Turaida Castle, located at 50 km north from Riga, the capital city of Latvia, was constructed in the Brick Gothic style in 1214 under Albert, the third Bishop of Riga, instead of the destroyed wooden castle of the Livonian leader Caupo of Turaida. In the language of Livonians, Turaida means "Garden of God", and the fortress was named Fredeland, means "Land of Peace". Construction and development of the fortifications continued to the 17th century, when the castle started to lose its strategic importance. It was badly damaged by fire in 1776 and not reconstructed, and in the course of time fell into ruin. Restoration began in the 1970s and the castle is now the centrepiece of the Turaida Museum Reserve, which also includes the oldest wooden church in Vidzeme and its surrounding Livonian cemetery.
About the stamps
The first stamp is part of a large definitive series of Latvian county and city coat of arms., about which I wrote here. The second is part of a History of Latvia Railway series, About which I wrote here.
References
Latvia - Wikipedia
Turaida Castle - Wikipedia
Turaida Castle - Turaida Muzejs
Sender: Aleksandra (postcrossing)
Sent from Riga (Latvia), on 10.09.2012
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