Jaungulbene castle

Architectural monument of national significance.

A significant monument of eclectic architecture is the castle of Jaungulbene manor. Its architecture once reflected the neo-Gothic trend popular in the construction of manors, but the building has been rebuilt several times over the years and has become different today.

The Baltic German architect H. Pirangs mentions the year 1878 in his book "Das Baltische Herrenhaus" (Riga, 1930) about the time of the construction of the castle of Jaungulbene manor, but the original architectural and artistic composition of the building suggests thinking about the earlier construction.

The basic volume of the castle was symmetrical at first, if the small annex on the left side of the parade courtyard is not observed. The facade was highlighted by three risalits, the central of which rose well above the ledge closed on the ledges. Its faces were decorated with corner towers. In the center of the building was the entrance porch of this type of castle. The roof was not visible because all parts of the volume were closed horizontally. The vertical accents were the already mentioned central part and the tower towers of other facets. A completely different view of the castle opened from the other side of the park. Here the building was one-storey with a steep pitched roof. In the center of the castle was a two-storey risalite with a stepped pediment. On the left was another risalite with a semicircular protrusion, and on the right - smaller extensions. The center is connected to a large terrace with an extended staircase. On this side of the building, the neo-Gothic anxious movement was created by the mass play of volumes, on the other side by the contrasts of the horizontal and vertical directions. The end facades of the long stretched building were of secondary importance in this respect. These differences seem to us as a result of two buildings - one oriented towards the neo-Gothic architecture of Germany and the Tudor architecture of England, the other (from the park side) - an innovative search for Gothic forms. The creation of such facades, which are different in form but stylistically integral, can be explained by the functional planning of the manor center. From the parade the courtyard of the castle was supposed to look more impressive. The horizontal end of the walls resonated with the flat surface of the yard. This was also the main façade of the castle. The garden side was more intimate, it had more contact with nature, the slope of the roof echoed with the relief.
Jaungulbene neo-Gothic castle was periodically rebuilt. Already at the beginning of the century, postcards show that the eaves above the eaves were removed and replaced with a balustrade. Further changes have affected the roof. It is partly biased. In 1900-1903, the building regained a different artistic image. Gothic forms were finally eliminated, a loggia and a veranda appeared on the side of the parade courtyard, and granite was used for decoration. New parts have also been added to the final façade, even a tower with a pyramidal spire.

Jaungulbene manor was bought in 1806 by the state council Kārlis von Tranzē, and it belonged to his heirs until the agrarian reform of Latvia. 19th century At the end of the 19th century, Paul von Tranze-Roseneck created the richest collection of private works of art in Latvia. There, as well as in his house in Riga (now the residence of the German ambassador), there were old paintings, sculptures, furniture and other objects of art and equipment.

There is a park of about 25 ha around the castle, which is complemented by various small architectural forms - a road sign, "Devil's Gate", an obelisk installed in honor of the park. In the immediate vicinity there are more than 10 former manor farm buildings - stables, manege, basement, "Bee House", fire house, blacksmith's house, etc. Until 1940, the castle housed a two-year agricultural school with a household degree, an agricultural mechanization school was established, which was located there until the seventies of the 20th century.

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