick Tork 1413–1415 ● Siegfried Lander von Spanheim 1415–1424 ● Zisse von Rutenberg 1424–1433 ● Franco Kerskorff 1433–1435 ● Heinrich von Bockenvorde 1435–1437 ● Heinrich Vinke von Overbergen 1438–1450 ● Johann Osthoff von Mengede 1450–1469 ● Johann Wolthuss von Herse 1470–1471 ● Bernd von der Borch 1471–1483 ● Johann Freytag von Loringhoven 1483–1494 ● Wolter von Plettenberg 1494–1535 ● Hermann Hasenkamp von Brüggeneye 1535–1549 ● Johann von der Recke 1549–1551 ● Heinrich von Galen 1551–1557 ● Johann Wilhelm von Fürstenberg 1557–1559 ● Godert (Gotthard) Kettler 1559–1561 Across modern territory of Estonia and Latvia Medieval Livonia Terra Mariana ( Medieval Latin for 'Land of Mary ')
1190-533: Was a member of the Livonian Confederation . The order was formed from the remnants of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword after their defeat by Samogitians in 1236 at the Battle of Schaulen (Saule) . They were incorporated into the Teutonic Knights and became known as the Livonian Order in 1237. In the summer of that year, the Master of Prussia Hermann Balk rode into Riga to install his men as castle commanders and administrators of Livonia. In 1238,
1225-647: Was the formal name for Medieval Livonia or Old Livonia . It was formed in the aftermath of the Livonian Crusade , and its territories were composed of present-day Estonia and Latvia . It was established on 2 February 1207, as a principality of the Holy Roman Empire , and lost this status in 1215 when Pope Innocent III proclaimed it as directly subject to the Holy See . The papal legate William of Modena divided Terra Mariana into feudal principalities:
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