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Castles in Latvia

45 landmarks in the Castlemap atlas — every one mapped with a photo and its story, 39 with sourced founding dates, ranked by Wikipedia coverage and real readership.

The most famous castle in Latvia is Rundāle Palace, ranked #246 of 7,738 in the world — followed by Jelgava Palace and Riga Castle.

The Castlemap atlas charts 17 castles, 4 fortresses, 6 palaces & châteaux and 18 ruins in Latvia. They span more than 7 centuries — from Rūjiena Fortress (founded 1125) to Cesvaine Palace (1890). Every one is plotted with its photo and story on the interactive castle map of Latvia.

Map of castles in Latvia

On the map they cluster thickest around Riga — 22 within a 100 km day trip. The northernmost is Rūjiena Fortress, the southernmost Daugavpils Fortress — about 232 km apart.

Planning a visit? Day-trip guides: Castles near Riga.

See them on the map →

When they were built

Of the 45 landmarks mapped in Latvia, 39 carry a sourced founding date. Most were founded in the 13th century — 20 of them. 31 predate 1500 and 6 were built after 1700.

All 45 castles in Latvia

Rundāle Palace
Palace & château · 18th century · #246 worldwide · #1 in Latvia
Rundāle Palace is one of the two major baroque palaces built for the Dukes of Courland in what is now Latvia, the other being Jelgava Palace.
Jelgava Palace
Palace & château · 18th century · #2 in Latvia
Jelgava Palace or historically Mitau Palace is the largest Baroque-style palace in the Baltic states, located in Jelgava, Latvia.
Riga Castle
Castle · 14th century · #3 in Latvia
Riga Castle is a castle on the banks of River Daugava in Riga, the capital of Latvia. The castle was founded in 1330.
Turaida Castle
Castle · 13th century · #4 in Latvia
Turaida Castle is a recently reconstructed medieval castle in Turaida, in the Vidzeme region of Latvia, on the opposite bank of the Gauja River from…
Cēsis Castle
Castle · 13th century · #5 in Latvia
Cēsis Castle is one of the most iconic and best preserved medieval castles in Latvia.
Bauska Castle
Castle · 15th century · #6 in Latvia
Bauska Castle is a complex consisting of the ruins of an earlier castle and a later palace on the outskirts of the Latvian city of Bauska.
Daugavpils Fortress
Fortress · 19th century · #7 in Latvia
Daugavpils Fortress, also known as Dinaburg Fortress or Dvinsk Fortress, and in Latvian known as "Daugavpils Cietoksnis" is an early 19th century…
Ventspils Castle
Castle · 13th century · #8 in Latvia
Ventspils Castle is located in Ventspils, in the Courland region of Latvia. It is one of the oldest and most well-preserved Livonian Order castles…
Ēdole Castle
Palace & château · #9 in Latvia
Ēdole Castle is a Gothic Revival castle situated on the banks of Ēdole Lake, in the Ēdole Parish of Kuldīga Municipality, in the Courland region of…
Sigulda Medieval Castle
Ruin · 13th century · #10 in Latvia
Sigulda Medieval Castle ruins are located on the edge of the Gauja valley in the Vidzeme region of Latvia.
Lielstraupe Castle
Castle · 13th century · #11 in Latvia
Lielstraupe Castle is a castle in Straupe Parish, Cēsis Municipality, in the Vidzeme region of Latvia.
Jaunpils Castle
Castle · 14th century · #12 in Latvia
Jaunpils Castle is a castle in Jaunpils Parish, Tukums Municipality in the Semigallia region of Latvia.
Cesvaine Palace
Palace & château · 19th century · #13 in Latvia
Cesvaine Palace is located in the town of Cesvaine in Madona Municipality, in the Vidzeme region of Latvia.
Sigulda New Castle
Palace & château · 19th century · #14 in Latvia
Sigulda Castle, also known as Sigulda New Castle, is a castle in Sigulda, Sigulda Municipality in the Vidzeme region of Latvia.
Daugavgrīva Fortress
Fortress · 17th century · #15 in Latvia
Daugavgrīva fortress is a fortress built in Swedish Livonia in the 17th century.
Dinaburga Castle
Ruin · 13th century · #16 in Latvia
Dinaburga Castle, also known as Vecdaugavpils or Vecpils, is a castle located in Naujene Parish, Augšdaugava Municipality in the Latgale region of…
Dundaga Castle
Castle · 13th century · #17 in Latvia
Dundaga Castle is a medieval castle in Dundaga, in the Talsi Municipality in the Courland region of Latvia.
Krimulda Castle
Ruin · 14th century · #18 in Latvia
The Krimulda Castle is located just outside Sigulda, Sigulda Municipality in the Vidzeme region of Latvia and is a tourist attraction.
Ludza Castle
Ruin · 14th century · #19 in Latvia
Ludza Castle was a medieval castle built in Gothic style located next to a Catholic church, on the site of a former Latgalian wooden castle in the…
Dobele Castle
Castle · 14th century · #20 in Latvia
Dobele Castle is a castle in the town of Dobele in the Semigallia region of Latvia.
Alūksne Castle
Ruin · 14th century · #21 in Latvia
Alūksne Castle is a castle of Teutonic Knights in Alūksne, Latvia. The castle was built by the Livonian order, the Eastern Baltic branch of the…
Grobiņa Castle
Ruin · 13th century · #22 in Latvia
