Turaida means ‘God’s Garden’ in ancient Livonian, and this green knoll capped with a fairy-tale castle is certainly a heavenly place. The red-brick castle with its tall cylindrical tower was built in 1214 on the site of a Liv stronghold. A museum inside the castle’s 15th-century granary offers an interesting account of the Livonian state from 1319 to 1561, and additional exhibitions can be viewed in the 42m-high Donjon Tower, and the castle’s western and southern towers.
The rest of the reserve features a variety of buildings that have been transformed into small galleries and exhibits. It’s worth stopping by the smith house where you can try forging metal. There is a real blacksmith on hand who rents out the space from the reserve – he sells his crafts, and guests can try pounding Liv pagan symbols into small chunks of iron.
In the graveyard of the pretty wooden church (1750) is the grave of Maija Roze , an ill-fated beauty known as the 'Rose of Turaida' and the subject of a romantic folk story. Look for the onyx headstone bearing the inscription ‘Turaidas Roze 1601–1620’.
The nearby Daina Hill Song Garden is dotted with sculptures dedicated to epic Latvian heroes immortalised in the dainas, poetic folk songs which are a major Latvian tradition.
