[LATVIA] Sigulda

20:23 Travel Bunny 0 Comments

Leaving Riga in the morning to Sigulda, a town in the Vidzeme Region located 53km away from Riga. Because of its lovely landscapes, Sigulda is known as the Switzerland of Latvia.

We had a hearty home cook breakfast at the apartment before we left Riga. The fresh cherries were bought on the day before at the Central Market. 1 bag of fresh cherries cost only 1 euro.

This is St. James Church in the city. Goodbye, Riga.

I made a stop over at Keizarskats (Emperor’s View). This place was named after the visit of Russian Tsar Alexander II to Sigulda and its surroundings. It is actually located in the Gauja National Park. Established since 1973, Gauja National Park is the largest and oldest national parks of Latvia which stretches more that 90,000 hectares.

It’s just a short walk from the parking area.

This is the place where the Russian emperor enjoyed the view of picturesque Gauja River among the forested valley of Sigulda.

From then onwards, the place is called ‘Emperor’s View’.

You don’t need to be a king to enjoy this view now. I didn’t have the luxury of time to go hiking at the park as I continued on with my journey to Sigulda Medieval Castle and Sigulda Castle for a glimpse of life during medieval times in Europe.

There are plenty to see and do in Sigulda. You can visit the Turaida Museum, Sigulda Castle Complex, Walking Stick Park, Gutman’s Cave, Cableway over Gauja, bobsleigh and luge track, Obstacle and Amusement Tarzan, Toboggan Track and chair lift, Wild Cat Adventure Park, Krimulda Manor, Aerodium or Sigulda Sport and Leisure Centre.

Passed by a river as I walked towards Sigulda Castle Complex.

Browsing at some hand pressed dried flower souvenirs on the way.

Side view of Sigulda New Castle.

Sigulda Medieval Castle is located next to the Sigulda New Castle. It was originally built in 1207 by the Livonian Brother’s of Sword, a military order established by Bishop Albert Riga. The Sword Borother’s were established to conquer and convert pagan Baltic tribes.

In 1236 however, the knights were however defeated by the locals. Between 48 to 68 knights were killed and its remaining members were incorporated into the Livonian Order.

You can buy the entrance ticket at the ticket office which is at the side of the bridge. There is an entrance fee of 2 Euro per adult for the Sigulda Medieval Castle.

A souvenir shop at the castle.

From this castle, the crusaders controlled the entire Gauja Valley and for centuries, it remained a crucial regional stronghold.

From the 16^th century onwards, the castle exchange hands numerous times, from the Polish to the Swedish and was damaged and reconstructed.

This section is the chapel which is now in ruins.

Enjoying a tranquil time with my son on the carpet of flower and grass.

Constructed with a view of the deep valley of Gauja. In a distance from Sigulda Mediaval Castle, you can see Turaida Castle which was built in 1214. After a fire in 1776, the castle was abandoned.

Over the centuries, the Turaida Castle had been rebuilt according to the development of military technology and changing architectural styles. The restoration of Turaida Castle main tower began in 1953. Now, there is a museum in Turaida Castle, various exhibitions have been opened in the castle buildings.

Annual concerts and festivals are being held here at the open stage of the Medieval Castle.

A model of the castle.

An observation was created at the north tower. There is a staircase and an elevator available in the observation tower.

An information centre was created in the wooden structure at the southern defensive wall between the gate tower and the corpus of the convent chapel.

A chair where visitor can sit and pose for a picture.

A brief explanation of the reconstruction of the entrance gate tower walls.

The reconstruction of the entrance gate tower walls was carried out in the the late 1980s. Before the start of the reconstruction, the tower has completely lost the northern wall. In 2012, the reconstruction continued with the construction of the floorings on all levels of the tower and also wooden staircase.

The two level of gallery correspond to the two former guard passages. Moving around the gallery at the level of one of the former guard passages and looking through an arrow silt to the south, everyone can imagine themselves in the role of a medieval castle guard.

The New Sigulda Castle was built during the time of Duke Dimitry Kropotkins and Duchess Olga from 1878 till 1881 as their house.

During World War I, the castle was destroyed. The Latvian Press Society acquired the property and the castle was reconstructed in 1936.

During World War II the castle was used as a headquarters for the Nord division of the German army and after the war used as a Soviet recreation house for high state officials. Later in 1953, the castle was used as a rehabilitation centre and after the restoration of Latvia’s independence, Sigulda Castle now houses the Sigulda District Council.

You can snap a nice view of the Medieval Castle from the New Sigulda Castle.

After visiting the castles, I proceeded to see a famous cave of Sigulda.

Stalls selling souvenir along the way to the cave.

Can you spot the highlight of this photo? One painting in particular is quite different from the others. Haha.

Sigulda is famous for production of walking stick and is the most popular tourist souvenir since the 19^th century as locals made the walking sticks to help tourist walk up and down the valley of the Gauja River.

The territory of the Gauja National Park comprises more than 500 monuments of history and culture such as castle mounds, castles, churches, manors, water and windmills as well as numerous archeological and art monuments.

After a short walk from the parking area, I arrived at Gutman’s Cave. Gutman’s Cave is the widest and highest cave in the Baltic Countries. On the walls of the cave you can see graffiti’s dating from the 17^th century. It’s actually a very small cave!

Rose of Turaida is a legend associated with Gutman’s Cave. The smaller cave which is just next to Gutman’s Cave is called Victor’s Cave. It too had a story behind it which is linked to the Rose of Turaida story. You can read both stories in Sigulda Tourism page here.

Inside there is a flowing spring water dubbed the Gutman’s miracle spring. You can drink from it if you want.

So how did the engraving reach the very top wall of the cave? Those days, local craftsmen would wait for wealthy visitors near the cave with tools and stepladders to carve the stone. Writing or carving on the cave wall, however, is no longer permitted.