We booked 5 days in Latvia and we were not going to spend them all in Riga. We like to travel to various places within a country to get to know its culture and traditions. We didn't have any itinerary ready for our trip, but I managed to finish it once we came back to our hotel from our first day in Riga. We had a plan and were ready to explore the country!
Sigulda castle was on top of our list. It's actually a castle complex where you can find two castles (a new and an old one), large gardens, a creative quarter with various craft and art workshops, a souvenir shop, a small café, and an event venue. We spent the entire day there.
It took us about one hour to get to Sigulda from Riga. There is a lot of traffic in Riga, so it takes some time to get to the highway, but once you're there it's easy as the highway from Riga to Sigulda is one long straight line. I haven't seen a road like that in any other country. The speed limit is only 110km/h, and there are speed cameras on the way, so it could be much more fun without them. God bless German Autobahn!🙂
We found the last parking slot when we arrived at the complex, so we thought it would be crowded, but there were only a few people inside. From the map I understood that there are several hiking trails as the complex is surrounded by forests, so I guess that most visitors went hiking that day.
Let's start out tour!
The complex is surrounded by walls. You would think that it's medieval walls, but they were built together with the new castle in the 19th century. Once you walk through the main gate you enter a large complex of various small buildings and the new castle. From this side you won't be able to see the old castle.
This was our first view of the castle and I instantly knew that I will enjoy it there.
The entrance to the complex is 6 EUR per person, and you can purchase your ticket online or in the ticket office located in the new castle. This ticket will allow you to visit all attractions in the complex. There are also separate tickets for each castle if you wish to visit only one of them, but I think it's worth to see both of them. The ticket includes the audio tour in English (they had other languages too), and there are also signs with information, so you can learn some details from its history.
The Sigulda New Castle was build at the end of the 19th century, from 1878 to 1881. It was built as a summer residence of the Kropotkin family. The construction was done by local craftsmen using local material to support the economy.
The family had a lot of influence and took care of the region. They managed to get a railway through Sigulda and also built a spa which was to attract more tourism. The castle hosted various celebrations, congresses and meetings, and gained a lot of importance in a short time. Castle
The castle was damaged during the World War I. and it was nationalized after the war as were other properties of the Kropotkin family. The first reconstruction was done in 1923, but it was not finished due to the economic recession. Luckily, in 1937 the façade, interior and gardens were completed.
After the nationalization of the castle its purpose has changed several times. It was called Writers` Castle for twenty years until 1940 when the soviet occupation started in Latvia. It was known for hosting Latvian writers and journalists during various events and celebrations.
During the soviet occupation it was used as a sanatorium.
Recently, there was another reconstruction of the castle and its grounds, and we were lucky that it was completed before our visit, so that we could enjoy it in its full glory.
Next to the castle is a small building which is used as a jewelery and textile workshop. You can find here locally made jewelery and occasionally meet the artists too. You can also learn how to produce traditional textiles made of wool.
On the opposite side is the silver museum. Unfortunately, we wanted to visit it at the end of the day, but they closed before we managed to get inside.
And we are finally inside of The New Castle. The tour starts in the festive hall which was used for the celebrations and official visits. Even today, there are events organized in this room as the castle is home to the district council.
Next to the festive hall is a smaller room which was used for relaxation. Interior of the castle was created in thirties of the 20th century when it belonged to the Latvian press society. The decoration was luxurious and modern at that time.
The art is mainly from the beginning of the 20st century, such as this oil painting from 1937 in the musical room. It is called Meal time, and it's created by Latvian painter Niklavs Strunke.
My husband's favorite object in the castle was this old phone. I'm sure he would pretend to take a call if it wouldn't be protected by glass. Now I know why objects in the museums are protected like this 🙂
This table showed information about prominent cultural figures who spent some time in the castle.
There was also an interesting ceramic exhibition in one of the rooms. I still wonder who would put one of these vases in their living room. And I also have no idea which flower would look good in them.
We learned about the restoration process of this vase from 1930. It is called I played and danced and it was restored in 2016.
Another part of the exposition that would certainly not fit in my apartment 🙂 The interesting part are two parrots on the painting, but you need to enlarge the photo to see them clearly.
These stained glass windows show us women in traditional folk clothing and birch trees that are one of the common trees in the Baltics.
Let's go to the tower!
When you visit medieval castles, their towers are usually narrow with steep stairways. The Sigulda New Castle was built as a summer residence and it was supposed to provide relax and comfort, so the tower is easy to climb. There is a lot of space and big windows with views of the complex.
And our first glimpse of The Old Castle! Can you see that small red castle in the back? We also visited that one, but I will tell you about it another time.
The most important feature of the courtyard is the bronze statue of Aris Kronvalds who was the main supporter of the usage of Latvian language in the 19th century. The Baltic Germans considered Latvian language to be primitive, but he argued that it can be used for high quality work.
I didn't take a close-up photo as I didn't want o walk on the grass 🙂
Let's finally go to The Old Castle!
The castle is also known as The Livonian Order Castle of Sigulda. Its construction started in 1207 and it took several centuries to complete all parts of the castle.
Today, we can only visit its ruins. It was abandoned in the 18th century and left in decay. There are two towers that you can climb and a large open space which is used for concerts. Old castle
The entrance tower was reconstructed in the late 20th century. It was only finished 10 years ago when the floors and stairs were placed in the tower.
Behind the entrance tower we saw the remaining walls of the castle. It is still an impressive constructions. There is something special about ruins. I enjoy wondering what the castle looked like, how it was decorated and how people used to live there.
This staircase will lead us through the walls and the tower. There were a couple of empty rooms, but I didn't mind as I enjoyed walking on the walls.
The reconstruction was done with care and respect to the medieval structure of the castle.
Like we didn't see enough of The New Castle today, right? 🙂 While we were visiting The Old Castle, there was a wedding ceremony at The New Castle. They got married, took photos and left. A few minutes after them another wedding ceremony started!
The last part of our tour is the tower on the far end of the courtyard. From here we enjoyed the view of the Gauja national park. Let's have a look!
This one was easy to climb...
The river Gauja is the heart of the dense national park.
I can imagine that the courtyard gets busy when there are concerts held here.
And The Gauja National Park with its trees as far as you can see...
It took us hours to explore the grounds of the Sigulda castle and we were exhausted in the end. Luckily, there was a small café where we spent the rest of the afternoon after we bought almost all ceramics from the local workshop 🙂
Thank you for reading!
Cheers,
Martina