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The Exhibition
“The History of the Tower-Shaped
Southern Block and Cellar”
The tower-shaped southern block of the building was
used for defensive and residential purposes. During the
Middle Ages, the building was used for unique forti-
fication of the southern part of the castle. It contained
the defensive tower of the gates and a residential area.
The tower-shaped southern block is similar to double-
chapels with vaulted ceilings that are common in
Medieval castles in Germany. The Gothic double cross
vault that covers the first floor is rare in Latvia.
An ancillary room and cellar were installed on the western side
of the tower in the 14th century, with a warm-air stove used to
heat the facilities. The southern block was first mentioned in
documents in 1590, when an audit of the castle was conducted.
The document says that the tower had three floors.
Before archaeological inspections began, the walls of the tower
were preserved up to the second floor level. Above the ruins
of the tower was a layer of construction waste, bricks and
earth that was approximately 2 m thick and had jasmine bushes
growing on it. Archaeological excavation began in 1979. The
collapsed upper part of the tower revealed 119 interesting bricks
from Turaida with imprints of animal and bird footprints. In
the course of their research, the archaeologists obtained the
knowledge that was necessary to preserve the Medieval
building and to restore it to its original appearance.
A fragment of the cross vault on the first floor of the tower-shaped
southern block
The separating arch on the first floor of the tower-shaped
southern block
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THE STONE CASTLE OF TURAIDA