Bīriņu pils (LV) - Houses of the Month Traces of European History (1)

Описание: Northeast of Riga, Latvia, the neo-Gothic Bīriņu pils ("Birini castle") is majestically mirrored on Lake Birini.
The first traces of the existence of a manor in the area where the palace stands today date back to the 16th century, when Johan Biring von Helmstat received from the King of Poland-Lithuania what was then called Kolzen Manor as a reward for defeating the tsarist troops of Ivan the Terrible during the Livonian War. Since then the site has been called Birini. The manor then changed hands several times, until it came in possession of the ancestors of Baron August von Pistohlkors in the 18th century. It was the latter who initiated the construction of the palace and the development of the park as we see them today. During the First Latvian Independence, the castle was given a public function as a sanatorium for treatment of respiratory and heart diseases was opened there in 1926. After World War II, during Soviet rule, Birini Castle was nationalised, also functioning as a sanatorium. During this period, the Castle was decorated with artwork reflecting the Soviet ideology. After the Latvian independence (1991) the estate was rented, and later bought by Jānis Vimba, who carefully restored the palace and maintains the surrounding landscape.