As we make our way from Ligatne to Riga there are many beautiful cities along the way to visit but we choose Sigulda which has four (!) castles to see. We cannot see them all but choose an ensemble of two that we can visit at once. And they even have sufficient parking nearby so we park and in we go.
The first castle is visible as soon as we enter the grounds and is quite impressive. For obvious reasons when compared with the other castle on the grounds it is called the New Castle and it was built in 1878 in Neogothic style. It was destroyed in WW1 then rebuilt and used by the Latvian Union of Writers and Journalists. After WW2 it was used as a rehabilitation center by the Soviets and after independence it is holding the local council.
We really like the map of the grounds, it is quite comprehensive and it gives us an idea where the second castle is as we cannot see it immediately. We also like the automated lawn movers, there are a couple of them and they are working tirelessly to keep the lawn trimmed.
The second castle also known as the Old Castle is behind the new one and easily visible if you move to the side and not look at the new one from the front as we did. It is also the castle that we start with as it is more historic, it was built in 1207 and then it was the residence of the Marshall of the Livonian Order for which Latvia is named.
Before entering though we examine a tree at the entrance which is an attractor for many birds including our first Eurasian Blackcap, cool.
The castles are very close to each other and we can buy a combo ticket at the entrance of the old one and in we go.
The castle is a historic tourist attraction from the 1800s and as such the walls have been reinforced multiple times during the last couple centuries. However only one section can be entered and it has a few exhibits but nothing too special.
The still standing walls are quite scenic and you can also climb one of the towers, there is an elevator too but it is out of service. It is lucky that we can climb it as it starts to rain just as we reach it, with a bit of luck the rain is gone by the time we climb, look around and descend.
Besides the two castles we are visiting there are two more in the Sigulda area and we can see them from the overlooks, they seem quite interesting but we don’t have time today to see them.
We move swiftly to enter the New Castle before the rain starts. It is furnished in early 20th century style based on our estimation and it is quite interesting to walk through the different rooms.
There is no established tour as far as we can tell so we walk around exploring everything that we can enter or see. The artwork in the castle also has a cohesive theme showing an idealized version of rural live with happy peasants, which was a common theme in Europe between the world wars.
The exhibits are actually quite weird though, there is one where you can learns how to dance and another where you enter a darkened room and a ghost suddenly appears in the bathtub, scary. We learn that the castle is supposed to be haunted and this is a representation of the ghost, interesting.
As it seems to be common here there is a tower to climb for a view of the surrounding area. And the view is actually quite good with the old castle visible in one direction and the garden in a different direction. We enjoy it especially as we are the only ones at the top, otherwise it would have been quite tight for more people.
Returning to the car we pass a few shops to see what is available and as we pass two gnomes they start to speak quite loudly making us literally jump two feet into the air. We almost run to the car after this especially as we also notice hidden entrances in the forest that can lead to who knows what secret chambers. And don’t forget there is also a ghost in the area :).
