Die älteste (16 Jh.) der drei Burge am Fluss Nemunas. Renoviert nach dem 2. Weltkrieg. Heutzutage – eine Schule. Ein Park. Blick vom Burgturm.

One of the largest castles in Kurzeme, this building has been preserved in fairly good shape.  Work on its began in the mid-13th century, and it was commissioned by the heads of the Dome Cathedral in Rīga.  In 1434, the estate was bought by the bishop of Kurzeme.  The Maidel and Osten-Sacken dynasties owned it from the 16th to the 20th century.  The Dundaga Castle burned down twice and has been rebuilt many times.  The last reconstruction was in 1905, after the castle was burned down during the revolution.  Of interest on both sides of the castle’s door are stone carvings of a knight and a bishop.  In recent years, the hotel in the castle has been renovated, as has the second floor hallway and a terrace that is popular for weddings.  There are many legends about the castle, including one about a wedding of elves and another about the Green Lady.  Today the building houses the Dundaga School of Music and Art, a hotel, party rooms, the Dundaga Tourism Information Centre and various exhibitions.  It is worth finding a guide to tour the castle.  Groups of tourists can also order tastings of local foods.

The Jelgava Castle stands between the Lielupe and Driksa rivers. The Baroque castle was designed by the well known Italian architect Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli, and this was the most important piece of early work that he did. The Latvian Agriculture University is housed in the castle today. A museum was established in 1968. +371-6300-5617. The socle story of the south-eastern wing has the graves of rulers from the Duchy of Courland – members of the Kettler and Byron dynasties, which ruled from 1569 to 1791. There are 18 restored sarcophagi here.

There are several buildings from the estate that survive to the present day and were built by the Plater dynasty of noblemen.  The old mansion that is on the side of the Count Plater Street was built in 1759 on the banks of the Jāņupīte River.  The Baroque building was designed by an architect from Venice, Antonio Parazzo.  Later the mansion was rebuilt, and after a new castle was erected, the Plater family spent its summers on the first floor of the old building.  The second and third floors had a library with some 20,000 books.  The noblemen managed to move most of the contents of the library to safer locations during World War I, when the library as such was destroyed.  Work on the new castle of the Krāslava Estate (on the upper part of the Daugava River Valley) began in 1756 (architect Domenico Parazzo).  Initially it was in the Baroque style, but reconstruction at the turn of the 18th century involved Classicism.  Unique Rococo wall paintings with views of Rome have been discovered in the building.  These were based on samples from castles in Poland and were painted during the 1760s and 1770.  A high school used the new castle until the 1970s.  Then the building was abandoned and gradually turned into a ruin.  More recently there has been major renovation of the castle’s façade, and it now has a good appearance.  Surrounding the structure is a romantic landscape park that dates back to the mid-18th century.  It is on the hillocks of the Daugava River Valley and the valleys that cross it.  An artificial grotto has been restored, and a statue of a lion stands guard over the site.  The stairway has been placed in its historical location, and the park features pathways and a yard.

1339. g. Livonijas ordeņa mestrs (no 1328. – 1340.) Eberhards fon Monheims pašu zemgaļu 1286. g. nodedzinātās pils vietā uzceļ jaunu - mūra pili. To sešus gadus vēlāk nodedzināja lietuviešu karaspēks. Pili gan atjaunoja Kurzemes hercoga Ketlera valdīšanas laikā, taču Ziemeļu kara laikā - 1701. g. to atkal noposta zviedru karapulki. Līdz mūsdienām ir saglabājusies tikai no laukakmeņiem celtās pils sienas atliekas.

The Rēzekne castle hill is an impressive hillock (15 m) on the right bank of the Rēzekne River. From the 9^th to the 12^th century, there was a Lettigalian castle here. In 1285, the Livonian Order began to build a two-story stone castle on the site, and its ruins have survived to this very day. Alongside the castle hill is the Eastern Latvian Creative Service Centre - „Zeimuļs”, along with a tourism information centre.

The Preiļi Estate is in the southern part of Preiļi. During the Soviet era, the mansion was home to a variety of institutions. A fire burned much of the upper part of the building in 1978. The mansion was never restored, and it can only be viewed from the outside. Around it, however, is one of Latvia’s most outstanding landscape parks (mid-19^th century). Irēna Kjarkuža offers interesting tours of the state, with interesting legends and songs in the Lettigalian language.

The manor’s castle was built in the middle of the 18th century (belonging to the noble kin of baron Medem) as a huntsmen castle. Later, in the 19th century, it was rebuilt by adding a second floor. The kitchen was situated in the vaulted basements of the castle and when the food was ready, it was brought upstairs in the elevator. The gantry entrance of the castle (late baroque) and marble buttons above it picturing the coat of amrs of the union of Medem and Keizerling noble kins, is one of the most valuable example of arts monuments of the 18th century. To this day there are various  outhouses preserved- a  threshing barn, a granary and a smithy, as well as the park. In front of the castle one can see a magnificent oak, which was supposedly planted by K.Ulmanis. From 1837 the manor’s castle has also served as a place for Vilce primary school. 

The road leading to this estate is reminiscent of a narrow mountain road with a deep river valley alongside it.  The estate used to be known as the Libe Estate, and the buildings that are seen there now belonged to a nobleman, Magnuss.  The mansion has a Neo-Gothic glass tower which is known as an architectural curio among specialists.  The Sarkaņi Parish Council sits in the mansion.  The granary is the work of a local enthusiast, Andris Trečaks, who has collected a series of ancient objects.  Outside the granary is a very broad view of the “lower” Lubāna flatlands, resembling a painting with an empty frame.

The historical centre of the Tāšu Estate is in the Ālande (Telse) River Valley near Lake Tāši.  The current estate was built by the von Korff dynasty, and the mansion dates back to 1734.  Inside there are valuable Baroque fireplaces, the main entrance portal made of sandstone from Gotland, the original stone floor in the hall, parquet and wall panels.  The front door, windows, stairs and other details were installed in the early 19th century