Dundaga Castle

Dundaga castle was begun in the thirteenth century by the Riga cathedral chapter and rebuilt repeatedly, so the present white-rendered building around a courtyard combines medieval walls with baroque and nineteenth-century work; it burned in 1905 and was restored. It holds a museum, a school and event rooms, and it carries the story of a green maiden that local tradition attaches to the halls. The town has a second and stranger monument: a concrete crocodile in the square, put up because Arvids Blumentals, a Dundaga man who emigrated to Australia and hunted crocodiles there, is one of the figures cited as an inspiration for the Crocodile Dundee character.

History

The Archbishopric of Riga gained the lands of Dundaga in 1237, and the castle, built beside a Curonian hillfort, is first mentioned in 1318. In the mid-17th century Anna Sybil Osten-Sacken turned the medieval fortress into a nobleman's residence, a third floor was added in 1785, and the Osten-Sacken family owned it until 1920 (Wikipedia, Dundaga Castle).

What's there

• The castle - the rendered building around its courtyard.
• The museum - the display on the castle and the district.
• The crocodile statue - the concrete monument in the town square.
• The park - the grounds and pond around the castle.

When to go

May to September for the fullest opening; winter hours are reduced. The town is small and quiet year round. It combines with the Livonian coast north of it.

Things to know

Much of the building is in institutional use and only parts are open. Restoration is extensive. The museum is modest and labelled mainly in Latvian. The town has limited facilities.

Nearby

The Livonian coast lies north; Talsi is southeast.

Key facts