Rēzekne Castle Ruins

The well-fortified 15 m high Rēzekne castle mound served as the location of an ancient Latgalian castle already in the 9th– 12th centuries. Climb atop the Rēzekne castle mound to get the most scenic view of the city!

To get into the castle one should have gone over the balance bridge, through 3 iron gates and from the East side entered the front castle. Since the castle was strategically significant object, it was desired to be occupied by Russians, Lithuanians, Poles, but it was totally destroyed by Swedes in 1656-1660. It was not re-built as the castle.

Beginning with the 1712 the surrounding inhabitants were officially allowed to use the stones from the castle walls for the building of own houses and household buildings.

Still in the beginning of the last century the living and household buildings were in the territory of the castle, but part of the castle was landscaped: there was the park, light, summer stage for the theatre.

Today the castle hill is the most remarkable and most visited place in Rezekne. The marvellous sight to the centre of the city and to the trading part of the city is opened from the hill. In the beginning of 2003 the model of Rezekne castle was placed in the territory of SIA "Rēzeknes Ūdens" near the castle hill. The author of the model is Edmunds Smans, the teacher from Rezekne Vocational Secondary School no.14.

he model is open for public only in the tourism season – from April to October. The square near the foot of the hill is named after the Bishop Jāzeps Rancāns (1886-1969).