The
origin
of estates in Latvia dates back to the time when the first stone
castles were built in Livonia and the first cloisters were
established, and they needed revenues. So-called castle
districts were established around the castle of the archbishop
in Turaida and around all of Livonia's important castles.
The point to these was to collect fees. The Turaida Castle
was a fortress, but also an economic centre where the fees were
collected and stored. The term "turaida" means "Garden of God"
in the language of the Gauja Livs, the original settlers of the
region. 
The Turaida Estate gradually
developed from the castle's operations. The first written
information about the estate--its ancillary buildings and
land--is found in an audit conducted by the Poles in 1582 and
again in 1590. The document from the latter date shows
that there was an estate near the Turaida Castle which was based
on fees and indentured servitude in the entire castle district.
The Turaida Museum Reserve, a protected cultural monument, was
established in 1988, with an aim of understanding and
popularizing the cultural history of this region from its
origins in the 11th century through the 20th century. It covers
an area 43.63 hectares (1 hectare is 100 square meters) and has
39 preserved historical buildings. It is dedicated to the
preservation of the region's cultural heritage and artifacts as
well as the maintenance of national memory. The two focal points
of the Turaida Reserve are the manor complex (photo to the left)
and the Turaida Castle (photo to the right). These
are explained in the two tours below.
| 1. Entrance |
2. Overseer's
House |
3. Granary |
4. Servant's
House/Corvee |
5. Fish
Cellar |
| 6. Bath
House |
7. Smithy |
8. Cart
House |
9. Kennels |
10. Cattle
Shed
and Stable |
| 11. Old
Estate
Manager's House |
12. New
Estate
Manager's House |
13. Kiln
House |
14. Tomb
of
the Rose of Turaida |
15. Turaida
Church |
| 16. Apple
Storehouse |
17. Gardener's
House |
18. Turaida
Castle |
19. Folk
Song
Park |
20. Path
of
Mara |
There is
also a version of this tour designed
specifically for VR headsets such as Google
Cardboard, and it works with both iPhone and
Android devices. It may be access by scanning on
the QR code to the left. If you are viewing this
on a mobile phone, you may access the VR tour by
following this
link.
For iOS devices: scan QR code with your device's camera app, tap on the prompt to open Safari. Select "Allow Device Motion" and the next prompt, "Allow Access to Motion Orientation." Turn the device to landscape mode and a split screen will appear. When the screen turns white, swipe up for fullscreen mode, and place in headset. Here is a video of how to do this--it is simpler than it sounds! [The video opens in a new window--close when done to return to this page]
For Android devices: Open the camera app and use the built-in scanner to scan the QR code above. Confirm that you want to open the website, and wait for it to load--it should load in stereo view. Select the fullscreen ("X" option) from the menu at the bottom. Turn the device to landscape mode and you are ready to go. Here is a video of how to do this--it is simpler than it sounds! [The video opens in a new window--close when done to return to this page]