Presidential residence opens to public, offers multilingual audio tours of Riga Castle

RIGA - Riga Castle, the resident of the Latvian president, opened to the public on Tuesday, offering audio tours in the Latvian, English, Ukrainian and easy language, Gunda Reire, head of the president's office, said at the symbolic opening event.

She noted that audio guides in French and German will also be added soon. 

According to Reire, the tours of Riga Castle have been created so that they were accessible to all groups of society, including parents with babies in prams and people with impaired mobility, among others. 

As it prepared for the opening of the medieval castle, the president's office cooperated with the Latvian umbrella body for disability organizations Sustento, the Latvian Library for the Blind, and the Easy Language Agency. 

President Edgars Rinkevics said at the event that members of the public might find it interesting to examine the country's main representation building, which is the president's  official residence and hosts many events. 

"I, too, have visited the some presidential residences, where work is combined with the opportunity to see the treasures that each such building contains," Rinkevics noted, inviting everyone to take the opportunity and book a tour of Riga Castle.

As the president's advisor Martins Dregeris informed LETA, Tuesday, November 14, marks the 101st anniversary of the institution of the president of Latvia.

Upon taking office, Rinkevics declared it one of his priorities to make the institution of the president more open to the public.

On Rinkevics' initiative, the official residence of the president - Riga Castle - will be open for tours from today onwards. The tours can be booked on the website of the Presidential Chancery, president.lv.