Partnership ‘SBRE’ has completed the renovation of the Holy Spirit Tower of Riga Castle under the Riga Castle renovation project. Interior works covering an area of 350 m² have been completed, and the tower façade has been painted. The total area of the tower façade is more than 1,000 m².

Builders’ partnership ‘SBRE’, which includes the construction companies ‘Skonto Būve’ and ‘Re&Re’, performed the renovation and construction of electricity grids and low-voltage networks at the Holy Spirit Tower, as well as exterior reconstruction works, replacement and repairs of the roof waterproofing cover, renovation of the interior wall and ceiling linings, paint restoration work, masonry restoration work, renovation of floorboards, parquet flooring construction, as well as the renovation of windows, doors and stairs.

Other ongoing renovation projects at Riga Castle are still active. In the near future, specialists from the German company ‘Otto Richter GmbH’ will complete the drying and disinfection of the building.

The construction work schedule for this autumn already provides for the complete renovation of Riga Castle’s permanent roof, facades and windows. Currently there are ongoing works involving the main staircase and the convent section roofing. Also, new permanent roof structures are being built at the Festival Hall.

The White Hall, Ambassadors’ Hall and Festival Hall of Riga Castle will be restored to their original splendour.

Currently the archaeological research at the Eastern Annex has been completed and the fortification of the building’s foundations in this section is still ongoing. The building’s external power grids have been fully reconstructed and its internal improvement works have been started.

The renovation and restoration of Riga Castle is scheduled to be concluded in November 2015.

The initial construction of Riga Castle on the banks of the River Daugava was started in 1330, when after defeat in the war of the Livonian Order (1297-1330), the residents of Riga were forced to build a new castle instead of the Order castle that had been destroyed during the war. However, the new castle was not built in the city centre, but right next to it, at the location of the former Holy Spirit Hospital. The Castle became the residence of the Livonian Order Masters.

In 1481, a new war broke out between the Livonian Order and the City of Riga, and the residents of Riga destroyed the Castle again in 1484. The only parts of the old castle that remained were a part of the Holy Spirit Tower (serving as a lighthouse on the side of the river) and a section of the protective wall. The Holy Spirit Tower suffered greatly during the Freedom fights, but was restored thereafter.