When the Russian Empire captured Courland in 1795, Empress Catherine the Great gave the castle as a gift to her lover Prince Zubov who lived in the castle in the last years of his life, after which the ownership of the castle passed onto his young widow who then married Count Shuvalov and thus the palace passed into the Shuvalov family until the German invasion in the period of the First World War.
The Rundale Palace is one of the most significant tourist spots in Latvia. The estates are used as accommodation when famous and important guests visit Latvia. The palace and the gardens that are around it also house a museum. The palace is very famous because it is an unparalleled example of Baroque art and also contains beautiful instances and pieces of Rococo art.
Visiting The Rundale Palace
There are various tours and excursions around Rundale Palace. There is a short route and a long route. The short route which includes the staterooms and the living quarters of the Duke and the staterooms (the Gold Hall, the White Hall and the Grand Gallery) is priced at LVL 2.50 for adults and free of charge for children under school age. The long route includes visits to the staterooms, the former living quarters of the Duke and his staterooms, the apartments of the Duchess and the three aforementioned staterooms. The tour is priced at LVL 3.50 for adults and free of charge for children under school age while pupils pay LVL 2.00. Visitors can also purchase the family ticket which is applicable for the long route. The excursions in the museum are offered in four languages for the ease of the visitors: English, Latvian, Russian and German.
Planning A Trip With The Baltic Travel Company
With the Baltic Highlights Deluxe and Classical Baltic tour package offered by the Baltic Travel Company you can visit Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia and visit their respective capitals of Vilnius, Riga and Tallinn. During the Riga visit one of the main attractions is the trip to the Rundale Palace.