Rundāle Palace ensemble

Zemgale

Listen to the landscape

Rundāle Palace is one of the most remarkable Baroque monuments in Latvia. It was built in the 18th century as the summer residence of Duke Ernst Johann Biron and designed by Russian court architect, Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli. Visitors can view lavish rooms – the White Hall, the Golden Hall and the Grand Gallery. On the north side there are stables, a tavern and the servants’ house, while the palace garden is on the southern side. The Rundāle Palace Garden is a carefully crafted French or geometric-style garden. It is adorned with a large rose garden, ornamental shrubs, vine-entwined pergolas, exotic trees and the palace pond with its artificial island. The collection of some 2 000 varieties of rose is the largest in the Baltics and Northern Europe, and in spring, the garden is brightened by thousands of tulips in many colours.

Peasants from Kurzeme estates, St. Petersburg construction organisations, as well as soldiers from Rīga and St. Petersburg participated in the construction of Rundāle Palace.
The rose collection features both historical roses and the latest attainments of contemporary rose breeders.
The palace garden is home to a gardener’s house, and the Green Amphitheatre with pavilions and stage, which is augmented every year with new architectural structures.