Today, not a trace remains of the former power of the Riga Castle, once serving valiant knights of the Livonian Order. With the installation of the Pole in the castle, and then of the Swedes, its defensive function was reduced to "no", and during the years of Russian rule it was completely lost.

Currently, the castle, being the official residence of the President of Latvia, is in a very deplorable state - its large-scale reconstruction is planned to be completed by the 100th anniversary of the State of Latvia in 2018.

Until recently, some of the rooms of the castle occupied the exposition of two museums - the National Museum of History of Latvia and the Museum of Foreign Art, which in 2010 "moved" to the building of the Riga Stock Exchange. In the near future, the National Museum is also planned to move, and until then it is open to visitors at its old address.

Address: Pils laukums 3.

The museum is open daily from 10:00 to 17:00, on Wednesdays until 18:00. The cost of admission tickets is 2 LVL for adults and one and a half lats for children under 17 years old.

The prices are indicated as of January 2013.

Nice view of the Riga Castle

Evening Riga Castle

Change of guard at Riga Castle