Riga Castle is a
castleA castle is a defensive structure seen as one of the main symbols of the Middle Ages. The term has a history of scholarly debate surrounding its exact meaning, but it is usually regarded as being distinct from the general terms fort or fortress, in that it describes a residence of a monarch or...
on the banks of River
DaugavaThe river Daugava or Western Dvina or Dzvina , not to be confused with Northern Dvina, is a river rising in the Valdai Hills, Russia, flowing through Russia, Belarus, and Latvia, draining into the Gulf of Riga in Latvia, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The total length of the river is...
in
RigaRiga is the capital and largest city of Latvia, a major industrial, commercial, cultural and financial centre of the Baltics, and an important seaport, situated on the mouth of the Daugava...
, the capital of
LatviaLatvia , officially the Republic of Latvia is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , and to the southeast by Belarus . Across the Baltic Sea to the west lies Sweden...
. The castle was founded in 1330. This structure was thoroughly rebuilt between 1497 and 1515. Upon the castle's seizure by the Swedes, they constructed spacious annexes in 1641. The fortress was continually augmented and reconstructed between the 17th and 19th centuries. Sometime in the 1930s, some renovation work was done by architect
Eižens LaubeEižens Laube was a Baltic German Latvian architect. He was responsible for some of the reconstruction work of Riga Castle in the 1930s and designed more than 200 houses in Riga.-Biography:...
.
Riga Castle is a
castleA castle is a defensive structure seen as one of the main symbols of the Middle Ages. The term has a history of scholarly debate surrounding its exact meaning, but it is usually regarded as being distinct from the general terms fort or fortress, in that it describes a residence of a monarch or...
on the banks of River
DaugavaThe river Daugava or Western Dvina or Dzvina , not to be confused with Northern Dvina, is a river rising in the Valdai Hills, Russia, flowing through Russia, Belarus, and Latvia, draining into the Gulf of Riga in Latvia, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The total length of the river is...
in
RigaRiga is the capital and largest city of Latvia, a major industrial, commercial, cultural and financial centre of the Baltics, and an important seaport, situated on the mouth of the Daugava...
, the capital of
LatviaLatvia , officially the Republic of Latvia is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , and to the southeast by Belarus . Across the Baltic Sea to the west lies Sweden...
. The castle was founded in 1330. This structure was thoroughly rebuilt between 1497 and 1515. Upon the castle's seizure by the Swedes, they constructed spacious annexes in 1641. The fortress was continually augmented and reconstructed between the 17th and 19th centuries. Sometime in the 1930s, some renovation work was done by architect
Eižens LaubeEižens Laube was a Baltic German Latvian architect. He was responsible for some of the reconstruction work of Riga Castle in the 1930s and designed more than 200 houses in Riga.-Biography:...
. The Latvian government declared the castle its residence in 1938. Today it is the official residence of the
President of Latvia as well as home to several museums.
History
The castle was built on basis of treaty between
RigaRiga is the capital and largest city of Latvia, a major industrial, commercial, cultural and financial centre of the Baltics, and an important seaport, situated on the mouth of the Daugava...
and the
Livonian OrderThe Livonian Order was an autonomous Livonian branch of the Teutonic Order and a member of the Livonian Confederation from 1435–1561. After being defeated by Samogitians in the 1236 Battle of Schaulen , the remnants of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword were incorporated into the Teutonic...
- in 13th century Rigans had rebelled against the Order and demolished its original castle in center of the town. Due to constant fights with Rigans the Order chose to rather build a new castle behind borders of the town, than rebuild the original castle. The site occupied by Convent of the Saint Spirit - a hospital and shelter for the poor - was chosen and the convent moved to location of the original castle. The castle served as residence of Master of the Livonian Order, but due to continuous conflicts with Rigans the residence was moved to
Castle of CēsisCēsis Castle is a Livonian castle situated in Cēsis, Latvia. Its ruins are one of the most majestic castle ruins in the Baltic states. Once the most important castle of the Livonian Order, it has been the official residence for the masters of the order, it was partly destroyed during the Great...
sometime before the castle was destroyed by Rigans in 1484. The Rigans eventually lost the fight and were forced to rebuild the castle - the restoration was finished in 1515. After the
Union of WilnoThe Wilno Pact was an agreement reached on November 28, 1561 between Sigismund II Augustus and the Livonian Brothers of the Sword. The order was secularized, Courland and Semigalia became the Duchy of Courland and were granted to Gotthard Kettler...
order cased to exist in 1561 the Castle became
LithuanianThe Grand Duchy of Lithuania was an Eastern and Central European state from the 12th /13th century until 1795. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the pagan Baltic tribes from Aukštaitija...
and in 1569 -
Polish-LithuanianThe Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was formed by the union of the Kingdom of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1569. The new Commonwealth was one of the largest and most populous countries of 16th and 17th-century Europe....
stronghold. In 1621. Riga came under
SwedishSweden was, between 1611 and 1718, one of the great powers of Europe. In modern historiography this period is known as the Swedish Empire, or stormaktstiden .-Sweden's emergence into a great power:...
rule and the Castle was used to house Swedish administration.
After the city came under
RussianThe Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia, and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
rule in early 18th century, the castle housed administration and courts of
Riga GovernorateThe Governorate of Livonia or Livland, also known as the Government of Livonia or Province of Livonia, was a governorate of the Russian Empire, now divided between the Republic of Latvia and the Republic of Estonia....
and served as residence of Governors General. In 1922 the castle became residence of the President of Latvia. After Soviet occupation the castle housed Council of People Commissars of
Latvian SSRThe Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic , also known as the Latvian SSR for short, was one of the republics that made up the Soviet Union...
in 1940-1941. In 1941
Young Pioneer organization of the Soviet UnionThe Young Pioneer Organization of the Soviet Union, also Lenin All-Union Pioneer Organization The Young Pioneer Organization of the Soviet Union, also Lenin All-Union Pioneer Organization The Young Pioneer Organization of the Soviet Union, also Lenin All-Union Pioneer Organization (Russian:...
moved into northern part of the castle, which therefore became known as the Pioneer Castle. Several museums are housed in the southern part of the castle. After Independence of Latvia was restored the northern part of the Castle again became the residence of President of Latvia.
Architecture
The Castle originally was a three floor building, which enclosed a rectangular courtyard, and had four rectangular towers in its corners. After the Castlej was demolished in 1484 it was rebuilt with two towers replaced by round towers following the latest develeopments of military technologies. The Castle experienced vast development during 17th century when it was almost constantly under construction. In 1682
ArsenalAn arsenal is an establishment for the construction, repair, storage and issue of weapons and ammunition. The word arsenal appears in various forms in Romance languages , i.e. Italian arsenale, Spanish arsenal etc.; Italian also has arzana and darsena, and Spanish a longer form atarazanal...
was attached to the castle, it was torn down about one hundred years later, in 1783 to build a court/house.
External links