Mālpils was one of the five parishes of the Sigulda Vogtei (advocacy), along with Nītaure, Sigulda, Skujene and Zaube, during the Livonian Order’s rule. The medieval castle of Mālpils on the right bank of the Mergupe River was built to provide traffic routes before 1413, when it was first mentioned in written sources, and was settled at least in the second half of the 14th century. The medieval castle of Mālpils is an archaeological monument of national importance with State Protection No 2124.
Mālpils Castle was a small rural castle without much defence. The castle had a rectangular layout in a north-south direction. The main gate was located at the northern end. The total length of the castle was about 154 m and included two rectangular walled courtyards, the front castle, and the main castle, separated by a cross wall. The front castle was about 95m long and 47m wide (in 1968 a stage was built here). The main part of the castle was about 59m long and 47m wide. The walls on the roadside reached a thickness of about 2m, but on the river side only 1.3m. No archaeological study of the castle has been carried out. During the Swedish-Polish War (1600-1621), the Polish army in retreat blew up the castle and it was never rebuilt. Nevertheless, it was the administrative centre of the Mālpils manor with wooden buildings until the mid-18th century, when the manor centre was moved to its present location.