Shortly after the Great Northern War began in 1700, Bauska was occupied by Saxon troops. It is possible that Bauska Castle was visited by the King of Poland Augustus II the Strong and the Russian Tsar Peter I, who in the winter of 1701 held talks on further war tactics in Biržai Castle. After the victory over the Saxons at the Crossing of the Düna battle in 1701, Bauska was captured by the army of King Charles XII of Sweden and was temporarily taken away by Russian troops in 1705. In 1706, both Bauska Castle and palace were partially blown up by the retreating Russian troops. It was no longer restored and eventually fell into ruins. During the war, two-thirds of the city buildings were also destroyed. The early winter of 1708 cut short the harvest and led to a famine. At the same time, the Great Northern War plague outbreak began. On July 3, 1709, church services were banned in Bauska in order to prevent the plague from spreading, and the dead were buried outside the burial grounds of churches. After the winter of 1708/1709, only one-third of the pre-war population of Bauska had survived the plague epidemic and famine.