Jelgava Palace

Jelgava Palace or Mitava Palace is the largest Baroque style palace in the Baltic states. It was built in the 18th century based on the design of Bartolomeo Rastrelli as a residence for the Dukes of Courland in their capital - Mitava (today Jelgava), Latvia. The Dukes of Courland also had a summer palace by Rastrelli nearby called Rundāle Palace.

The palace was founded by Ernst Johann von Biron in 1738 on an island between the Lielupe river and its branches. The site had borne the residence of the former Courland dukes of the Kettler dynasty and, before that, a medieval castle belonging to the Teutonic Knights.

Following Biron's fall from grace in 1740, all construction work was stopped, even though the roof of the palace had not yet been completed. Work resumed after Biron's return from exile in 1763. Besides Rastrelli (who, with the death of his patronness, the Empress Elizabeth, lost business in Saint Petersburg), Dutch architect Severin Jensen participated in the project, giving the palace a touch of classicism.

After construction was completed in 1772, the duke lived in the palace for a six months. In 1779, his successor, Peter von Biron, hosted the famous adventurer Alessandro Cagliostro in the palace. After Courland was absorbed by the Russian Empire in 1795, the palace served as a refuge for French royalty fleeing the French revolution. Louis XVIII of France and his family lived in the palace between 1797 and 1801. It was here that Marie-Thérèse-Charlotte of France married Louis-Antoine, Duke of Angoulême, in 1799.