Craft workshops

Guests of Cēsis Castle will not only be able to visit the castle ruins, see the medieval kitchen garden, but also meet centuries-old craftsmen’s workshops, built using traditional materials and technologies. For two decades now, Cēsis Castle has been hosting a living history event dedicated to medieval themes once a year. In 1997, this tradition was started by the Knights’ Festival, later continued by the Baltic Medieval Festival, and in recent years – thematic Medieval Days. In the future, the medieval history of Cēsis Castle will be brought to life not once a year, but throughout the summer. Every day from May to October, the guests of the castle will be able to meet the people of the castle dressed in authentic medieval costumes – gardeners, game masters and several craftsmen. The wide first forecourt has been chosen for the living history of Cesis Castle. For several years now, under the supervision of the castle gardener, a medieval kitchen garden has been seen, where the same vegetables, herbs and medicinal plants are grown as in the Livonian gardens 500 years ago. There is a game master nearby, who invites you to get acquainted with the popular games and pastimes of the Middle Ages, as well as try on plate armor, which are made as exact copies of the armor found in the castle.

Craftsmen’s workshops have been created using traditional materials and technologies. The wall frame made of wooden beams is filled with a clay stick, the floors are made of stone slabs or a compacted earth clone, while the roofs are covered with recycled tiles. In order to clearly illustrate the story of the building to anyone interested, some of the wall filling areas are deliberately not covered with plaster, showing the wickerwork and clay dress that make up the walls. At least three craftsmen will practice their work in the workshops every day. In total, this summer the family of craftsmen of Cēsis Castle will be formed by a dozen masters. Each of them represents a popular craft industry in the Middle Ages, but often forgotten today – for example, Viesturs, a master of bone and horn processing, makes combs, dice and other household items, samples of which have been found by archaeologists in Cēsis Castle. Craftsman Ingmārs prepares wooden dishes on his own lathe, while shoemaker Guna sews leather shoes, using fragments of shoes found in the cultural layer of the castle as a model. In addition to the above-mentioned craftsmen, this summer the guests of the castle will be able to meet masters who will demonstrate their skills in processing stone, metal, clay, obtaining paints, weaving ropes, making early printed printing, etc.

Craftsmen can be met in the craftsmen’s workshops of Cēsis Castle during the summer season on Saturdays and Sundays.