Description of the attraction
Krimulda medieval castle, or rather its ruins, is located in the village of Krimulda, which is under the city of Sigulda, on the main slope of the right bank of the century-old valley of the Gauja River.
In 1231 the Bishop of Riga allocated land for the construction of the castle. Presumably, the construction of the castle was started in 1255, but there is no confirmation of this fact in historical documents.
The first mention of the castle can be found in the protocol of 1312, which was created by the ambassador of Pope Francis of Moliano. At the time when the struggle of the Riga archbishop with the order was taking place, the order's troops captured the castle. In 1318, the order was ordered to return all property that had been seized during the war.
In the period from 1558 to 1585, after the Livonian War, the headman from Poland lived in the castle. In 1592, the castle passed into the ownership of the advisor Holdschner.
In 1601, when the Polish-Swedish war was going on, the castle was captured by the Swedes. In the fall of the same year, retreating, Count Johann von Nassau ordered the destruction of the castle. It was burned. Most likely, after this incident, the castle was no longer restored, although it is mentioned in historical documents of the 17th century.
The Poles did not manage to hold out for a long time in the Vidzeme region, and he passed into power to the Swedes. In the annals of 1624, created by the Swedes, it is said that the castle was burned down, but after the fire, one room survived, suitable for habitation, with a stove, but without windows and with a cellar under it. Also, from the castle estates, 2 wooden cages, a barn, a kitchen and 2 log cabins with rooms have been preserved.
In 1625 Sigulda and Krimulda were donated by the Swedish king Gustav II Adolf to his advisor Gabriel Uksenstern. In 1726, after the Great Northern War, Krimulda became the property of Captain Karlis von Helmersen. And in 1817, Krimulda became the property of the Lieven family. In 1861-1863, Count Lieven ordered an archaeological excavation. This process was supervised by the historian H. Bruining. The foundations of the Northern and the entrance towers and the living quarters were examined. On July 11-12, 1862, Krimulda was visited by the Russian Emperor Alexander II. At the same time, on the territory of the castle, in the southwestern part of the residential building, external walls with two Gothic-style windows were built on the old foundation.
The castle was erected on the slope of the right bank of the ancient valley of the Gauja River. On three sides, the castle was surrounded by natural slopes of the valleys of the Gauja and Vikmeste rivers, and on the fourth side there was a moat.
The castle was small. It consisted of a main building and two guard towers. Outbuildings made of wood were located in the courtyard of the castle. The castle was built of huge stones with a lime binder. A fortification wall was erected around the castle, having a thickness of 1, 5 to 2 meters.
The main building of the castle was located in the southwest of the territory. Its dimensions were 54, 4x17, 5 meters. 3 cellars were built under the building. The first floor of the castle was occupied by a kitchen, a dining room and utility rooms, on the second floor there were living rooms, and the third floor was given over to small rooms.
In the southwestern part of the castle territory, there was one of the security towers (9.5 meters wide), which protected the entrance gates. And in the north of the castle estates there was another - a square guard tower. She guarded the approaches from the side of the ravine of the Vikmeste River.
The insignificant remains of the ancient castle have survived to this day, in particular, a small fragment of a stone wall and huge Gothic windows, fashionable in the 19th century.
