The Rundāle Palace Museum’s Desk Calendar 2021 features a selection of the most prominent examples among the Museum’s chandeliers, illustrating advances in form ranging from the oldest antler chandeliers to the Art Nouveau glass lamp and incorporating Baroque, Rococo, Classicism and Empire chandeliers displayed in the Museum’s collections.

Little evidence remains of the lighting at Rundāle Palace as intended by Rastrelli. Traces of chandelier fastenings can be found only in the Grand Gallery and the Gold Hall of the Palace. Now the premises of Rundāle Palace house historical chandeliers obtained during the Museum’s expeditions to Latvian churches and chandeliers of different periods and styles bought from private collectors, antique stores and auction houses, as well as copies of French-type chandeliers from Kuskovo Palace (Moscow, Russia).

Please contact biblioteka[at]rundale.net or pr[at]rundale.net to buy the Rundāle Palace Museum’s Desk Calendar 2021.
The price of the calendar is 4.50 euros. The customer must cover postage.

The certification consists of a 2 part exam of the guides’ knowledge – written (answering questions) and oral (in the form of narration in few exhibition rooms determined by draw).
The certificate is valid for 3 (three) years.

Written part:

To receive written part questions, please contact the Customer Service Department by sending the application to the e-mail address: gidi[at]rundale.net.

The guide must send the answers electronically to the e-mail address: gidi[at]rundale.net within 3 (three) days from the moment of receiving e-mail with questions.

The written part of the exam is considered passed if the guide has correctly answered 70% (seventy percent) of questions (see table).

Assessment of the written exam

Oral part:

After receiving a positive evaluation of the written part, the guide is invited to participate in the oral part of the exam online by using the WhatsApp application.

The oral part of the exam will be taken individually, by agreeing on the date and time beforehand.

At the begining of the oral part guide makes a draw of rooms he will narrate.

The oral part of the examination is considered passed if the guide’s narration is based on the information available on the museum’s website www.rundale.net and in the museum’s printed publications.

In the summer of 2020, the Rundāle Palace Museum entered a submission ‘The Rundāle Palace Building Ensemble with a Garden and Forest Park’ for the nomination of the Latvian National Register of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. After an expert survey and evaluation of the nomination application, the Assembly of Latvian National Commission (LNK) for UNESCO resolved to include the Rundāle Palace ensemble in the Latvian National Register of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Rundāle Palace and its garden is a site where the ambitions of several outstanding people have met. On the one hand, it was the Duke of Courland Ernst Johann Biron who bought property in his native land and accomplished the idea of building a luxurious residence, designed by the best architect of the Russian Empire at that time. On the other hand, the talent of architect Francesco Rastrelli (1697–1771) was outstandingly expressed in the construction of the Rundāle Palace ensemble. He had the opportunity to build an ideal residence according to the dominant trends of his time, whilst also planning the garden area and its surrounding development. As a result, and as any visitor to the museum can attest, a representative and yet at the same time reasonably restrained building has been constructed that blends harmoniously with the surrounding landscape and forms a potentially familiar relationship between the scale and space that is comprehensible to all. Rundāle Palace is the only construction project by the Russian court architect Francesco Rastrelli, which took place in the early stages of his 20-year long career and has not undergone reconstruction during the 19^th century or been destroyed in the revolutions and wars of the 20^th century. Unlike many European palaces, Rundāle has preserved the stylistic integrity of 18^th century architecture.

Rundāle Palace is currently presented as the Duke’s summer residence. The palace premises have been furnished with a fine selection of 18^th century furniture, interior objects and works of art, thus enabling visitors to perceive the original function of the premises and creating an atmosphere of habitation corresponding to the Duke’s standard of living.

