On the Riga-Vidzeme road, at the natural "gates" between Lake Kisezers and Lake Jugla, a powerful fortification was built at the end of the 13th century – the Adazi Order Castle.
Although the exact time of the construction of Adazi Castle is unknown, it was most likely built at the end of the 13th century. The castle was built by the Livonian Order and belonged to the Salaspils bailiff. It was constructed during the conflict between the Livonian Order, the city of Riga, and the Archbishop of Riga. The castle was built on the important Riga – Vidzeme – Estonia road, at the place where the road crossed the stream between Baltezers and Kisezers. The new fortification was named New Mill (Novum Molendinum) — probably a mill was originally built here, but it is also possible that initially a combined palace and mill building was constructed.
The first mention of Adazi Castle appears in the Livonian Documentary Book (Livonisches Urkundenbuch), when in 1297 the people of Riga built a defensive rampart and bridge to fight against piles and ice, but the Order demolished it. The Order’s troops arrested Archbishop Johan III and imprisoned him in Adazi Castle with only bread and water. The same Livonian document states that the Order "placed a lot of new weapons here, in their castle located near the New Mill," which suggests that Adazi Castle could have been built before 1297, since it is impossible to build a fortified castle in a short time.
On the other hand, according to Rusov’s chronicle, Lithuanians attacked the castle in 1298 and 1345. At the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries, the castle was expanded and strengthened. The original fortification at the turn of the 13th-14th centuries was a square stone castle with four buildings around an inner courtyard. Swedish maps from later centuries show that the scale in cubits, excluding the protruding castle towers, was 65-70 cubits in length and width, which translates to about 40-45 meters in our metric system. The main gate was located on the northwest side. Probably, there was one square tower in the northern corner of the castle.
The most important reconstruction is mentioned in a late 15th-century document about "assistance in the construction of Adazi Castle." Previously, the castle’s inhabitants were protected from enemies by water-filled moats, which made access difficult, but at the turn of the 15th/16th centuries, old defensive habits had to be significantly changed — firearms appeared, capable of causing devastation from a long distance. The passive water defensive moat at Adazi Castle and the impact force of cannonballs became incompatible, and the fortification required modernization. After the introduction of firearms, the height of the building no longer had the same defensive value, since when the lower part of the wall was destroyed by a projectile, even the tallest walls collapsed.
At a time when Livonia’s security was increasingly threatened by external enemies from neighboring countries, in the 15th century Adazi acquired two round cannon towers – they were located diagonally in opposite corners of the castle and protected all four sides of the building. Each tower could be about 12-14 meters thick. Building such towers was labor-intensive and expensive, so they were used only for important fortifications that, due to their geographical location, could be threatened from several sides. The construction of Adazi Castle’s fortifications was one of the most difficult tasks for local farmers: hundreds of workers were hired daily to dig deep moats by hand. At the end of the 15th century, around 1500, two round towers were built in the eastern and western corners. The diameter of these towers was about 12-14 meters, and they were the last parts of the castle to be completely demolished only in the 20th century.
Historical documents indicate that in the 15th century the governor of the castle district – the bailiff – lived in Adazi Castle, and from time to time the Order’s masters stayed there, and Landtag sessions were held. The two penultimate heads of the Order – Master Brigeness in 1547 and Master Fürstenberg in 1557 – lived in Adazi Castle and departed from there to negotiate with the city of Riga to conclude peace agreements between the two eternal disputants.
In 1624-1625, the Swedish government, conducting an inspection, left a vivid message about the palace’s decline for future generations: "Adazi Palace was a magnificent fortress, unfortunately, it was burned countless times by people of war. Currently, the palace has only three old vaulted rooms suitable for living, and several cellars that can be used if necessary. At the moment, several taverns are inhabited. The innkeepers are free from any obligations; they only have to help protect the gardens and meadows. When Riga was besieged, the people of Adazi sowed 30 measures of rye, 20 measures of barley, and 30 measures of oats. Nothing was harvested from the farm because it was looted by soldiers. They paid no tribute because they all fled to Courland."
When Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich attacked Riga, the last days of Adazi Palace came. It is said that September 29, 1657, was peaceful, with no active fighting, only in the distance on the horizon in Riga could tongues of flame and smoke be seen. That is where Adazi Castle burned down. A few years later, a traveler named Brand passed by Adazi and left a written note – surrounded by thick walls lay a huge round tower with a destroyed top, all that remained of its former glory, sic transit gloria mundi.
The first owner of Adazi Castle, Heinrich von Don, was a burgrave and city commandant, a favorite of the Polish King Sigismund Augustus. Later, Don died in the war against the Swedes and was buried with great honors in Riga Cathedral. He probably came to the castle of Jādāji thanks to the last master of the Order, Gotthard Kettler, who, having freed his knights from their oath and handed over the regalia of the master of the Order, managed to obtain the Duke of Courland’s crown from the new government.
After Heinrich von Don’s death, Adazi Castle passed into Swedish hands. By the way, during the Polish-Swedish war, Adazi Castle reportedly resisted the Swedes the longest. Gustav Adolf gifted the castle to Hans Wachtemister.
The external appearance of Adazi Castle can only be judged by two drawn plans of the castle from the 17th century, kept in the Royal Military Archive (Kungl. Krigsarkivet) in Stockholm. One shows a map of the castle’s surroundings, the other a bird’s-eye view of Adazi Castle and the landscape. In the plan, the castle is depicted on an island surrounded by Berzupite (formerly called Naba), flowing from Baltezers and the bay of Lake Jugla. It seems the castle was located on a hill with steep slopes. Both ancient documents are hand-drawn and colored. According to the military requirements of the time, Adazi Castle underwent significant reconstructions during its existence.
During its approximately 357 years of existence, Adazi Castle was never restored. During the time Vidzeme was part of Sweden (1629-1721), the Swedish army blew up the castle remains in 1706, and the stones were used to strengthen the Daugavgriva fortress and to build the nearby Bukulti estate.
However, the ruins of one castle tower still remained in 1798; they were seen during travels through Latvia and immortalized in a drawing by the Enlightenment figure, artist, and ethnographer Johans Kristofs Broce. He also mentioned that the ruins were located on an island formed by the river flowing from Kisezers to Baltezers, which one of his contemporaries, a topographer, called Berzupi (in the 13th century the river was called Naba).
Gradually, the remains of the last tower collapsed; its stones were used in the 1840s to build nearby houses, and the last were used to arrange the estate park.
In 1710, the owner of the Adazi castle estate became the city of Riga (since the castle was already destroyed at that time), but in 1722, by order of Peter the Great, the Adazi castle estate passed into the possession of Alexander Golovin. Golovin’s wife, Katrina Henrietta, was the last descendant of the von Don family, long disconnected from Vidzeme; her father was a Dutch general, and her husband was the Russian envoy to the Netherlands. To acquire Jādāji and Ropaži, they also had to cover Kettler’s previous debt to the Tiesenhausens.
The nearby old Bukulti mill, built at the end of the 13th century, continued to operate until 1894 – the ruins were destroyed only during Soviet times. The castle remains near the mill were blown up by Russian troops in 1968. Even in the mid-20th century, the castle site could be found by the mill building and old roads.
The castle was located on the left bank of the Jugla canal, near the bridge, on the territory of the former Soviet army base, near the water tower; today one can search for the site of the once mighty fortification. Unfortunately, the city was never offered to make it a cultural-historical object. The address of Adazi Castle in 2017 was Riga, Jaunciems Street 8.
Sources:
http://www.ambermarks.com/_Pieminekli/IsieApraksti/Riga/Bukulti/Adazu_vid_pils.htm
http://www.a.aprinkis.lv/item/36870-sena-adazu-pils
