List of castles in Latvia

This is the List of castles in Latvia, which includes fortified residences of Western European conquerors built in the area of present-day Latvia before the 17th century. There are about 140 medieval castles in the area, therefore this list is not complete. After the name of the castle comes the year of construction and a short description of its present-day condition.

Table of contents

Courland

NameTownDistrictsEstablishedStatusNotesRefs

Aizpute Castle
AizputeSouth KurzemeEnd of the 13th centuryRuins

Alsunga Castle
AlsungaKuldīgaBefore 1341PreservedIn use

Dundaga Castle
DundagaTalsiLate 13th centuryPreservedIn use

Ēdole Castle
ĒdoleKuldīgaFrom 1264 to 1267PreservedIn use

Embūte Castle
EmbūteSouth KurzemeAround 1265RuinsWalls stand up to 7 meters high

Grobiņa Castle
GrobiņaSouth Kurzeme1253RuinsA wooden castle before 1265

Nurmuiža Castle
LaucieneTalsiAround 1598PreservedUnder reconstruction

Piltene Castle
PilteneVentspilsEnd of the 13th centuryRuins

Ventspils Castle
VentspilsVentspils cityBefore 1290PreservedIn use

Zemgale

NameTownParishEstablishedStatusNotesRefs

Bauska Castle
BauskaBauskaBuilt after 1443Under reconstructionMedieval part in ruins and Renaissance part reconstructed

Dobele Castle
DobeleDobeleFrom 1335 to 1359Impressive ruins

Jaunpils Castle
JaunpilsTukums1301PreservedIn use

Rundāle Palace
PilsrundāleBauska1768, museum opened in 1963PreservedIn use

Šlokenbeka Castle
MilzkalneTukumsBuilt before 1544Preserved and transformedIn use[1]

Vidzeme

NameTownParishEstablishedStatusNotesRefs

Aizkraukle Castle
AizkraukleAizkraukleSecond half of the 14th centuryRuinsWalls standing up to 5 meters high

Alūksne Castle
AlūksneAlūksneAround 1342RuinsWalls higher than 5 meters high

Burtnieki Castle
BurtniekiValmieraBuilt before 1366RuinsWalls up to 4 meters high

Cēsis Castle
CēsisCēsisAround 1213-1218Impressive ruins

Daugavgrīva Castle
DaugavgrīvaRīga1208Only earthen ramparts

Gaujiena Castle
GaujienaSmilteneAround 1236-1238RuinsWalls standing higher than 10 meters

Koknese Castle
KokneseAizkraukleAround 1210Impressive ruins

Krimulda Castle
KrimuldaSiguldaMiddle of the 13th centuryRuins

Lielstraupe Castle
StraupeCēsisEnd of the 13th centuryPreservedIn use

Lielvārde Castle
LielvārdeOgreBuilt before 1248Ruins

Uldevena wooden castle
LielvārdeLielvārdeOgreBuilt before 1213Reconstructed

Rauna Castle
RaunaRaunaBuilt before 1381Impressive ruins

Riga Castle
RigaRīgaBuilt in the 1340sPreservedIn use

Salacgrīva fortress
SalacgrīvaLimbažiBuilt in 1226RuinsBarely visible[2]

Sigulda Medieval Castle
SiguldaSiguldaFrom 1207 to 1209Impressive ruins

Turaida Castle
TuraidaSiguldaBuilt in 1214Partly reconstructed

Vecdole Castle
Dole islandSalaspilsBuilt before 1226RuinsBarely visible

Vecpiebalga Castle
VecpiebalgaCēsisBuilt before 1318RuinsWalls standing up to 6 metres high

Latgale

NameTownParishEstablishedStatusNotesRefs

Dinaburga Castle
East of DaugavpilsAugšdaugavaAround 1273-1277Excavated and exposed ruins

Krustpils Castle
JēkabpilsJēkabpilsSecond half of the 13th centuryPreservedIn use

Ludza Castle
LudzaLudzaBuilt in the 14th centuryImpressive ruins

Viļaka Castle
ViļakaBalviEnd of the 15th centuryRuinsStone castle after 1516

Rēzekne Castle
RēzekneRēzekneBuilt before 1324Ruins[3][4]

See also

Additional information

References

Sources

  • Zarāns, Alberts (2006). Latvijas pilis un muižas. Castles and manors of Latvia (in Latvian and English). Riga. ISBN 9984-785-05-X. OCLC 72358861.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • Ose, I. (2004). Latvijas 12. gadsimta beigu - 17. gadsimta vācu piļu leksikons (in Latvian). Riga.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

External links