Setting its main task as the fulfilment of aspirations of the Baroque period for surprises and unexpected effects, one of the largest rosariums in the northern part of Europe has been established in the greenery of the French Garden of Rundāle Palace. The collection of roses, which includes more than 2300 varieties, showcases historical roses grown since the 12^th century and the achievements of modern propagators. The layout of the garden bosquets has been renovated according to the historical network of pathways and green areas. Following Rastrelli’s plans, the Green Theatre was established in one of the garden bosquets.

‘We are very proud of the Rundāle Palace building ensemble and are convinced that it deserves international recognition not only as a unique example of Rastrelli’s early architecture, but also as aplace where the creative spirit of artists and gardeners has met, combining appreciation for the Baroque environment in such a way that is also accessible to people living in the present time. Of course, all of this has only been possible due to a purposeful and scientifically based restoration of the entire palace complex that has already lasted more than half a century’, explains the Director of the Rundāle Palace Museum Laura Lūse.

As part of continued efforts towards the UNESCO World Heritage List, the museum must expand on the scientific substantiation of its application for the universal value of the Rundāle Palace ensemble, and continue to uphold the palace in international circulation whilst maintaining the entire complex in accordance with the requirements for the protection of cultural heritage.

Heritage sites included in the Latvian National Register of UNESCO World Heritage Sites may potentially be nominated for inclusion in the international UNESCO World Heritage List. The decision to include heritage sites in the Latvian National Register of UNESCO World Heritage Sites is made by the Assembly, which is the highest decision-making body of the Latvian National Commission of UNESCO. Decisions to supplement the national register are made by the Assembly of Latvian National Commission of UNESCO, based on the opinion of the State Inspection for Heritage Protection, as a national institution responsible for heritage protection; the International Council of Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) in Latvia, as a non-governmental organization of heritage professionals; as well as the opinion of independent experts. Local authorities and experts assessed that the nomination of Rundāle Palace had universal value within the context of Latvia and Europe and a high potential to meet the criteria, authenticity and integrity requirements set out in the guidelines of the UNESCO Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage.

To celebrate the 285th anniversary of the laying of the palace’s foundation stone on 24 May 2021, the Rundāle Palace Museum has prepared an exhibition ‘The Princess of Courland travels. Fanny Biron’s watercolours and drawings’, which presents the work of Fanny Biron (1815–1888) – the great granddaughter of the commissioner of the palace’s construction Duke Ernst Johann of Courland. 

Princess Fanny Biron of Courland, married name von Boyen, was an amateur artist who toured Europe from the second half of the 1830s to the end of the 1870s, capturing her impressions in sketchbooks and small drawings or watercolours. Some of them – about 170 works – were gifted to the Rundāle Palace Museum in 2006.

Fanny, the daughter of the Prince Gustav Kalixt Biron of Courland (1780–1821), nephew of the last Duke of Courland, Peter, and Countess Franziska von Maltzan (1790–1849), was an active and social woman. In the 1840s, she ran a small elegant salon for diplomats in Berlin, volunteered for the wounded and sick during the Franco-Prussian War in 1870–1871, joined Verein der Künstlerinnen und Kunstfreundinnen zu Berlin, an association of artists and art lovers, in 1882 and participated in its exhibition. Fanny Biron was well acquainted with the King of Prussia, the later Emperor of Germany, Wilhelm I, with whom she corresponded throughout her life and whose adjutant, subsequent General Leopold Hermann von Boyen (1811–1886), became her husband.

Fanny Biron’s artwork, travel passports and letters attest that she travelled to relax in high society resorts such as Carlsbad (now Karlovy Vary in the Czech Republic), enjoyed the delights of Paris for several months, and travelled with her companions or husband to Austria, France, Spain and Italy. Fanny Biron’s travel sketchbooks, small watercolours and drawings depict the castles and cliffs of the Rhine Valley, the landscapes of the Swiss mountains, the ancient architectural monuments of Rome and the views of the French Riviera, as well as several palaces related to the history of the Biron family, such as Gross Wartenberg and Günthersdorf in Silesia (now Syców and Zatonie in Poland), and Rochecotte in France. In 1876, Fanny Biron inherited Löbichau Palace in Saxony, furnished by Duchess of Courland Dorothea.

