According to historical chronicles, one of the main attractions of the Latvian capital, the Powder Tower, was built in the 13th century, as it already towered over Riga (although under a different name) during the conquest of the city by the knights of the Livonian Order in 1330. Then it was called "the Sand Tower" in honor of the vast dunes that frame the river delta. Besides, it had an open form and horseshoe shape. It became round and closed only in the 14th century, at the same time when it began to be an important observation point of the city's defense. In total, medieval Riga boasted 28 defensive towers with excellent observation decks.

Later, the Sand Tower became "Russian" in honor of the city quarter, inhabited by Russian artisans and merchants, and then received its current name, the Powder Tower, during the Swedish-Polish War at the beginning of the 17th century. No one knows for sure whether the tower kept gunpowder, maybe only in the cannonballs fired into it. By the way, all 9 cannonballs fired by the soldiers of Tsar Alexis of Russia, and 3 cannonballs by the military leader of Peter I the Great, Count Sheremetev, remain in the tower's wall to this day.

The tower also survived the period in the middle of the 19th century when all the defensives were dismantled into stones. It was left as a historical monument with a dance and a fencing hall opened inside. At the beginning of the 20th century, the entertainment facility was replaced by the collections of the city Military Museum. The number of exhibits was growing so fast that they could not fit in the tower in just a couple of years. That's why a new building in the classical style was built next to it. By the way, it is worth visiting this building to learn the history of Riga during all the wars that took place in this city.