Sigulda Things to Do

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Thats so unusual for me to see caves in Latvia (there are no such naturally formed caves in Lithuania). First one I saw on way to Red Turaida castle, is Small Cave.

Here is nice road leading to red castle - one side of it is caves and sand walls, another side is Gauja river, small streams, swamps.

It is so nice that there are two longest rivers of Latvia - Daugava and Gauja - near each other, mostly in Riga region. It is said, that Daugava is long, wide, but quite silent river, without big stream. Gauja, vice versa, is smaller one, but having big stream. You can see Gauja river when crossing bridge on your way to Turaida.

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It can get quite confusing keeping up with all the castles in Sigulda, and it is easy to get confused between the old castle and the medieval castle, both of which are in ruins.
So, take heart that the one Sigula castle that you don't stand a chance of getting confused with any of the others is the 'new' castle. This was built in the 19th century, and was formerly the residence of a Russian prince.
The castle is set amid lovely grounds and is architecturally a bit of a mongrel - but, like most mongrels, quite endearing. To my mind, the best bit is the massive Art Deco fireplace in the bar, which is over the top interior design on a monumental scale!

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I love visiting ancient monuments and understand the need to make them safe for visitors, but there is a fine line between renovation and rebuilding - once you cross this line, you run the risk of losing the 'sense of place'. Complete reconstruction of ruined monuments with modern materials is something that I really struggle with, and seems to be particularly prevalent in Latvia and Lithuania (also see my travel tip on Trakai).
The Turaida castle is a case in point – a potentially fascinating historic monument that has been almost completely rebuilt and in doing so, seems to have lost much of its original character and atmosphere. Admittedly the new sections have been constructed with a different colour of brick so that it's possible to distinguish between the original and the new masonry (which is apparently 'good practice' for reconstructive architecture), but the overall feel is inauthentic. To my mind, it is no different to a woman who was once beautiful but has had too much plastic surgery, and I would rather look at an authentic ruin than a tarted up fake.
Now that I've got that indignant tirade off my chest, I am happy to concede that the view from the top of the round tower over the lovely Gauja valley beyond is beautiful and worth the climb up the somewhat claustrophobic staircase.

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In stark contrast to the rebuilt Turaida Castle, the medieval Sigulda castle has fallen into disrepair and has not been reconstructed. Instead the lovely woodland has slowly encroached on the ruins, and as a result, it is a far more atmospheric and evocative place.
From the ruins, there is a lovely view look back over the Gauja valley to where the round tower of the Turaida castle protrudes above the woodland canopy.

The only grave remaining around Turaida Church is the one of Maija, The Rose of Turaida. The grave is under lemon trees and the inscription on the gravestone says “Turaida Roze 1601 - 1620”.

The legend is that Maija, as a little girl, was found walking around on a battlefield in 1601. She was taken to Turaida Castle where she grew up and became a very beautiful woman. She was courted by many men, but she loved Viktors Heils, who was a gardener at Sigulda Castle across the gorge. They used to meet in secret in a cave halfway between the castles. A deserted Polish officer who was in love with Maija decided to abduct her and pretending to be Victor in a letter he lured her to the cave. When he tried to force himself on her in the cave Maija told him she would give him the scarf she wore around her neck. She told him the scarf was magical and protected against the sword of an enemy. To prove it she wanted the Polish man to swing his sword to her neck. The scarf was not magical and Maijas head was cut from her body. The Polish man fled and later hanged himself. Viktors buried his beloved Maija and planted a lemon tree on her grave, then he disappeared.

The walking stick is a popular souvenir and symbol of Sigulda. Tourists have come to Sigulda for long to walk along the paths in beautiful nature. Already more than 200 years ago walking sticks were made for the tourists to use when they set out on a walk.
In 2007 the Walking-stick Square was opened where you can see big examples of the typical Sigulda walking-stick.

When you walk up from the road to the castle you will pass a small wooden church, the Turaida Church. When I visited the church was renovated and the lights were on in the church. I hoped I could visit, but a worker entering when I arrived carefully closed the door. The church is open for visitors only between May and October and then on Wednesdays - Sundays. There is service in the church twice a month.
The church was built in 1750 and used to be surrounded by a Medieval church yard. Now days only the grave of the Rose of Turaida remains.