Rundale Palace

Rundāle, Latvia

Rundāle Palace is one of the two major baroque palaces built for the Dukes of Courland in what is now Latvia, the other being Jelgava Palace. The palace was built in two periods, from 1736 until 1740 and from 1764 until 1768. It was constructed to a design by Bartolomeo Rastrelli as a summer residence of Ernst Johann von Biron, the Duke of Courland. Following Biron's fall from grace, the palace stood empty until the 1760s, when Rastrelli returned to complete its interior decoration.

After Duchy of Courland and Semigallia was absorbed by the Russian Empire in 1795, Catherine the Great presented the palace to Count Valerian Zubov, the youngest brother of her lover, Prince Platon Zubov. He spent his declining years there after the death of Valerian Zubov in 1804. His young widow, Thekla Walentinowicz, a local landowner's daughter, remarried Count Shuvalov, thus bringing the palace to the Shuvalov family, with whom it remained until the German occupation in World War I when the German army established a hospital and a commandant's office there.

The palace suffered serious damage in 1919 during the Latvian War of Independence. In 1920, part of the premises were occupied by the local school. In 1933, Rundāle Palace was taken over by the State History Museum of Latvia. It was dealt a serious blow after World War II, when the grain storehouse was set up in the premises and later, the former duke's dining room was transformed into the school's gymnasium. Only in 1972 was a permanent Rundāle Palace Museum established.

The palace is one of the major tourist destinations in Latvia. It is also used for the accommodation of notable guests, such as the leaders of foreign nations. The palace and the surrounding gardens are now a museum.

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Details

Founded: 1736-1768
Category: Palaces, manors and town halls in Latvia
Historical period: Part of the Russian Empire (Latvia)

Rating

4.7/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Thomas S. Iversen (6 months ago)
A very nice place to go visit. Only nitpick is perhaps it is too big ... if you really want to consume the story or the paintings or even the gardens outside, then you need more than a day.... this place is huge That said it is beautiful, spectacle and really full of nice and interesting stories and items.. Definitely worth a visit.. both the gardens and the museum itself
Purvang Kalani (6 months ago)
It is one of the best palaces I have seen in Europe. There are 138 rooms, and it can take up to half or whole day, depending on your interest, to visit and enjoy each and every room. The rooms have different colors and designs and they are very beautiful. The garden is also gorgeous and has so many different flowers. The garden can also take up to a few hours. The Palace has a restaurant on the ground floor when you exist on the 2nd floor. I would highly recommend visiting this beautiful palace.
Penko Penchev (7 months ago)
Magnificent Palace ❤️worth to visit 13€ it's more than a fair price for the Palace and the gardens 2 hours of a fairy tale. It's the number 1 spot to visit in Latvia Very well-preserved palace and gardens, knowledgeable staff, a nice coffee shop and souvenir shop Few car parks around and also a few guest's houses with good food and not too cheap prices. Have fun
Andreas Heierli (7 months ago)
Beautiful castle and gardens. Excellent audio guide (download for free, free WiFi available throughout the property, don't forget to bring your headset). Major refurbishment work had to be done as the property was not adequately maintained during the communist occupation.
Cristi (8 months ago)
There is possibility to park in free working lot and then walk to ticket office. There are tickets for temporary exhibitions, the palace and the gardens. The palace was built by German origin dukes and then soon taken over by tsarist Russians. The interiors are very elegant. The gardens are huge and beautifully arranged and maintained. Different types of flowers and bushes to enjoy a walk through. Separate ticket required.
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