Riga castle

The history of Riga Castle dates back to 1330 , when its construction was started by the Livonian knights ousted from the then borders of the city. After the destruction of the old order castle in the center of Riga, the master of the Livonian Order moved to the newly-built castle, however, due to constant strife with the townspeople, his residence was moved to Venden ( Cesis ) in the 15th century.

During the next conflict of the order with the residents of Riga, the order castle was almost destroyed in 1484. According to the conditions of the world, the residents of Riga committed to restore the fortifications, which was carried out in 1497-1515.

Castle in the 18th century.

After the abolition of the order, the castle was first inhabited by Polish (1578-1621), and then Swedish (1621-1710) governors who expanded and completed the castle in accordance with their own tastes and needs. Particularly significant construction work associated with the construction of a new wing ("pre-castle"), unfolded in the 1640s. In 1683, an arsenal building was added to the complex.

The representative function of the castle already in the XVII century dominated the fortification; the role of the defensive shield of Riga was taken by Daugavgriv . In those same years, the castle began to be actively used as a prison . Before the escape with the Englishman Gorsei , the widow of the only king of Livonia , Maria Staritskaya, was imprisoned in Riga Castle.

After the siege and capture of Riga by Russian troops (1710) , governors-general of Livonia were settled in the Riga castle. Separate rooms continued to be used as a prison. Perhaps the most famous prisoners of the Riga Castle were Anna Leopoldovna and her family ousted from the Russian throne ^[3] .

During the years of Russian rule, the castle finally lost its defensive function, and with it the former formidable form. In 1783, the main castle and the pre-castle buildings were connected by the construction of a new building on the site of the Swedish arsenal . In the XIX century, the castle church was closed and demolished (1870), the fourth floor was added to the new building, and a vast area appeared near the castle walls.

After Latvia gained independence, Riga Castle was proclaimed the residence of the president.

The castle is a colorful combination of buildings from different eras.

In order to give the presidential palace a more complete and representative appearance, a prominent architect Eugene Laube was involved in its reconstruction.

The architect rebuilt the Red Hall and in 1938 attached the Tower of Three Stars to the castle, which, however, weakly harmonizes with historical buildings.

After Latvia joined the USSR, the Council of People's Commissar of the Latvian SSR took the presidency in the Riga Castle.

In February 1941, the City Palace of Pioneers was opened in Riga Castle.

Several museums were also located on the castle’s squares, including museums of foreign art, Latvian history, literature, theater and music.

In June 1995, the castle again became the residence of the President of Latvia .

The premises also housed the presidential office.

In autumn 2012, the reconstruction of the castle began (the president’s residence was temporarily moved to the House of the Blackheads).

The work was carried out by construction companies SBRE, Re & Re and Skonto būve.

The completion of the reconstruction was planned within two and a half years, and the project costs amounted to 21.78 million lats. ^[four]

On June 20, 2013, a fire broke out in Riga in the reconstructed Riga Castle. The signal to the State Fire and Rescue Service (GPSS) was received at 22.12. The roof of the building burned with an open flame. Initially, the fire area was 50-100 m² , but as a result of the rapid spread of flame reached 3200 m².

All the forces of the State Border Guard Service of the Riga Region were mobilized to extinguish the fire - 80 employees and 18 pieces of equipment were involved in extinguishing the fire, of which 11 were tankers, 3 ladders, 1 aerial lift, water dispenser, a pump station and a base vehicle with breathing apparatus.

The tugboat of the Freeport of Riga was brought in to extinguish. The fire was localized at 03.53. The castle building was insured.

Extinguishing the fire was hindered by water shortages ^{[5] [6]} .

The building contained about 1 million exhibits of the State Art Museum, of which about 40 thousand were damaged, and about 900 thousand exhibits of the museum of literature, theater and music were located, of which about 20 thousand exhibits were damaged by water.

• Riga Attractions

• Riga: Encyclopedia = Enciklopēdija "Riga" / Ch. ed. P.P. Eran. - 1st ed .. - Riga: Main Edition of Encyclopedias, 1989. - P. 627-628. - 60,000 copies. - ISBN 5-89960-002-0 .
• Baltic Russians: history in cultural monuments . Riga: Institute for European Studies, 2010. Ed. A.V. Gaponenko, 736 p. ISBN 978-9934-8113-2-6 - pp. 56-60

• History of the Riga Castle on the website of the President of the Republic of Latvia