Riga Castle (Rīgas pils)

The castle, the museum entrance, the small Catholic church on Pils iela, and the square in front — click any image for the full-size view.

Short answer, what Riga Castle is

Riga Castle (in Latvian, Rīgas pils) is the official residence of the President of the Republic of Latvia, on the riverfront at the north-western edge of Riga’s Old Town. It is a working castle, in continuous institutional use for nearly 700 years. Built in 1330 by the Livonian Order after a Riga uprising destroyed their original castle, it has been the seat of every government Riga has had since: Livonian, Polish-Lithuanian, Swedish, Russian Imperial, briefly German occupational, the first independent Latvian state, the Soviet Latvian SSR, and now independent Latvia again. The President moved in in 1995.

You can’t tour the President’s offices — that part of the castle is a working office, with security and ceremony. What you can visit is the Latvian National History Museum, which occupies the eastern wing and is the largest museum in Latvia. You can also walk freely around the exterior on Pils laukums (Castle Square) and along the Daugava riverfront, which is one of the prettiest short walks in central Riga.

Free outside, paid museum inside (around €5). Five minutes’ walk north of the Three Brothers, eight from Riga Cathedral.

A short history

The first Riga castle was built around 1209, on a different site closer to the Daugava’s edge. In 1297 the citizens of Riga rose against the Livonian Order — the German military religious order that effectively ran the eastern Baltic at the time — and demolished the original castle. After three decades of dispute, mediated by the Pope, the Order was given the right to build a new castle, on the current site, well to the north of the existing town. Construction started in 1330 and finished a few decades later. The Order’s plan was a square fortress with four corner towers, of which the round Holy Spirit Tower (Svētā Gara tornis) is the principal survivor.

Successive rulers expanded and remodelled the castle. In 1481 a second uprising damaged it again, and a long restoration ran into the 1490s. Under Polish-Lithuanian and then Swedish administration in the 16th and 17th centuries, the structure was extended for ducal residence and parade-ground use. The Russian Empire after 1721 used it as a governor’s residence and added the eastern wing. In 1922, with Latvia independent, the castle became the residence of the President of the new Republic. Under Soviet occupation it served as the Pioneer Palace and a museum. Since 1995 it is again the Presidential residence.

A serious fire in 2013 destroyed the eastern wing and damaged parts of the central buildings; the restoration finished in 2016 and the castle reopened in time for the centenary of Latvian independence in 2018. The version you see today is the 2016 restoration, faithful to the surviving 17th-century shell with modern interventions inside.

The castle today

Day-to-day, Riga Castle is the working office of the President of Latvia (currently Edgars Rinkēvičs, since July 2023, though that may have changed by the time you read this). The Presidential standard flies from the Holy Spirit Tower whenever the President is in residence. State visits, ambassador credentialings, the New Year’s presidential address, and the 18 November Independence Day reception all happen here.

Two visible details. First, the flags. The Latvian flag flies permanently from the round tower; the Presidential standard appears beside it when the President is in. The eastern wing facing Pils laukums often carries Latvian and Ukrainian flags side by side, a small public statement that has been there continuously since February 2022. Second, the security: visible during state events but generally unobtrusive. Pedestrians can walk all the way around the exterior of the castle, including along the Daugava riverfront, without restriction.

The Latvian National History Museum

The museum is the part of the castle you can actually go inside. It occupies the eastern wing of the castle and is the largest history museum in Latvia. The collection runs from prehistoric stone tools and Bronze Age burials, through medieval Livonian artefacts, the Hanseatic merchant period, the Russian Imperial era, the first independence (1918–1940), the occupations (1940–1991), and into the contemporary period. The Latvian ethnographic galleries on the upper floor are the highlight: full traditional costumes from each of the country’s ethnographic regions, woven textiles, jewellery, and tools.

Adult ticket is around €5, with concessions for students, seniors, and children. Allow 90 minutes for a moderate visit, two hours if you read every label. English-language signage is full and good. The museum closed for several years during the post-2013 castle restoration. What you see today is essentially the fresh re-opening, from 2018–2019, with modern display and lighting. For a full sweep of Latvian history from the Bronze Age forward, this is the place.

Pils laukums and the riverfront walk

Pils laukums (Castle Square) sits on the eastern side of the castle, ringed by trees and benches. It’s a quiet square, used for occasional civic ceremonies and as a small bus terminus for the open-top tourist hop-on-hop-off (which I don’t recommend; the Old Town walks itself in less time). The square has a few benches, the tourist information sign, and a clear view of the Holy Spirit Tower.

The walk around the castle, north along Pils iela and then west along the Daugava embankment, is one of the prettiest short walks in central Riga. The river-side elevation of the castle is the photograph that ends up on most postcards: white-painted walls, red-tiled roofs, the round tower, the long Daugava in front, and the National Library’s glass mountain on the far bank. Best in late afternoon; in May, the trees on the embankment come into leaf and the whole stretch turns green.

One small thing the guidebooks miss: Our Lady of Sorrows (Sāpju Dievmātes baznīca), the small Catholic church on Pils iela 5, between the castle and the cathedral quarter. White-painted exterior with a slim spire, late-18th-century Classicist with a Catholic interior. Built for the Catholic minority of Riga in the period after the Russian conquest, when the city’s German-Baltic Lutheran majority dominated everything else in the Old Town. Worth a five-minute pause if you’re passing.

Practical answers

Where it is and getting there

Pils laukums 3, on the north-western edge of Riga’s Old Town. Five minutes’ walk north of the Three Brothers, eight from Riga Cathedral, fifteen from the Freedom Monument. The Old Town is pedestrianised; you arrive on foot. Closest bus stop is on the embankment (11. novembra krastmala) for routes that skirt the Old Town.