The exhibition has been arranged as a 19th century salon displaying Fanny Biron’s watercolours and drawings and furnished with period furniture and interior items from the collection of the Rundāle Palace Museum. It is complemented by her sketchbooks from the collection of Prince Ernst Johann Biron of Courland, as well as copies of Fanny Biron’s portraits, travel passports and other documents from the German museums and archives.

Exhibition is open until 30 April 2022.

The exhibition ‘Princess of Courland Travels. Watercolours and drawings by Fanny Biron’ is included in the Museum’s entrance ticket.

Exhibition curator: Baiba Vanaga
Exhibition artist: Lauma Lancmane
Graphic designer: Katrīna Vasiļevska

The territory of Rundāle Palace ensemble occupies 85 hectares. It includes a 10-hectare Baroque style French Garden – the most significant historical garden in the Baltics, which this year has been nominated for the European Garden Prize 2021. The award will be presented in three categories: Management or Development of a Historic Park or Garden; Protection or Development of a Cultural Landscape; Design or Concept of a Contemporary Park or Garden. A total of nine nominees were selected by 12 members of an international jury.

The French Garden of Rundāle Palace has been nominated in the category ‘Management or Development of a Historic Park or Garden’. Other nominated European gardens in this category include Lowther Castle and Gardens (Penrith, UK) and Marqueyssac (Vésac, France). There will be one 1^st place prize and two 2^nd place prizes awarded in each category. The winners of the European Garden Prize 2021 will be announced on 9 September 2021, and the award ceremony is scheduled for 10 September at Schloss Dyck in Jüchen, Germany.

The Rundāle Palace Garden was established during the palace construction works (1736–1740) after architect Francesco Rastrelli’s plan of 1735/1736. The garden landscaping was managed by brothers and gardeners Christopher and Michael Weiland. Contrary to the trends of the era, the French Garden was not transformed into an English-style park when the palace owners changed in the 19^th century, and its layout remained unchanged over the centuries. Until the beginning of the 20^th century, the alleys and hedges were maintained and trimmed in accordance with the traditions of Baroque gardens. For this reason, it was possible to restore the Baroque park close to its original form.

The park renewal plan was developed in 1975/1977 by designers of the Giproteatr Institute in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg). The felling of overgrown trees began in 1976, the first path was created in 1978 and the first linden of the alley planted in 1984, thus gradually restoring the French Garden to Rastrelli’s original design as close as possible.

Walking Bosquets designed by Rastrelli are being created and renovated in the forest park whilst continuing to develop the territory of Rundāle Palace. The Duke’s greenhouse used to be on the northeast side of the palace adobe fence. There is a plan to rebuild this historic building for growing seedlings and storing exotic plants in winter.

The nomination of Rundāle Palace states that ‘a splendid restoration of Latvia’s unique baroque garden was a complicated endeavour depending much on the devotion and work of the museum’s staff and volunteers’.

The universal value of Rundāle Palace ensemble is inextricably linked to the preservation of authenticity by maintaining and caring for buildings and territories in accordance with the requirements of cultural heritage preservation.

The European Garden Award is presented by the European Garden Heritage Network and the Schloss Dyck Foundation. The European Garden Heritage Network is an institution established in 2003 in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It offers a wide range of services, draws the interest of international garden lovers to the parks and gardens in the partner states and is appreciated by the professional world as a competent and attractive partner for professional exchange and cooperation in a variety of projects with more than 200 partners from 15 European countries. The Schloss Dyck Foundation was founded in 1999 at Schloss Dyck in Jüchen, Germany, with the aim of preserving and developing it as a Centre for Garden Art and Landscape Design.

