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Sēlpils Castle (Latvian:Sēlpils pils;Latin:Castrum Selonum) was an ancient castle inSēlpils Parish,Jēkabpils Municipality in theSelonia region of Latvia.
It was built in place of the ancientSēlpils hillfort (Latvian:Sēlpils pilskalns), a military and political center of ancientSelonia, a land of theBalts. When theLivonian Order entered the land, they built a stone castle known asSelburg in German.
Today, the village ofVecsēlpils ("old Sēlpils") is located nearby. The ruins of the hillfort were on the left bank ofDaugava near Vecsēlpils. After the construction ofPļaviņas Hydroelectric Power Station and reservoir, the ruins are on an island.[1]
Archaeological evidence shows that Sēlpils, 17 km northwest of modernJēkabpils, was a major settlement between the 10th and 13th centuries. Used as a base for raids by the Selonians and theirLithuanian allies intoLatgalian andLivonian lands, Sēlpils was first mentioned in theChronicle of Henry of Livonia, which describes its capture by theLivonian Order and theirChristianized ethnic Livonian allies in 1208. Sēlpils was briefly the seat of a Seloniandiocese (1218–1226), and then came under the rule of the Livonian Order, which constructed fortifications there for the Advocate (German:Vogt) of the Order. These were destroyed by theSwedes in 1704, during theGreat Northern War, and only traces of the foundations are visible at the site today.
Since the early 17th century, the ancient city of Sēlpils also existed.[2] The importance of Sēlpils as a trading center on the Daugava declined after the military devastation of the early 18th century.
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56°35′14″N25°38′25″E / 56.58722°N 25.64028°E /56.58722; 25.64028
