Riga Castle

The core of Riga Castle follows the design of a medieval convent-type fortress arranged around a square courtyard. Originally built in the 14th century, the castle was a three-story stone building with service rooms on the ground floor and the upper floors devoted to residential and official purposes. These upper levels included the master’s living quarters, meeting rooms for the Order’s chapter, a refectory, and a chapel accessible by an open gallery. Small square towers housing staircases punctuated the structure.

The substantial rebuilding carried out between 1497 and 1515 produced a near-cubic quadrangle measuring around 53 to 57 meters on each side. At each corner rose massive round towers, including the Holy Spirit Tower in the northwest and the Lead Tower in the southeast. The walls of this phase are thick—approximately three meters—and the third floor was fortified for defense with numerous openings designed for artillery. Windows featured pointed arches typical of Gothic architecture. Inside, the second floor contained spacious representative halls with ceilings nearly seven meters high, adorned with ribbed and star-shaped vaults. The main gate passage still bears Renaissance-style reliefs showing Master Walter von Plettenberg and an image of the Madonna with Child dating to around 1515.

In 1649, a two-story stone extension was added to the western side of the castle, known as the forecastle. Its corner oriel is richly decorated with Mannerist and early Baroque reliefs created by the German sculptor Daniel Ackermann. These reliefs present heraldic emblems of the Swedish royal family alongside portraits of King Gustav II Adolf and Queen Christina, reflecting the castle’s role under Swedish governance.

Originally, the castle was surrounded by a defensive moat, a common feature for fortifications of the period. This moat was gradually filled in during the 17th and 18th centuries, creating a buffer zone that allowed for the development of a public square now known as Pils Square. To the north, the Swedish-built citadel became a separate fortress complex.

The major reconstruction undertaken between 1783 and 1787 under Russian rule involved demolishing the old Swedish arsenal and replacing it with a new three-story administrative building in classical style along the northeastern side of the castle, which was later expanded to four stories in the 19th century. This building physically connected the main castle structure with the forecastle.

Throughout the 19th century, the forecastle was remodeled multiple times, featuring the addition of the Imperial Hall and a grand granite staircase. The staircase was designed by architect Harald Julius Bosse during the leadership of Governor Alexander Suvorov-Rymniksky from 1848 to 1861.

Today, the castle complex includes six towers representing various historic phases: the medieval Holy Spirit and Lead towers, the smaller square Pepper and Northern towers, the 17th-century oriel tower of the forecastle, and the Three Stars Tower constructed in the late 1930s.

Inside, several notable rooms preserve the castle’s layered history. The Presidential Cabinet consists of the Green Salon, Adjutant’s Room, and Secretary’s Cabinet. The White Hall, built in 1818 and remodeled in neoclassical style during the 1860s, is used for official ceremonies. The Ambassador Accreditation Hall contains an authentic Art Deco interior from the 1920s, while the Coat of Arms Hall, once known as the Red Hall, is adorned with coats of arms from Latvian cities. The Festive Hall, constructed in 1938, features wooden architectural elements that draw on Latvian folk traditions.

The castle walls and vaulted ceilings retain original medieval limestone and dolomite masonry. Beneath the modern Sculpture Garden, some underground passages and tunnels remain, offering a glimpse into the fortress’s concealed spaces. The catastrophic fire of 2013 destroyed significant sections of the roof and upper floors, including large portions of the Red Hall and nearby museum areas. Restoration work has sought to revive the castle’s historical features faithfully, relying on archival references to guide the reconstruction.