The first written reference of the Krustpils dates from 1237,[2] when the Archbishop of Riga built a castle named Kreutz.

When the Livonian state was dissolved, Krustpils became property of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1561 to 1772,[3] while the opposite Jēkabpils was part of the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia.

The difference between the Latgalian language and the Selonian dialect of the inhabitants on either side of the Daugava River remains as of today.

In 1585, Stephen Báthory of Poland–Lithuania granted a large area which included Krustpils to general Nikolai von Korff [de], whose family owned the castle until the Latvian agrarian reforms of 1920 came into effect.

On April 13, 1994, it houses the Jēkabpils Museum of History, from then on, there has been ongoing active investigation and renewal of the castle.