Castle Of The Livonian Order In Sigulda — Attraction in Sigulda

North of Sigulda, on a small rocky plateau that rises some 70 metres above the Gauja River valley, stands the impressive ruins of the Livonian Order Castle. The castle was built in 1207 by the Livonian Brothers of the Sword, the knightly order that was founded to bring about the conversion of the Latvians, Livonians and Estonians (by means of a crusade). These Brothers of the Sword were not the most obedient knights, as they regularly clashed with Bishop Albert of Riga (whose castle -Turaida Castle- can be seen on the other side of the Gauja River). The order was dissolved by the Pope in 1237, after only 35 years, and was incorporated into the Teutonic Order in the form of a separate branch, the Livonian Order. Since 1432 Sigulda Castle was the residence of the Land Marshal of the Livonian Order, the second highest officer of the order. In the 16th, 17th and early 18th centuries, war and destruction alternate with peace and reconstruction, until the castle is finally no longer restored and from the early 19th century it is cherished as a romantic ruin (albeit with some reinforcements and adjustments). The 20th and 21st centuries are mainly characterized by historical and archaeological research, and renovations to protect the ruin from decay. The Sigulda Medieval Castle is therefore an interesting and beautiful ruin that you should...

Walked in, said “Labdien!”.

Asked if there are Senior discounts for my older mother, in Russian.

Ticket counter girl with no ID or name tag, while looking crazy at me, goes “Latvian or English only!!!” No “Hello”, “Labdien”, “excuse me”, “es atvaujnojas”, no explanation like “hey neprotu runāt krieviski”, - nothing. Just a crazyGestapo-like command and a staredown.

I was going to buy tickets anyways, but decided not sponsor poor customer service, rusophobia, or Latvian racism, asked her “..oh it’s like that? Don’t worry about it” this time in English, and we walked away.

I don’t know where else in the world can you get away with rusophobic stuff like that except in my Latvia? In DMVs across US there are translations into Russian for driving tests, in Los Angeles in West Hollywood even bus stops have “scrolling text” updates in Russian.

Half of Latvia speaks Russian. Riga is a Russian -speaking city. Kalnciems is a Russian speaking city. Daugavpils is a Russian speaking city. Jelgava is a Russian speaking town. We live here. It’s our country. It’s ok not to speak it, but you cannot be racist about it deny me a museum visit because I asked you a question in Russian.

Если Вы русско-говорящий, я Вас предупредил.

Зачем поощерать своими деньгами людей которые...

It is normal Castle if you want to visit.To be Honest,there is nothing special I found about it.If you go there,you will find some old wall and there is no Castle at all. Some part is just freshly renovated.Yes,The view from the castle of Sigulda is mesmerizing.Castle is laready ruin.There is only wall left. Do visit in Summer time.The view in Summer is good over there.The visiting fee is just 1 or 2 Euro per Adult. You can check some photos here. If you are u history and everything then you should visit this.Otherwise I would say there are some other part in Sigulda which is much...