Riga Castle

Riga Castle is a medieval fortress on the bank of the Daugava, at the northern edge of the Old Town. It began as the seat of the Livonian Order, a brotherhood of crusader knights who ran much of medieval Latvia. Over five centuries the castle has been rebuilt many times, and today it's the official home of Latvia's president.

The castle stands right by the river, next to Castle Square (Pils laukums). From here you can see its two round towers, the Lead Tower and the Holy Spirit Tower, which have marked this corner of the city for centuries. The building itself is the President's residence, so most of it is closed to visitors, but the exterior is one of the most photographed sights in Riga.

The story starts with a long fight between the city and the Order. Riga was a rich trading town that wanted to run its own affairs, while the Order wanted to control it. The two sides fought on and off for decades. When Riga finally surrendered in 1330, one of the terms was harsh: the townspeople had to build the Order a new castle at their own expense, on their own land.

The castle stood by the river, close enough to keep the city in check but easy to defend. The people of Riga never really accepted it. They besieged and largely tore it down in the 1480s, and only rebuilt it when the Order forced them to. The fortress that stands today was finished in 1515, built on the older foundations, with walls up to three metres thick and a round tower at each corner.

The Order didn't hold the castle for long. In 1562 the Livonian state collapsed, and in the castle's own Chapter Hall the last master handed over his cross and the keys to a representative of the Polish king. Riga passed to Poland, then to Sweden in 1621, and finally to the Russian Empire in the 18th century.

Each new ruler left a mark. The Poles added a wing on the river side; the Swedes built a tower decorated with grotesque carvings of people and animals. Under Russian rule the castle was rebuilt in the neoclassical style, which gave it the calmer facades you see today. The medieval fortress and the later palace are now joined in one building.

In 1922, a few years after Latvia became independent, the castle became the home of the country's president. During the Soviet occupation it lost that role and housed children's clubs, which is why older residents still remember it as the Pioneer Palace. When Latvia regained independence, the president moved back in.

Today Riga Castle is again the official residence of the President of Latvia. An honour guard stands at the entrance, and the presidential flag flies over the castle when the president is in the country. For a building that began as a fortress the townspeople were forced to build, it has become one of the clearest symbols of the Latvian state.

The castle is a working presidential residence, so the inside isn't generally open to the public. What you come for is the outside: the thick walls, the two round towers and the honour guard at the entrance. You get the best view from Castle Square and the riverside promenade along the Daugava.

It's an easy addition to any walk through the Old Town, a few minutes from the Dome Square. Stand by the river, look across at the walls, and the audio guide fills in how a crusader stronghold became a president's castle. Come near sunset, when the light hits the western wall over the water.