Ikšķile

Ikšķile ( pronunciation ; German:Uexküll; Livonian:Ikškilā) is a town in Latvia, the administrative centre of Ikšķile municipality. It was the first capital of the Roman Catholic Bishopric of Livonia, known by the German name of Üxküll. Saint Meinhard, known from the Livonian Chronicle of Henry, was the first bishop of Üxküll. In 1197 Berthold of Hanover, a Cistercian abbot of Loccum, was made the second bishop of Üxküll. Those days the town was the center of the upcoming crusading activities in the Livonian area. Bishop Berthold moved the episcopal see to Riga, but was killed by the Livs in battle. Ikšķile is one of the oldest Latvian populated counties, which can be seen by an ancient burial ground in today's rural areas of Ikšķile. The coast by the Daugava river has held a Livonian village on this site as far back as the 9th - 12th century.