Grobiņa Castle is a medieval castle located in the town of Grobiņa, in South Kurzeme Municipality in the Courland region of Latvia.
Rēzekne Castle
Ruin · 13th century · #23 in Latvia
Rēzekne Castle ruins are located in the downtown of Rēzekne, Latvia, a city in the center of Latgale.
Aizkraukle Castle
Ruin · 13th century · #24 in Latvia
Aizkraukle Castle is a ruined medieval castle, located on the right bank of the river Daugava in the Vidzeme region of Latvia, to the west of the…
Mežotne Palace
Palace & château · 18th century · #25 in Latvia
Mežotne Palace is a manor house located in the Mežotne Parish of Bauska Municipality, in the Semigallia region of Latvia.
Daugavgrīva Castle
Castle · 13th century · #26 in Latvia
Daugavgrīva Castle is a former monastery converted into a castle, located at Vecdaugava oxbow on the right bank of Daugava, in the northern part of…
Alsunga Castle
Castle · 14th century · #27 in Latvia
Alsunga Castle is a castle in Alsunga village, in Alsunga Parish, Kuldīga Municipality, in the Courland region of Latvia.
Koknese Castle
Ruin · 13th century · #28 in Latvia
Koknese Castle is a complex in Koknese, in the Vidzeme region of Latvia, dating from the 13th century.
Embūte Castle
Ruin · 13th century · #29 in Latvia
The ruins of Embūte Castle are located in Embūte, Embūte Parish, South Kurzeme Municipality in the Courland region of Latvia, not far from an ancient…
Piltene Castle
Castle · #30 in Latvia
Piltene Castle is a Bishopric of Courland castle in the town of Piltene in the historical region of Courland, in western Latvia.
Aizpute Castle
Ruin · 13th century · #31 in Latvia
Aizpute Castle is a Livonian Order castle in the town of Aizpute in the historical region of Courland, in western Latvia.
Šlokenbeka Castle
Castle · 16th century · #32 in Latvia
Šlokenbeka Castle is a fortified manor in the Smārde Parish of Tukums Municipality, in the Courland region of Latvia.
Rauna Castle
Ruin · #33 in Latvia
Rauna Castle ruins are located in the village of Rauna in Rauna Parish, Smiltene Municipality, in the Vidzeme region of Latvia.
Krustpils Castle
Castle · #34 in Latvia
Krustpils Castle is a castle in Jēkabpils, in the Latgale region of Latvia. It is one of the best preserved medieval castles in Latvia.
Lielvārde Castle
Ruin · 13th century · #35 in Latvia
Lielvārde Castle is a castle in Lielvārde, a town in Ogre Municipality in the Vidzeme region of Latvia.The castle was built at the steep bank of…
Kuldiga Castle
Castle · #36 in Latvia
Kuldīga Castle also Goldingen Castle and Jesus Castle was a medieval castle of the Livonian Order in historical Courland in town Kuldīga near Venta…
Gaujiena Castle
Ruin · 13th century · #37 in Latvia
Gaujiena Castle is a castle in the historical region of Vidzeme, in northern Latvia. It was built between 1236 and 1238.
Viļaka Castle
Ruin · 13th century · #38 in Latvia
Viļaka Castle is a ruined castle in Balvi Municipality in the Latgale region of Latvia.
Burtnieki Castle
Ruin · 14th century · #39 in Latvia
Burtnieki Castle is a castle in Burtnieki Parish, Valmiera Municipality in the Vidzeme region of Latvia.
Salacgrīva Fortress
Fortress · 13th century · #40 in Latvia
Salacgrīva fortress was a medieval castle located on the right bank of the Salaca river, in the historical region of Vidzeme, northern Latvia.
Vecpiebalga Castle
Castle · #41 in Latvia
Vecpiebalga Castle, also called Piebalga Castle, is a bishop's castle in Cēsis Municipality in the Vidzeme region of Latvia.
Vecdole Castle
Ruin · 13th century · #42 in Latvia
Vecdole Castle is a castle on the Daugava River in the Salaspils Parish of Salaspils Municipality, in the Vidzeme region of Latvia.
Rūjiena Fortress
Fortress · 12th century · #43 in Latvia
The ruins of the Latvian hill castle Rujiena Castle are located on the edge of the present-day village of Rūjiena in Valmiera Municipality in the…
Salaspils Castle
Castle · 12th century · #44 in Latvia
Salaspils Castle was an Order castle of the Livonian Order, built somewhat south of the town of Salaspils on the bank of the Daugava.
Trikāta Castle ruins
Ruin · 13th century · #45 in Latvia
Trikāta Castle ruins was an order castle of the Livonian Order in Livonia in present-day Latvia.

Frequently asked questions

How many castles are in Latvia?

The Castlemap atlas maps 45 landmarks (17 castles · 4 fortresses · 6 palaces & châteaux · 18 ruins) in Latvia — a curated selection of well-documented landmarks from Wikidata, not a count of every fortification ever built.

What is the most famous castle in Latvia?

Rundāle Palace, ranked #246 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's fame ranking, founded in the 18th century.

What is the oldest castle in Latvia?

The oldest dated landmark in the atlas in Latvia is Rūjiena Fortress, founded 1125. Earlier structures may have existed — this is the oldest with a documented founding year.

Where are most of the castles in Latvia?

They cluster thickest around Riga — 22 of the atlas's landmarks within 100 km.

How many castles are there in Latvia?