The European Garden Award has been presented since 2010 and 93 winners from 15 countries have been awarded since then and up until 2019. Among the recipients of the award are the UNESCO World Heritage sites such as the Park and Palace of Monserrate in Sintra (Portugal), Lorsch Abbey (Germany), Peterhof Palace in Saint Petersburg (Russia), Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (Great Britain), and Chaumont Palace and its International Garden Festival (France). The award has been presented to organisations, such as the Royal Horticultural Society (Great Britain), and cities – Malmö (Sweden), Copenhagen (Denmark) and Cologne (Germany) that are engaged in creating sustainable and environmentally friendly urban developments and climate adaptations.

Nominees for the European Garden Award are judged by an international jury: Kerstin Abicht (Germany), Roswitha Arnold (Germany), Ed Bennis (Great Britain), Lieneke van Campen (The Netherlands), Gunnar Ericson (Sweden), Jacob Fischer (Denmark), Davorin Gazvoda (Slovenia), Nuno Oliveira (Portugal), Brigitte Mang (Germany), Jens Spanjer (Germany), Michael Walker (Great Britain) and Udo Woltering (Germany).

More information about the European Garden Award and its recipients in available here:www.europeangardenaward.eu;  https://wp.eghn.org/en/ega-2021/.

Every year the Garden Festival was one of the most anticipated and significant events of the Rundāle Palace Museum, taking place during the most beautiful time of the summer – the full bloom of roses. There will be no Garden Festival this year, however on 17^th July, while its roses are still in beautiful bloom, the French Garden of the palace will host a Summer Fair with more than 80 traders.

At the Summer Fair organized by the Rundāle Palace Museum on 17^th July from 10:00 to 17:00 it will be possible meet traders from various Latvian cities offering a wide range of plants, garden products, handicrafts and home-made products.

Stalls will now be located along the edge of the canal, like in this year’s spring plant market, so that visitors to the French Garden can freely view the entire garden area and easily walk through each market area. Visitors will be invited to taste and purchase high-quality local delicacies – bread, cheese, meat products, confectionery, various drinks and ice cream. Seedlings of roses, decorative shrubs and perennial flowers will be on sale, as well as a wide range of produce made by craftsmen and artists in Latvia – jewellery, clothing, cosmetics, gifts, souvenirs and goods for children.

In this lively atmosphere, everyone will have the opportunity to not only walk along the paths and labyrinths of the French Garden but also to appreciate the novelty – a labyrinth created in the spring of 2020 in the flower meadow near Rundāle Palace by the east side canal outside of the French Garden territory.

On this day, of course, not only visitors to the Summer Fair will be welcome but everyone wishing to experience the palace garden in a lively summer atmosphere.

The Rundāle Palace Museum has published the third volume of a monograph series about Rundāle Palace – ‘Rundāle Palace III. Restoration’. It was produced with the support of the Boris and Inara Teterev Foundation and the State Culture Capital Foundation. The author of the final volume, Imants Lancmanis, and co-author Lauma Lancmane, outline the restoration of Rundāle Palace from the 18^th century to the present day, devoting special attention to the ambitious restoration cycle of the entire palace ensemble, which lasted from 1972 to 2014.

The first volume of the Rundāle Palace monograph series was published in 2015 and introduces the history of the palace. The second volume (2018) explores the palace as an object, inviting its readers on a virtual tour of the premises for a closer view. The third volume of the monograph series (2021) is dedicated to restoration of the palace ensemble.

The author of the book, Dr. art. h. c. Imants Lancmanis, details the course of restoration, since he was directly involved and present in all processes from the development of the renovation concept to the completion of interior restoration. The co-author of the book is Lauma Lancmane, a long-term employee of the Rundāle Palace Museum who has been involved in the restoration of the palace ensemble and park since 1975.

Imants Lancmanis concludes: ‘Now that the third and final volume of the monograph has been published, the reader can judge whether the tasks set in the restoration of the monument have been fulfilled and whether the Museum’s concept for restoring the Palace has been credible. In any case, on 24 May 2021, Rundāle Palace celebrated its 285^th birthday not only with a completed restoration programme but also with a fulfilled principal task – to revive the summer residence of the Dukes of Courland and to fill the Palace with art objects no less worthy than the ducal collections of the time.’

