Ungurmuiza Manor

Ungurmuiza was built in 1732 for Balthasar von Campenhausen as a timber manor house in the baroque manner, and it is the only wooden manor of its period to survive substantially in Latvia, which makes it unusual: most were built in stone or have burned. The interiors keep painted wall decoration of the eighteenth century, including a hunting room and painted panelling, restored in recent decades. Around the house is a park with a tea house, a chapel of 1751, service buildings and a group of oaks several centuries old. The estate operates as a museum with a restaurant and small hotel, and it is used for concerts and events in summer.

What you actually see

• The wooden manor - the 1732 timber house, the only one of its kind here.
• Painted interiors - the eighteenth-century wall decoration.
• The chapel and tea house - the estate buildings in the park.
• The old oaks - the centuries-old trees around the house.

When to go

May to September for the park and full opening; winter hours are reduced. Concerts and events run in summer. Weekdays are quiet.

Honest expectations

The house is small and the visit takes about two hours. Some interiors are restoration rather than original. Opening is seasonal and reduced in winter. Labelling is mainly in Latvian.

Nearby

Cesis lies southwest; the Gauja valley is south.