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THE TURAIDA ESTATE
The origin of estates in Latvia dates back to the time
when the first stone castles were built in Livonia
and the first monasteries were established, and they
needed revenues. So-called castle districts were estab-
lished around the castle of the archbishop in Turaida
and around all of Livonia’s important castles. The point
to these was to collect fees. The Turaida Castle was
a fortress, but also an economic centre at which the
fees were collected and stored. The Turaida Estate
gradually developed from the castle’s operations.
The first written information about the estate – its
ancillary buildings and land – is found in an audit
conducted by the Poles in 1582 and again in 1590. The
document from the latter date shows that there was an
estate near the Turaida Castle which was based on fees
and indentured servitude in the entire castle district.
The castle district became private property for the first
time in 1751. The Polish government presented it to
the former chief judge of the Tartu bishopric, Elert
Kruse. In 1625, Swedish King Gustav II Adolf pre-
sented the Turaida castle district and estate to one
of his advisors, Niels Shternsheld. His son, Klaus,
received permission from Swedish Queen Christina
in 1652 to sell the castle and the estate to Gotthard
Wilhelm von Budberg for 21,000 thalers.
During the reign of Swedish King Charles XI during
the late 17th century, Turaida, unlike many other
estates in Vidzeme, was not reduced in terms of
reviewing the issue of whether it could be privately
owned. The Budberg dynasty owned the estate until
1818. The Campenhausen dynasty took over in 1821.
During the 19th century, the Campenhausens did not
live at the castle permanently, and they had men to run
the estate in their place. The economic centre of the
Turaida Estate was gradually established during this
time. The estate really flourished in the late 19th and
early 20th century. In 1907, the estate was inherited
by Alexander Stahl von Holstein, and between 1910
and 1914 he tried to modernise the estate by building a
sawmill, a lime kiln and a series of ponds.
After agrarian reforms in the 1920s, von Holstein
retained ownership of 55 ha of land and seven
buildings. The rest of the land was divided up among
106 new farmers. After the von Holstein family
departed for Germany in 1939, the estate was taken
over by the Latvian state.
Today visitors can study the economic centre of the
Turaida Estate as an unrepeatable environment in
which there are a number of exhibitions.
The house for servants of the Turaida Estate
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THE TURAIDA ESTATE