Built by the knights of Leiben around 1113, the Leiben Castle had an eventful history and constantly changed hands. The 800-year-old castle towers high above the surrounding countryside on its mighty cliff. One of its highlight features is a unique 17th century wooden coffered ceiling, which depicts the Cycle of Planet Deities by Hendrik Goltzim from 1569.
In 1989 the municipality carefully restored the castle as a listed historical building and made it available to locals and visitors. The castle vaults contain an agricultural equipment museum with exhibit items from the first-ever generation of tractors and impressive moving trial models that were individually made. Open on Sundays and holidays from Easter Monday to the end of October. Group tours are available.
References:House of the Blackheads (Melngalvju nams) is a building situated in the old town of Riga. The original building was erected during the first third of the 14th century for the Brotherhood of Blackheads, a guild for unmarried German merchants in Riga. Major works were done in the years 1580 and 1886, adding most of the ornaments.
The structure was bombed to a ruin by the Germans June 28, 1941 and the remains demolished by the Soviets in 1948. The current reconstruction was erected from 1995 to 1999. Today the House of Blackheads serves as a museum and sometimes concert hall.