This is the most distinct cape in Latvia, with the waves of the Baltic Sea and the Bay of Rīga coming together. During storms, the waves can be as much as 7 metres high. The cape is an underwater shoal that stretches to the Kolka lighthouse, which is 5 km away. It is on an artificial island that was created between 1872 and 1875. When the island became stable, the 21 m lighthouse was installed in 1883. Manufactured in St Petersburg, the lighthouse became operational on July 1, 1884. Today the island contains the building for the supervisor of the lighthouse, several ancillary buildings and an impressive fog bell. A monument to men lost at sea that was sculpted by Ģirts Burvis is on Cape Kolka, as is a wrecked wooden ship, presumably from the 19th century. There is also a rock that is known as the “heart of Europe,” because the Latvian folklorist Krišjānis Valdemārs believed that the cape was the centre of Europe. There are stands with information about Valdemārs, and the Latvian Border Guard uses facilities that were once in the hands of the Soviet Coast Guard. Cape Kolka is an important place for migrating birds during the season, and it has a visitor centre and a summer café. There are unusual pines on the beach that were washed onto it during storms. Under the water around the cape is the largest ship graveyard in the Baltic Sea. It is a dangerous place for swimmers because of changes in the flow of water and shifting sands. At the end of the cape are the ruins of an old lighthouse that was built in the 18th century and lost during the latter half of the 19th century.
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