The authors of the book begin with a historical overview – highlighting earlier efforts to preserve and restore the Palace. The chapter is intended as a chronicle of events, covering the period from the 18^th century to 1964. In turn, the processes of conservation, restoration and reconstruction of the monument are discussed in several chapters according to the types of works. Each chapter starts with an overview of the restoration work in the respective field, describing the initial condition, the technologies used, the contractors, the progress and result of the work. It follows on with a description of separate rooms, highlighting the specifics of interior finish and the peculiarities of restoration works. Enclosed images trace the condition of the premises and finishing details before the restoration, during the work process and after their completion. Much attention is devoted to the interior design concept and its implementation, which formed a very important part of the Palace revival process. The volume also includes an overview of the park renovation works, the surrounding area and other buildings in the Palace ensemble.

Laura Lūse, Director of the Rundāle Palace Museum, expresses particular gratitude to the supporters: ‘With the generous support of the Boris and Inara Teterev Foundation, it was possible to complete restoration of the Palace interiors (2010–2014) and to present the achievements of many years of strenuous work in these publications. The Rundāle Palace Museum also received funding from the State Culture Capital Foundation to publish the final book in the series. The responsiveness of both foundations has allowed us to immortalise and make public an invaluable body of historical evidence.’

During the years of cooperation, the Boris and Inara Teterev Foundation supported large-scale restoration works and the organisation of conferences and scientific events, as well as the publication of monograph series. ‘It is indispensable that a historically significant body of documentation has been produced, in which Rundāle Palace, its history and restoration have been immortalised. I am certain that it will prove a valuable material for restorers and art historians, as well as for the public,’ says patron Ināra Tetereva.

The monograph ‘Rundāle Palace III. Restoration’ has been published in 1000 copies in Latvian with chapter summaries and image captions also in English. Artist of the publication – Inese Hofmane. The book is available to purchase from the Museum’s Ticket Office from 30 July.

The launch of the monograph coincided with the day when Imants Lancmanis, the former director of the Rundāle Palace Museum and the author of the book, celebrated a significant life anniversary. At the festive event, patron Ināra Tetereva presented Imants and Lauma Lancmanis with the highest award of the Boris and Ināra Teterev Foundation – the Foundation’s Badge of Honour. In his turn, Imants Lancmanis presented a special gift to the Rundāle Palace Museum – a series of three paintings ‘Easter Visions in Latvia’.

Shortly before Christmas 2016, an exhibition of one painting ‘The Question of Christ at Easter 2016’ opened at St. Peter’s Church in Riga. In 2019, its author Imants Lancmanis continued the theme by painting two more works, thus a three-part cycle emerged, revealing the two main moments of the mission of Jesus Christ – the establishment of Holy Communion and his death on the cross. All three paintings from the cycle ‘Easter Visions in Latvia’: ‘The Question of Christ at Easter 2016’; ‘The Bewilderment of Christ’s Disciple during the Supper’ and ‘The Apparent Presence of Christ’s Disciples on Mount Calvary’ – are now in the collection of Rundāle Palace Museum. ‘The desire to express in this theme the tangible, human and quotidian determined the artistic method, which is based on specific people in relevant outfits while the surrounding nature, trees, grass and flowers are photographic. This approach to painting characterises all three paintings. Christ’s message is eternal, universal, and transnational. For every nation and at any time, Christ is different, determined by the effort to connect his image and the environment of biblical events with the appreciation of local environment, so the type of characters, clothing and environment is not a coincidence,’ reflects Imants Lancmanis. It should be noted that in this cycle the artist has depicted his colleagues – employees of the Rundāle Palace Museum. The paintings are displayed in the Palace Stables along with other historical works of sacred art.

