Basic HTML Version
The open-air exhibition
“The northern tower and forecastle
of the Turaida Castle”
The gate towers of the northern forecastle
Built along with the northern forecastle during the 15th
century. The entrance gate was once between the two
towers. Together with a moat and drawbridge, they
made up the defensive system of the castle from the
North. The towers were dismantled during the 17th
century. Archaeological work was done there in 1968
and 1978. The foundations of the smaller tower have been
preserved, and the large tower has been partly restored.
The forced passage
This passage was built together with the northern
forecastle. It was part of the unified defensive system and
meant that if an enemy broke through the gates of the
northern forecastle, it found itself in a narrow passage
with stone walls. The internal gate tower concluded the
passage, which was examined in the early 1980s. The
eastern wall of the passage was conserved during
the 1990s.
The internal gate tower
The tower was built in the early 16th century as a
cannon tower. It was the largest tower in terms of
diameter, and its purpose was to protect the central part
of the castle from the North and the western defensive
wall from the flanks. The tower was dismantled during
the first half of the 17th century and underwent
archaeological examination in 1982 and 1983.
A project has been drafted on the conservation and
restoration of the tower.
The location of the redoubt
After the northern forecastle was torn down in the 17th
century, access to the castle from the North was protected
by earthen ramparts or a redoubt. A cellar was
installed in place of the redoubt in the 19th century, and
archaeological work was done here in the early 1980s.
The northern forecastle
60