Hours, costs, what you can visit

The exterior of the castle is on a public square and is free, accessible 24/7. The Latvian National History Museum (the part you can go inside) is open Tuesday to Sunday, roughly 11:00–17:00 (closed Mondays, longer hours in summer); adult tickets around €5. The President’s offices, the formal state rooms, the chapel, and the courtyard are not open to the public except on a few designated open days a year (usually Independence Day, 18 November) when limited tours run. Photography is allowed outside, in the museum, and on the embankment; check museum signage for room-specific restrictions.

Combining with the rest of the Old Town

Riga Castle is the northern bookend of the western half of an Old Town walk. From here, three minutes south is the Three Brothers; eight minutes south-east is Riga Cathedral; the riverfront walk along the Daugava south is twenty minutes to the House of the Blackheads if you want to combine the western Old Town with the southern. The full circuit is in the pillar guide.

My honest take

Riga Castle is the most institutionally interesting building in Latvia and one of the least visually striking. It’s a working office that happens to be 700 years old; the architectural drama you sometimes hope for in a castle is largely absent. What it does have is the National History Museum, which sits inside the same walls, and the riverfront walk along the western elevation, which is the prettiest short walk in central Riga in any season. An hour gives you the museum and the river walk together. Twenty minutes is enough for the round tower and a look across the Daugava.

Frequently asked questions about Riga Castle

Can you go inside Riga Castle?

Partly. The Latvian National History Museum, which occupies the eastern wing of the castle, is open to the public Tuesday to Sunday with adult tickets around €5. The President’s offices, formal state rooms, courtyard, and chapel are not open to the public except on a few designated days a year (usually 18 November Independence Day). The exterior, Pils laukums, and the riverfront walk are always free.

Is the President of Latvia really living in the castle?

Working in it, mostly. The castle has been the official Presidential residence since 1922 (paused during the Soviet occupation, resumed since 1995). The current President’s working office is here. State ceremonies, ambassador credentialings, and the 18 November state reception happen here. Whether the President actually sleeps in the residential apartments at any given time depends on the President; it’s mostly an office. The Presidential standard flies from the Holy Spirit Tower when the President is in residence.

How old is Riga Castle?

The current castle was built starting 1330 by the Livonian Order, replacing an earlier 1209 castle that the citizens of Riga had destroyed in 1297. The medieval shell is mostly 14th to 15th century with substantial 16th- and 17th-century additions. A 2013 fire damaged the eastern wing; restoration finished in 2016. The version visible today is the 2016 reconstruction, faithful to the 17th-century footprint.

What is the Holy Spirit Tower?

The round white tower at the south-western corner of the castle — Svētā Gara tornis in Latvian. It is the principal surviving tower of the original 1330 Livonian Order castle, and is the visual feature most identified with Riga Castle. The Latvian flag flies from it daily; the Presidential standard flies beside it when the President is in residence.

Is the Latvian National History Museum worth visiting?

Yes. It’s the largest museum in Latvia, covers Latvian history from prehistory to the present, has full English-language signage, and is well-curated since its 2018–2019 reopening. Adult ticket around €5; allow 90 minutes. Honest comparison: the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia is more focused and politically charged; the Ethnographic Open-Air Museum is the all-day deep dive into rural Latvian culture. The National History Museum is the breadth-over-depth choice.

How long should I spend at Riga Castle?

Twenty minutes for the exterior alone (Pils laukums, the riverfront walk, the Holy Spirit Tower view from across the Daugava). Two hours if you also do the Latvian National History Museum. Add a coffee on Pils iela or in one of the small cafés near the cathedral if you have longer.

Where’s the best photograph?

From the Daugava embankment along the western elevation, late afternoon, with the Holy Spirit Tower catching the sun and the National Library’s glass mountain visible across the river. Walk north on Pils iela past the castle and turn left onto the riverside walk; about 200 metres along, the angle opens up. Avoid mid-day — the white facade burns out in direct light.

What’s the small church next to the castle?

Our Lady of Sorrows (Sāpju Dievmātes baznīca), a small Roman Catholic church on Pils iela 5, just south of the castle. White-painted exterior with a slim spire, late-18th-century Classicist, built for the Catholic minority of Riga during the Russian Imperial period. Worth a five-minute pause if you’re walking past, and the kind of small detail most Old Town walks miss.

What’s the difference between Riga Castle and the Saeima?

Two different institutions in two different buildings. Riga Castle (Rīgas pils) is the residence and working office of the President, on the riverfront at the north-west corner of the Old Town. The Saeima is the Latvian Parliament, in a 19th-century building on Jēkaba iela, four minutes’ walk east, beside St James’s Cathedral. The President is head of state; the Saeima is the legislature; both are central to the Latvian state but separate.

Why are there Ukrainian flags on the castle?

Latvia has been flying Ukrainian flags from public buildings — including Riga Castle and the Saeima — continuously since the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, as a public statement of solidarity. Latvia, like the other two Baltic states, has direct historical experience of Russian and Soviet occupation, and the Ukrainian flag has become a near-permanent fixture of the Riga civic skyline since 2022. Whether the flags are still up when you visit depends on the political situation.

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Daiga Taurīte is a licensed Latvian tour guide and co-founder of Barefoot Baltic, which runs small-group day excursions from Riga. She grew up in Riga, spent two decades working in London, and came home in 2024. Barefoot Baltic is licensed by Latvia’s Consumer Rights Protection Centre (PTAC), holds ATD passenger transport licence PS-01995, and is insured by BTA Baltic for civil liability.

Riga Castle is on every walk we run through the western Old Town. If you’d like a half-day with a licensed Latvian guide that includes the Castle, the Three Brothers, the Cathedral, and the riverfront, get in touch.