The publication of the book was supported by:

The French publishing house Éditions Lacurne in cooperation with the Rundāle Palace Museum and Dr. h. c. art. Imants Lancmanis has published the book ‘Divine Dorothée’ (Adored Dorothea) in French.

In 2018, the book ‘Dievinātā Doroteja’ (Adored Dorothea) was published in Latvian by the Rundāle Palace Museum. It was envisioned as a late tribute to Duchess of Courland Dorothea on her 250th birthday, which in 2011 was marked by an exhibition of the same title curated by the Museum. The exhibition reviewed the most significant events in Dorothea’s biography presented alongside her portraits and testimonies of her contemporaries, thus giving a voice to Dorothea and to those who knew her. The book follows in suite: the author Imants Lancmanis’ narrative merely sketches transition from one direct speech to another, from one station in Dorothea’s life to the next. Quotations like traffic posts mark the passage of her life, lived at the turn of centuries when the old feudal world began to collapse and the French Revolution and Napoleon’s epoch marked a new world order.

The French edition has been supplemented with new facts and pictures and could be considered as an updated version of the book. The book was translated from Latvian into French by Dita Podskočija.

The French edition will only be available to order and purchase from the publisher’s website, while the Latvian edition can be purchased at the Museum’s Ticket Office.

The European Garden Award ceremony took place last weekend at Schloss Dyck in Jüchen, Germany. The awards were presented in three categories: Management or Development of a Historic Park or Garden; Protection or Development of a Cultural Landscape; and Design or Concept of a Contemporary Park or Garden. A total of nine nominees, selected by 12 members of an international jury, had been nominated in these categories.

The Baroque French Garden of Rundāle Palace, the most prominent historic garden in the Baltics, won first place in the Management or Development of a Historic Park or Garden category, contending with Lowther Castle & Gardens (Penrith, UK) and Marqueyssac (Vésac, France).

The nomination of Rundāle Palace noted that ‘a comprehensive and professional restoration of Latvia’s unique Baroque garden was a difficult task, which largely depended on the dedication and work of the Museum’s staff and volunteers’. The universal value of Rundāle Palace ensemble is inextricably linked to the preservation of authenticity by maintaining and caring for buildings and territories in accordance with the requirements of cultural heritage preservation.

‘This award is especially important for our museum in several respects. Firstly, it is a recognition of Rundāle Garden at European level by an international jury. Secondly, the nomination was initiated by the Böckler-Mare-Balticum Foundation in Germany. Thus, the initiator of the nomination was an organisation unrelated to the museum. Thirdly, many residents of Latvia have volunteered to participate in the development and maintenance of Rundāle Garden, so this award can be considered a tribute to each of them’, Laura Lūse, Director of the Rundāle Palace Museum, acknowledges with satisfaction.

The European Garden Award has been presented since 2010 and 93 winners from 15 countries have been awarded since then and up until 2019. Among the recipients of the award are the UNESCO World Heritage sites such as the Park and Palace of Monserrate in Sintra (Portugal), Lorsch Abbey (Germany), Peterhof Palace in Saint Petersburg (Russia), Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (Great Britain), and Chaumont Palace and its International Garden Festival (France). The award has been presented to organisations, such as the Royal Horticultural Society (Great Britain), and cities – Malmö (Sweden), Copenhagen (Denmark) and Cologne (Germany) that are engaged in creating sustainable and environmentally friendly urban developments and climate adaptations.

The European Garden Award is presented by the European Garden Heritage Network and the Schloss Dyck Foundation. The European Garden Heritage Network is an institution established in 2003 in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It offers a wide range of services, draws the interest of international garden lovers to the parks and gardens in the partner states and is appreciated by the professional world as a competent and attractive partner for professional exchange and cooperation in a variety of projects with more than 200 partners from 15 European countries. The Schloss Dyck Foundation was founded in 1999 at Schloss Dyck in Jüchen, Germany, with the aim of preserving and developing it as a Centre for Garden Art and Landscape Design.