Sunday, July 12, 2015

12 July; The Castle, 10 miles south of Limbazi-Stalbe-Riga-Jelgava, Latvia (35 miles; 769)

We left a bit earlier than usual, about 7:45 am on a Sunday morning. After heavy overnight rain, the roads were wet and the sun was mostly out with rare, short showers. We biked to a Stalbe, a city recommended by another bike tourist, and took the train into Riga to avoid city traffic. Then our plan evolved to visit Lithuania, so we had lunch in Riga, then boarded a train to Jelgava. Both were short train rides, perhaps an hour for the first and 40 minutes for the second. We have a nice hotel in Jelgava. Monday's plan is to leave our tour gear at the hotel, take a 60-mile round trip with unloaded bikes to Lithuania, have lunch, return, then train back to Riga where we have a hotel in the old city center for 3 nights. That permits 2 days to explore Riga, reputed to be nearly as interesting as Tallinn.

The Castle, Our Humble Lodging for the Night. Built by a young wealthy noble's son who needed something to occupy his time, the Castle consists of this house, stables in back, and a restaurant across the grounds and pond nearer the road. We tried to stay in Limbazi, but found it to be a depressing Soviet-style town without lodging. The Tourist Information official suggested 4 possible lodgings but refused to call to determine if rooms were available. A number of people we meet are friendly but could use some customer service training. We rejected one possible lodging 3 miles back up the road, 2 youth hostels that she said were not very nice, and proceeded to the recommended sports complex, about 2 km away. The sports complex proved to be hosting the Baltic States rowing championships, plus a beach volleyball tournament, and they said that everything was fully booked at all Limbazi lodgings. And tourist information didn't know this? However, the competition organizer was extremely helpful and suggested the Castle,10 miles further toward our destination, and even called and reserved rooms for us. The rain had stopped, we had a tail wind, but the 65 miles proved to be our longest day.

The Castle was hosting a wedding. Lots of noise until about 3 am, but very quiet in the morning, so hooray for ear plugs.

Sunday Breakfast Stop. Nothing else was open.

About 8 miles further, we ran across a great restaurant, but we arrived after a large tour bus. Seeing no perceptible movement in the cafeteria-style line, we cycled on.

Seems the restaurant owners had a close association with a wood carver.
Wood Carving #1

Wood Carving #2
Wood Carving #3

Wood Carving #4 and Dog of the Day

Wood Carving #5.  Men's room.

Antique Mail Box

Stork Nests. We saw numerous stork nests in the area and frequently startled them in fields and along the road. Bicycles seemed to frighten them to flight more than cars, trucks, and farm tractors.

Lawn Ornaments for Sale. Not the one dressed in yellow.

Sigulda New Castle (LatvianSiguldas jaunā pils). Built in 1878 in the Neo-Gothic style as the living house for the owners of the manor, the Kropotkin family. The building has changed its owners and functions several times. Since 1993, the Sigulda Region Council has been located in the castle.
During World War I this building was destroyed. In 1922, following the agrarian reforms, New Castle became the Writers’ Castle because it was used by the Latvian Union of Writers and Journalists. The building was in unusable condition after the war so the Union had to invest a large amount of money for restoration. In the 1920’s and 30’s, full room and board was offered to writers and literary types as well as other visitors.
During World War II, the New Castle was used as a headquarters for the Nord division of the German army. After the war, the USSR Council of Ministers made it a recreation house for high state officials. In 1953, the Health department of the Latvian SSR established the Sigulda rehabilitation center which was in operation until the restoration of Latvian independence.

 
Sigulda Medieval Castle (or Old Castle) was built by the Livonian Brothers of the Sword who were later incorporated into the Teutonic Order of the castle, thus the castle eventually became the property of the Livonian Order. The Livonian Brothers of the Sword, officially known as The Militia of Christ of Livonia, was a military order composed of German "warrior monks.” They later became better known as the Livonian Brothers of the Sword due to the symbols on their white capes: a red sword and cross. The order, founded in 1202, was the first "warrior monk” order formed outside the Mediterranean region. Historical documents indicate bishop Albert of Riga and Cistercian abbot Theoderich were the co-founders of the order. The military order’s mission was to remain in Livonia to protect the land and conquer new territories.
As part of the land division between themselves and Bishop Albert in 1207, the order gained the territory which stretched along the left side of the Gauja River. In the ongoing competition to determine hegemony between the Bishop and the Livonian Order, castle placement became a strategic factor. According to the Rhymed Chronicles, Sigulda Medieval Castle was erected sometime between 1207 and 1209 under the direction of Master Venno of the Order of the Brethren of the Sword. The Livonian Chronicle of Henry says that the castle was in use by the Brothers of the Sword as a base while battling revolting Livonians that were invading from a nearby castle. Sigulda Medieval Castle was initially built to monitor and control the water ways of the Gauja River and to fend off any invasion attempts from the nearby bishop’s castle in Turaida which was located on the river’s west coast. In 1224 the Pope’s legate, Wilhelm of Modena, stayed at the castle and established both a church and parish. In 1237 the lands of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword become the property of the Teutonic Order who continued to conquer additional territories in Latvia up until 1290. Since 1432 Sigulda Castle was the residence of the Land Marshal of the Livonian Order (Latinmarsalcus terrae Livoniae), the second highest officer of the order, after the Livonian Master, who lived in the Cēsis Medieval Castle.
At the very beginning of the Livonian war, Sigulda Medieval Castle was damaged. In 1562 it became a part of the Duchy of Livonia and from 1566 the residence of the governor of Livonia Jan Hieronimowicz Chodkiewicz. At the end of the 16th century, the Poles repaired the castle and its surrounding buildings. During the Polish – Swedish war the castle was seriously damaged. After the war, the Swedes reported that the castle was empty and destroyed. In the 1622 it was again restored and a new residential building and sauna were built. In 1625, the King of Sweden bestowed Sigulda as a gift to his Privy Councillor Gabriel Gustafsson Oxenstierna, however, after the manor house reduction program it once again became state property. A layout of Sigulda Castle, created around 1680, is stored in the War Archive in Stockholm. The castle was abandoned again during The Great Northern War.

Sigulda Medieval Castle Art Gallery

Water Tower

Latvian Rail Stop. Trains stop at small stations. Buses seem to stop nearly anywhere, with numerous  bus shelters along the highways. The elderly who could not afford to move to towns remained in their rural homes and buses are their only means to get to church, medical appointments, and shopping.

Our rail coach to Jelgava. Except for the trains in northern Sweden, all other trains have accepted bicycles. The better cars have hooks to suspend them vertically—more secure and they occupy less space.

Our Rail Companion

Jelgava Church

Jelgava Town Hall

Jelgava Town Age

Jelgava River from Pedestrian/Bicycle Bridge

Jelgava Pedestrian/Bicycle Bridge

Tonight's Restaurant. Billed as one of the best in Jelgava, it was truly excellent. Hard to spend more than 15 euros per diner, including beer or wine.

Path by Flowers
What's This Worth? I managed to use a card for everything in Denmark, got Swedish Kroner in Sweden, could use kroner on the Aland Islands, Finland, but they prefer euros, so we had to use the Swedish kroner on the Tallinn Ferry Service on the way to Estonia or exchange them. 







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