Jaunpils castle is located in the eponymous village, it is located about 50 km from the town of Jelgava, 25 km from Dobele. Local landmark - one of the few medieval castles in Latvia, but preserved our time. The fortress was built in 1301 as a fortress of the Livonian Order. Castle founded the Master of the Order of Gottfried von Horn.

The thickness of the castle walls is almost 2 meters, many believe that the wall bricked up many people. Generally this place once had not a good reputation, thanks to the owners of the castle old Baron von der Recke. There is a legend about how the castle got the Baron River. According to legend, once lived landowner River. He was very strong and was possessed by the devil. He had a very hard chair that even two of his servants, it was hard to bear. So, in a rage, he easily took this chair and walked with him as a cane.

Once landowners instructed to ride on horseback, how much territory they will be able to go round, so much land they will inherit. Baron River was able to overtake a large area of ​​Saldus and Dobele up from Dobele Tukums, Jaunpils thus proved right in the middle.

Of course, this is just a legend, and actually Baron River Yaunpilskuyu fortress was a completely different way. After the Livonian Order was defeated, his last master Gotthard Kettler swore allegiance to the Polish king in 1561. King Sigismund Augustus appointed the head of the Kettler formed the Duchy of Courland. However, not all owners of the castle were in agreement with this decision. Then Kettler concluded a military alliance with the Baron River. According to this agreement for the promotion Kettler Recke landlord promised to send him a certain district in perpetuity. Later the Duke of Courland state did not keep a promise, and then between the Kettler River and began an armed struggle, which lasted nearly 10 years. As a result of this confrontation River managed to get only Yauntspilsky area with a fortress. Since that time, von der Recke race (River, Recke) was the owner of the estate until 1920.

Rod von der Recke related many stories and legends, most of them unpleasant, terrible and evil. Generally he Matthias von der Recke and his descendants did not differ for mankind. For example, there is such a story: Matthias Baron built a rectangular area on his property and fenced off its stone walls. There he placed 300 Swedish prisoners of war brought to the war. They lived there under the open sky, performing all the economic and construction work in Yauntspilskom estate. When the need for additional labor has disappeared, Baron Matthias drove all the prisoners in a barn and set it on fire with his hands. He walked around the barn, warming his hands, and, in response to the cries of the dying, said: "Well, hear the squeak of my mouse! ".

Another descendant of Baron Matthias von der Recke brought hitherto unseen telescope. He amused himself by peeping over the laborers from the heat of the castle and scared of their terrible screams in the most unexpected moment. There is even a story that tells of how one hired hand died of a heart attack. Baron peeping at her, and when she lay down to rest, cried out so that she died. I went to the rumor that the devil Baron tells about everything that is happening, and stuck the nickname "Devil's River." Although River is nicknamed themselves amused.

There is another story, after which Yauntspils tried to get round, especially in bad weather. The fact that the younger brother of Baron badly missed in the estate, especially during bad weather, when it was to do absolutely nothing, why was increasingly applied to the bottle. Then Baron himself ordered to build on his window feature that creepy voice howling in the rain and did not give "relax" with a bottle. Rumor has it that the younger brother quit drinking. This features has survived to our time, but during the last war had damaged the mechanism by which he published as a terrible scream. And the secret of the mechanism can not reveal today.

Today, the castle Yauntspilskom his swing public life. There are often held various festivals, events, theatrical performances. The castle, surrounded on three sides by water, and its surroundings are beautiful, attractive place for tourists.