The New Sigulda Castle was built between 1878 and 1881 for Prince Kropotkin.  Its tower was extended in 1937.  From 1923 until 1940, the building was known as the Writers Castle, and it was managed by the Latvian Press Association.  During the Soviet era, a cardiology sanatorium was housed there.  In 1993, the Sigulda City Council took over the castle, and since 2003 it has been home to the Sigulda Administrative District Council.  The wooden residential building (mid-19th century) in which the Kropotkin family lived still survives, as do the granary (late 18th or early 19th century), the gardener's house (19th century), and the stone wall (19th century).  The New Sigulda Castle is part of the historical centre of the Sigulda, Turaida and Krimulda complex, as are the ruins of the Sigulda Castle and the Krimulda Castle, the Krimulda Estate and the Turaida Castle.

The Lejenieki homestead is 1.1 km north of Bangas.  Vilis Plūdons (1874-1940) was an outstanding Latvian poet, a representative of the style of National Romanticism, and a schoolteacher.  His real name was Vilis Lejnieks, and he was born in at the Lejenieki homestead in the Bauska region.  His father was Jānis Lejnieks.  As a boy, Vilis was enchanted by fairy tales told by his granny and by folk songs that she sang.  Plūdons is buried nearby in the family cemetery.  Lejenieki offers an exhibition about the poet’s life and work.  The local sauna features sculptures of rabbits, thus recalling Plūdons’ poem, “Rabbit Sauna.”