Duke Ernst Johann von Biron of Courland bought the land in 1735, demolished an old medieval castle and commissioned the new palace. Bartolomeo Rastrelli designed it and supervised completion after 1762. Work ran in two phases, 1736 to 1740 and 1764 to 1768. It stood unfinished and empty from 1740 to 1762. The article lists the style as Baroque.
Johann Michael Graff made the stucco decoration in the final phase. The rooms include a throne room, the duke's chambers, a vestibule, a staircase, the White Hall ballroom and a dining hall, which later became a school gymnasium. Gardens and a park surround the palace.
The Bermontians partly burned it in 1919, and a school used part of it from 1920 to 1978. It was listed as a state monument in 1924. The museum opened in 1972, and restoration was announced complete in spring 2015. The article gives no dimensions or visiting hours.
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