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Burtnieki (German : Burtneck) is a village (population 488) in Burtnieki Parish, Valmiera Municipality, in the Vidzeme region of Latvia, near Lake Burtnieks. Administrative centre of Burtnieki Parish. Burtnieki was first mentioned in the Livonian Chronicle of Henry in 1208 and has several historic sites: Burtnieki castle-ruins, Burtnieki manor and Burtnieki church.
Burtnieki was a site of a Livonian Order castle, built in 1284. The house was burned down in the 16th century, during the Livonian War. A part of stone wall on the Southern side remains.
In the 14th century, a manor estate was built near the castle ruins, on the bank of Lake Burtnieks. In 1860s, baron J.F. von Schroder created a park near the estate (now known as the Burtnieki park) with about 70 species of trees and bushes.
The Lutheran church of Burtnieki is located on the Eastern bank of the lake. The first church was built there in 1234. It was a Catholic church, built from wood. It burned down and was replaced by a stone wall church between 1283-1287. It was destroyed in 1654, during the Polish-Russian War.
The current church was built in 1688. Near the church is located a minister estate building complex, renovated in 1992. The estate building has been defined as a protected architectural monument.
Burtnieki has a horse-farm, first established in 1941. Several notable horses have been bred here. Burtnieki-bred horse Rusty, with the rider Ulla Salzgeber of Germany, won bronze medal in individual dressage and gold medal in team dressage in 2000 Summer Olympics. After Olympics, Rusty and Ulla Salzgeber have won two European Championships (in 2001 and 2003) and World Cup.
The former "Briedes" pub (built in 1840) hosts a horse breeding and agriculture museum. It was one of the sites of 2000 European Heritage Days.
Burtnieki school was established in 1685 and was one of the first 15 rural schools in Latvia. It is currently known as Burtnieki Auseklis Secondary School.
Cēsis, 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 one of the candidate cities for the title of European Capital of Culture 2014.
Tukums is a town in the Courland region of Latvia. Three regions of Latvia meet in the vicinity of Tukums – Vidzeme, Zemgale and Courland.
Koknese is a historic town in Aizkraukle Municipality in the Vidzeme region of Latvia, on the right bank of the Daugava River. It has a population of nearly 3,000.
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Ikšķile is a town in Latvia, in Ogre Municipality. It was the first capital of the Roman Catholic Bishopric of Livonia, known by the German name of Üxküll. Saint Meinhard, known from the Livonian Chronicle of Henry, was the first bishop of Üxküll. In 1197 Berthold of Hanover, a Cistercian abbot of Loccum, was made the second bishop of Üxküll. Those days the town was the center of the upcoming crusading activities in the Livonian area. Bishop Berthold moved the episcopal see to Riga, but was killed by the Livs in battle.
Ulla Salzgeber is a German equestrian and Olympic champion who competes in the sport of dressage. Competing in the 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics, she won two team gold medals, one individual silver and one individual bronze. She also won numerous medals at the World Equestrian Games, Dressage World Cup and European Dressage Championships. After the retirement of her Olympic horse, Rusty, after the 2004 Games, and unexpected death of her second international-level mount in 2005, Salzgeber struggled to find a new Grand Prix-level horse.
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Reņģe Manor, also called Ruba Manor, is a manor house for the von Nolcken family that was built between 1881 and 1882 in the historical region of Zemgale, in Latvia. It is located about 2.5 km west of both the village of Ruba and the railroad bridge where the Glūda–Reņģe Railway crosses the Vadakste river along the border of Latvia and Lithuania. Manor building currently houses the Ruba Elementary School.
Burtnieki Castle is a castle in Burtnieki Parish, Valmiera Municipality in the Vidzeme region of Latvia. It was built on the south shore of Lake Burtnieks for the Livonian Order around 1284.
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Lielvārde Castle is a castle in Lielvārde - town in the historical region of Vidzeme, in northern Latvia. Castle has been built at the steep bank of Daugava River, overseeing this important medieval waterway. Built before 1248 by Albert of Buxthoeven, an archbishop of Riga. During the Livonian War, Lielvārde Castle was destroyed by Russian troops in 1579. Conserved ruins up to the level of second floor.
Ludza Castle was a medieval castle built in Gothic style located next to a Catholic church, on the site of a former Latgalian wooden castle in the centre Ludza, Latvia, a small town in eastern Latgale. Its main purpose was to be an eastern outpost to control trade routes from Russia. Nowadays the impressive fragments of the castle walls, including a three-floor high fragment, still remain. The ruins are the main tourist attraction in the Ludza District, and is considered a symbol of the town.
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