Turaida Museum Reserve and Turaida Castle (Turaidas muzejrezervāts)

The grounds of the Turaida Museum Reserve are rich in monuments of archaeology, architecture, history and art telling of events that span more than a thousand years, beginning in the 10th century. The name Turaida comes from the Livonian language and means "garden of the gods".Turaida Castle, built in 1214, is one of the oldest medieval castles in Latvia. The castle rises about 80 metres up, and its 27-metre tower gives a view over the wooded Gauja valley. Until the end of the 16th century the castle was the residence of the archbishops of Riga, the rulers of the region. Over the centuries the castle was improved and rebuilt.The oldest part of Turaida's history is bound up with the history of the second indigenous people of Latvia, the Livs: until the early 13th century Turaida was a significant Livonian centre on the Gauja. Evidence of that ancient past can be seen in an exhibition devoted to the Gauja Livs.From 1776 the castle was no longer inhabited and gradually fell into ruin, until restoration for tourism and cultural education began in the second half of the 20th century. Today the Turaida Castle complex is among the most interesting and impressive cultural monuments in Latvia, and it is also considered the best archaeologically researched medieval castle in the Baltic states.Beside the stone castle, on Baznīckalns, stands a wooden church built in 1750 for the Turaida Lutheran parish - one of the oldest wooden churches in Latvia. And at the foot of the church's century-old linden is a memorial to Maija, the Rose of Turaida, who lived in Turaida in the early 17th century; the story of her life and her tragic death became a romantic legend of love, courage and trust.