Cēsis History and Art Museum — Attraction in Cēsis

The castle and museum are connected as part of the same attraction, although you can get tickets for each separately or combined. We did the combo ticket and really enjoyed the castle, but were a bit disappointed with the museum. I'd give the castle 5 stars and the museum 3 stars.

The castle grounds have some great vantage points for taking photos of the castle itself. The tour through the castle is very well done as well, with placards in Latvian and English. They also have several multimedia displays and videos with English subtitles. The interior staircases of the towers are not lit and they offer real candle lanterns to help navigate, which was fun. The top of the tallest tower features a very well done video that is projected onto the walls and doorways and shows a rolling history through time of the castle.

The museum is in the new castle building and was a bit disappointing. The lights for the displays were not working for several exhibits and most of the items on display had their placards only in Latvian. One of their computer monitor interactive displays was also not functioning. The museum has exhibits about the construction of the castle, the history of Latvia, and some model rooms as they would have been when they were in use. There is a nice view of Cesis from the open top of the tower at the end of...

I visited the Census castle medieval part. It is very beautiful, however there are some things that people should know. When you buy the ticket at the counter, they give you a lantern with a candle inside. With no explanation. However, the lantern is needed to climb the tower of the medieval castle. The climb is steep, the steps are uneven because they are very ancient. It is very dark and you do need the lantern. There is a tiny iron railing, I would suggest that you hold on to it. Once you are up, the view is fantastic. The way down is even more treacherous as the ceiling is low. The other part of the castle offers a very steep climb down a narrow chute with thin iron steps. While this experience is very authentic, I would not recommend this to people who have any kind of mobility issues or are scared of dark, narrow places. It's perfect for fit and active people who live something thrilling and can take risks. This is also not a good place for young children, the climbing is hard and there's plenty of risk of injury. For those who want to visit Cēsis, I suggest visiting the museum next to the castle, I have been...

Cēsis Castle is one of the most iconic and best preserved medieval castles in Latvia. The foundations of the castle were laid 800 years ago by the Livonian Brothers of the Sword. The most prosperous period Cēsis Castle experienced was during its next owners, the Teutonic Order. It became one of the key administrative and economic centers of the Teutonic Order in Livonia and was a seat of Landmeister in Livland. The first serious damage was done to the castle during the Livonian War, when it was besieged by the army of Ivan the Terrible. In the course of the siege of 1577 approximately 300 people within the castle committed mass suicide by blowing themselves up with gunpowder.Cēsis Castle was still in use during the following century but it fell into disuse after the Great Northern War. Today the castle is the most visited heritage site in Cēsis and one of the 'must see' destinations in the...