Latvia - Latvia’s Legends

July 7, 9

Hello everyone!

Over 50% of Latvia is forest, and contains some beautiful places outside of its lovely capital, Riga. This will show two places I visited: Rundale Palace and Gauja National Park.

Peeking out at Turaida Castle from its tower

Wild eyes - arguably added by a person who wasn't using theirs -
on this animal head. The antlers are real, the head is not.

One of these is a summer palace in the small village of Rundale. It was purposely built far away from any settlement, not that it needed to be close to anything. It is that grand.

They actually had an even bigger residence in a place called Jelgava

The Meeting Room - the Duke would sit at one end

The palace, a short distance north of the border with Lithuania, belonged to the Duke of Courland, which is a historical Latvian land in the west of the modern-day country. 

Ernst Johann von Biron: the Duke of Courland

French Gardens at Rundale Palace

We were shown around the palace by a funny and withering guide, who talked us through the history and different rooms of the palace. It was owned initially by a duke called Ersnest Johann von Biron. The palace was completed in 1740; von Biron was only able to enjoy it for a matter of months before being captured and exiled to Siberia.

That bit in the corner was the fireplace

Lavish paintings adorn many ceilings

Decades later, in 1762, the Russian leader Catherine the Great reinstated von Biron as duke, so returned to Rundale. He and his family then got to use the vast grounds, including the French Gardens, until full Russian annexation of the region in 1795. It has since been used as a primary school, grain storage facility (hello USSR) and movie and TV set.

Portraits of key figures connected to the palace

Fascinating chess set in the games room

Another place that could be used for movie sets is Gauja National Park, an area found about 80 km east of Latvia’s capital. The term ‘national park’ is a bit of a misnomer, there are many villages within the confines of the borders.

Pond in Turaida Museum Reserve

Building in Turaida Museum Reserve

Parts of the park help you peek into Latvia’s medieval past, when it was part of an area called Livonia. This covered much of modern-day Latvia and Estonia. It has existed in many forms and under many names, but seems to have been at its peak in the fourteenth century. Middle Ages, we’d probably say.

Old jewellery - there's a tiny knife in each necklace

Different ways of getting around - there is a sledge at the back

You get a vibe for this in an area called Turaida. Its open air museum contains a blacksmiths, a stable house and a sauna, amongst other buildings that would have been used in the region at that time and a little bit beyond. 

Pond in Turaida Museum Reserve

Sauna - we are getting closer to Scandinavia...

Turaida was also home to a castle. Whilst some of it has been left as a ruin, other elements have been reconstructed. One part that didn’t need much mortar or brick was the tower, which stands almost 40 metres high.

I was told that 88% of the tower is original, which seems a very specific number

Inside the tower, before you get to the top

The 360 degree view from the top of the tower is stunning. Swathes of virgin pine forest separated by the meandering Gauja river.

First records of a castle being here are from 1214

Don't lean out too far!

A more complete castle can be found at Sigulda. Called Sigulda New Castle, it was built in the 1870s, and is actually much more manor house than defensive structure. There is a Russian connection, as Latvia was controlled by the Russian Empire at this time. I was more interested in the black rye bread ice cream that I got. Texture was a bit strange but it tasted surprisingly nice.

The internet tells me this is 'neo-gothic'

It was built in 1878

Not very black...the apple and cinnamon was delicious!

A short drive from these castles takes you to Gutman’s Cave, which is a small cave containing many engravings. The story behind this is that an infant was found during a war with Sweden. The infant, called Majia, grew up and fell in love with a gardener. They would meet at the cave. A Polish man got jealous and impersonated the gardener, met Majia, and tried to capture her. Majia gave him a scarf that she said made its wearer invulnerable. The Polish man tried it on her…killing her. A love story as old as time...

The widest and highest cave in the Baltics

Engravings - particularly hearts - are found around the cave

Away from legend and accidental murder, Latvia is generally quite a flat country. It was thus surprising to be told that skiing is quite popular here, and can be done in the park. Almost as surprising was seeing a bobsled track. It is said to be one of the fastest in the world, and you can organise going down with a Latvian Olympian. Next time!

Part of that forested area

The track can reach speeds of 125 km/h

Other areas of Gauja are more restrictive...

I think ‘next time’ sums up how I felt about going to Gauja National Park. I‘d have loved to have more time to actually hike or bike, to see its feted cliffs, and to truly get into nature. The reality of the tour I’m on is that there isn’t time for that. At the same time, I’d never have chosen to go to Rundale Palace, and that turned out to be interesting, so I’ll take what I get given!

Water lilies at Turaida

Different stuccos of cherubs denote different seasons in Rundale Palace

As mentioned in the previous post, I found Riga to be a charming and quite a green city. However, it’s always nice to get out of a capital to see other parts of a country. Even if the legends associated with those places are a bit random!

Rundale Palace

Turaida Castle

Love you all,

Matt