When in Latvia in August 2022, I did a tour to Sigulda as I wanted to see something of the countryside. Sigulda is 50 km from the capital Riga. Sigulda was bombed in the war. It is in Gauja National Park, which covers a huge area. Not much to the town, a railway station, then we drove past some Swiss chalets and the bobsleigh centre, then along by the Gauja valley.
Our first stop was Siguldas viduslaiku pils, which has an old and also a new castle. The old medieval castle ruins date back to 1207. The walls have been fortified many times in recent years to allow access to paying visitors.
From the castle we went to Gutman's cave, see my separate blog.
After visiting the cave we went on to the Turaida museum reserve. This covers a large area and is the historical centre of Turaida. There is currently a lot of renovation of the approach road and car parks. We walked through the grounds, saw the wooden Lutheran church which was built in 1750 but has been fully restored. Near the church is the Rose memorial, a place devoted to Maija – the Rose of Turaida, who lived in Sigulda at the beginning of the 17th century. Her life story and tragic death have grown into a romantic legend about love, courage and confidence. See is also connected with Gutman's Cave.
Also in the gardens are 26 granite sculptures all relating to folklore. We went onto the castle. This dates to the early 1200s. I climbed the main tower, which has 139 brick steps. At the top are good views over the Gauja National Park.
I then went in the other buildings. Until the end of the 16th century, the castle was residence of Archbishops of Riga who ruled the lands. After a fire in 1776, it was no longer inhabited and gradually turned into ruins. Then in the second half of the 20th century, archaeological research led to restoration of the buildings.
See more on Turaida Museum Reserve.
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