Ventspils Castle (Livonian Order Castle)
Thirteenth-century Livonian Order castle on the Venta, now Ventspils Museum with a climbable tower.
First recorded in 1290, the castle of the Livonian Order at the mouth of the Venta is among the oldest and best preserved Order castles in Latvia. Four ranges enclose a small rectangular courtyard, with a defensive tower rising above the west side; a baroque spire was added to the tower in 1798. The chapel inside retains consecration crosses thought to date from the fourteenth or fifteenth century, making it the oldest surviving church interior in Kurzeme. War damage was repaired in the seventeenth century.
From 1832 the upper floor served as a prison, a function that continued until 1959, after which Soviet border troops occupied the building. Restoration began in the 1990s and the permanent museum display of Ventspils Museum opened in 2001, deliberately setting modern fittings against exposed medieval and later fabric. Visitors can climb to the fifth floor of the tower for views over the port and town, and the castle is also used for concerts, temporary art exhibitions and school programmes throughout the year.
Highlights
- Oldest surviving church room in Kurzeme, with medieval consecration crosses
- Tower climb to the fifth floor for views over port and town
- Preserved nineteenth-century prison cells on the upper floor
- New tower display 'Sea, Port, City: Ventspils 13th–19th centuries'
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