The museum is located in the heart of the Old Town of Cēsis, in a remarkable 18th to 19th century architectural monument of national importance that is the New Palace of Cēsis. Together with the 18th century territory of the historic centre around the castle manor and the medieval ruins of the old castle once erected by the Order of Livonia, it forms one of the most important and romantic sites of cultural and historical significance in Vidzeme region and the entire Eastern Baltic area.

The museum was founded in 1925 and, with more than 155 000 objects in its collection, it remains one of Latvia’s largest municipal museums. Not just an important guardian of past values significant to the city, its surrounding area and the broader region, the Museum of Cēsis is also the city’s trademark and a major cultural junction in the present day.

Its research efforts fall into the following categories: (1) study of the cultural and historical monuments on museum territory (medieval castle of Cēsis and the New Palace); (2) exploration of the museum’s sub-collections; (3) assembling of exhibitions and displays about significant topics relevant to the national history of Latvia, the cultural history of Cēsis, its surrounding area and the broader region (such as history of the Latvian flag, history of chivalry in Vidzeme and the Battle of Cēsis).