Castle History
The year of construction is 1263, which is the year above the castle gate. It was built as the residence of the Riga Archbishop. The history of the castle is very diverse. From the second half of the 13 th century until 1625 (with little breaks), the castle belonged to the Rosen family. There was a women’s Jesuit monastery in between, taking over Governor Peter Lassie and Governor General George Brown.
on December 8, 1905, the castle was burned, and there are 2 versions of what happened. In the first version, the revolutionaries burned the castle, and in the second, the fire was ordered by Baron Hans von Rosef himself to collect a large amount of insurance. The restoration of the castle took 4 years, from 1906 to 1910 and was partially modernized. In 1939, Rosen was repatriated to Germany.
During World War II, the castle was not damaged, but what was going on in the castle at that time – such information could not be found.
In 1963, a 120-bed psychoneurological hospital was set up in the castle. The building was in a state of emergency, but in 1966 the restoration of the castle and church began with the change of chief physician. Thanks to these works, the parquet, the oak staircase, the wooden watch and the exemplary furnaces have been preserved to this day.
The Psychoneurological Hospital then became an addiction Hospital until 2018. In 1994, there were 3,000 patients per year, with 65 employees. Since 2018, the castle and church have been open to tourists.
Lielstraupe Castle is one of the few medieval castles that have come to our day. Walking through the castle will take you on a time journey, from ancient to present.