The Southern Tower, which is the most magnificent tower from the outside, allows visitors to go downstairs to the basement of the tower, to view one of the former dungeons of the castle. With the map and candlelight taken from the Cēsis Castle visitor centre, you can view the Western Tower, and also the living room of the Master which contains unique interiors dating from the 16th century with splendid stellar coves, vaulted consoles from artificial stone and fragments of wall paintings.įrom the attic of the tower a spectacular view opens to the other side of the castle garden, park and the whole Cēsis town. Today the castle is the most impressive eyewitness of local history, and also attracts many guests with its romantic charm of the medieval architecture. Repeatedly rebuilt and expanded the castle got its present architectural appearance at the beginning of the 16th century. Over the centuries the castle shared its destiny with the city of Cēsis in battles with Russian, Polish and Swedish troops. Its origins are connected to the Cēsis Medieval castle, around which in the 13th century a town was built. However, I look forward to returning in the summer and seeing it when they can open up the whole site and gardens as well.The emergence of Cēsis can be found in the distant past 800 years ago. Even in the winter, when it gets very snowy in Cesis, there is plenty to see and explore. The upstairs temporary exhibition space was the only place that did not have at least an English and Russian translation, but when my girlfriend began translating for me the security guard on duty there was also happy to help me understand.Īll in all, Cesis Castle is an entirely worthwhile trip to make - even just as a day trip from Riga like we did. I'm not sure how other reviewers can complain about the language barrier with the museum: each room had a translation card by the door (as is customary in most museums in former-Soviet countries) offering translations in English, Russian, French, German, Estonian, and Lithuanian. We spent a good few hours there, until we were actually told by the museum security that they would be closing in 30 minutes so we rushed the last few rooms and missed one or two of them altogether due to early closures. The museum dived greatly into in-depth history about Cesis and the history of the town, castle, and people who lived there. At first it seems like just a few rooms down a corridor, but then there is an upstairs with two more wings, and another floor above that - with a temporary exhibition space to boot. The museum is way larger than it seems though, after handing back the candles once inside. You cannot go up the broken tower at Cesis Castle, but the rest of the main keep and tower was available, and we spent a good half an hour or so wandering around the historic halls with snippets of information. True, it wasn't the best source of lighting and it's not the most accessible place in the world, but honestly it just felt so much more authentic as a historical sight this way, instead of with the over-the-top health & safety features of UK that essentially restrict visitors from doing or seeing anything. Château de Chillon, situated on the picturesque shores of Lake Geneva, stands as a testament to the haunting stories of medieval Europe. The desk gave us two candle lamps to explore the castle with, which made the whole thing so much more atmospheric and enjoyable. Swiss Castle Tour Chateau de Chillon Montreux Switzerland Lake Geneva Tour. We started the tour with an exploration of the old castle, which involved a hefty trek though the late-January snow (around 30cm in some parts of the grounds), so dress warm if visiting in winter! In summer though, the weather would be the same as in most of Europe. Once inside the modern entrance building, which also functions as the museum upstairs, the staff on the desk speak English and Russian as well as Latvian. The entrance is easy to find though, and well signposted. Whilst a reasonable walk from the main public transport links to Cesis, it dominates the park in the centre of the town - even if it is small enough that it is possible for the other buildings around the centre to block it out.

As Cesis Castle is, by a long way, the largest and most important site of the town, it's already somewhere you're going to visit if you decide to make the trip.