Der Jakob-Weg

Das einzige Baukomplex aus dem 17. – 18. Jh. solcher Art im Baltikum, entstanden an den Ufern eines kleinen Flusses. Stellenweise fließt der Fluss entlang den Hauswänden. Das lettische Venedig.

In der alten Getreidedarre des Landgutes von Alsunga befindet sich ein Souvenirgeschäft, in dem man Souvenirs und im Haushalt nützliche Dinge kaufen kann, die in dem Kreis von Suiti hergestellt sind: Tücher (die Kleidung von Suiti zeichnet sich durch lebhafte Farben aus), Handschuhe, Socken, Geschirr, Tees u.a. Hier werden kreative Werkstätte organisiert. 

Der Hof befindet sich an einem sehr schönen Ort am Westhang der Hügel um Talsi, von wo aus sich die Sicht nach Talsi und Umgebung eröffnet. Hier werden Äpfel angebaut und verarbeitet (getrocknet, Apfelchips, Saft). Auf die Gäste wartet eine Führung, bei der man die Produkte verkosten und erwerben kann. Der Hof befindet sich in einem besonders geschützten Gebiet, im Naturschutzpark Hügelland von Talsi. Im Sommer kann man hier auch mit Zelt campen. Die Besucher können zusehen, wie der Baumschnitt erfolgt. Aus den Gärten der Höfe in diesem Hügelland wurde eine Vielzahl an Apfelsorten gesammelt, woraus die Hausherrin die Kollektion einheimischer Äpfel erstellt und weiter vervollkommnet. Am Hof gibt es eine Schautafel, die mit dem NSG bekanntmacht.

The graveyard that is alongside the Lestene Lutheran Church is the final resting place for more than 900 soldiers who fell during World War II, particularly during battles at the so-called Fortress of Kurzeme, as well as in Zemgale and Vidzeme.  The sculptress Arta Dumpe designed the commemorative monument “Mother Motherland – Latvia.”  The cemetery of the brethren is the second largest resting place for soldiers from World War II after the Cemetery of the Brethren in Rīga.  The names of some 11,000 soldiers are engraved on the gravestones.

The Wine Hill of Sabile has been known since the age of the Duchy of Courland as the northernmost place where grapes were grown to produce more or less sour wine for the duchy. A wine festival has been held each year during the latter half of July in Sabile since 1999. The hill offers an excellent view of the small town that is on the banks of the ancient Abava River Valley.

Farmstead "Lūķi" is a place in Jūrkalne, where you can be at peace and quiet in nature. You can relax in the cottages in the garden or in the big house. Each place is designed to make guests feel comfortable and undisturbed. The farm has a landscaped landscape with large oaks, a tea garden, an authentic sauna and garden sheds. There is also a salon with ancient and modern handicrafts. The farm is suitable for a quiet rest or family celebration.

Opposite the tower of the Church of the Holy Trinity, the monument was designed by Arta Dumpe and commemorates Latvia’s first president, Jānis Čakste (1859-1927).  It was consecrated on November 14, 2003, precisely 81 years after the statesman was elected to the important position.

The estate in Milzkalne that is along the banks of the Slocene River dates back to the 15th century, when it was built as a closed complex for the Livonian Order.  It is the only fortified estate of its type to have survived to the present day, and it was once used as a hiding place for aristocrats during an attack.  The gate towers with their ornate weather vanes were built in the late 17th century, and the ancillary buildings date back to the 18th and 19th century.  A brick wall with firing apertures survives.  The Latvian Road Museum is in one of the wings of the complex, while the former mansion offers accommodations, tours and tastings of local goodies.

The museum offers information about the history of chocolate, allowing you to learn all about the process, from raw materials to finished products. You can also prepare and taste your own bitterly sweet treat in the creative workshop. Products are available at the little store that is next door to the museum.

The late Baroque and early Classicism building was commissioned by Duke Peter Byron of Courland and Zemgale, and it was built between 1773 and 1776 on the basis of a design by a Danish architect.  It was the castle of Duchess Anna.  The first university in Latvia, Academia Petrina was established here in 1775 and named after Duke Peter.  The first observatory was installed at the academy in 1772, and a high school was in the building during the age of the Russian Empire.  Among graduates are distinguished Latvians such as Krišjānis Barons, Jānis Alunāns and Jānis Čakste, as well as the Lithuanian Antanas Smetona.  The Jelgava Museum of History and Art took over the building in 1952, and in 1975 it was named after the Old Master Ģederts Eliass (1887-1975).  The exhibition speaks to the history of the city and surrounding area during and after the period of the Duchy of Courland and Zemgale.  Outside the impressive building are four cannons from the period of the duchy, as well as monument to Eliass that was designed in 1987 by the sculptor Jānis Zariņš.  Another monument, “Lāčplēsis and the Black Knight,” was designed by the sculptor Kārlis Jansons and commemorates the liberators of Jelgava.

The first wooden church was built here in 1252, and the brick church was built in 1665.  It burned down and was restored in 1672, but it was rebuilt in later years.  There are important artistic monuments in the interior of the church – the altar, the pulpit and the painted organ.  Legendary Duke Jacob Kettler of Courland (1610-1682) was baptised in the church and married Princess Charlotte Louise from Brandenburg in it.  During the Soviet era, the church housed a museum and a concert hall.  According to legend, the name of the church is based on a woman called Catherine, who donated funds to build the church, was subjected to lies, tortured and then proclaimed as a saint.  Above the side entrance is a medallion of a woman with a crown of thorns, torture equipment and a sword in her hand.  Elements of this story can also be seen in the herald of Kuldīga.  The steeple of the church offers a good look at the roofs of the ancient part of the city.

This Latvian tradition farmstead, located 12 km from Jelgava, offers to learn about ancient bread baking traditions, Latvian annual festivals, and various types of handicrafts, such as weaving and making puzuri decorations and beeswax candles. The house is designed and decorated in the traditional Latvian style and exudes an authentic ambience while having modern facilities. The heart of the farmstead is a barn with a bread baking stove. The hosts bake rye sourdough bread from “Dobeles dzirnavnieks” flour and the traditional salinātā rye bread from “Grauda spēks” flour. Salinātā rye bread is registered in the EU food quality scheme as a product with traditional speciality guaranteed.

The hosts offer to enjoy various traditional seasonal activities. Please arrange your visit in advance.

Piltene is one of the smallest and oldest cities in Latvia, first mentioned in 1295, and being granted the rights of a city in 1557.  Between the 14th and 16th century, Piltene was the administrative centre for the Bishopric of Kurzeme.  The historical streets that surround the castle ruins feature wooden buildings from the first half of the 19th century.  The bishop’s castle in Piltene was built at the turn of the 14th century and used until the 16th century.  Only its foundations and fragments of its tower on the banks of the Vecventa River survive.

The first stone castle in Alsunga was built in 1372, starting with the central part of the southern wing. The authorised representative of the Livonian Order, who was subject to a higher-ranking official in Kuldīga, lived here. The guard towers and other parts of the castle were gradually added between the 15^th and the 18^th century. The Baroque castle with its two towers is quite impressive. The castle is unique in and outside of Latvia in that it is one of the rare Medieval castles to have survived to the present day in part, but in its original historical appearance.  The castle offers an exhibition about its history.  Visitors can look at a Suiti kitchen, write a letter with a fountain pen in Barbara’s boudoir, or celebrate a special event in the romantic venue of the castle’s round tower. Renovation of the castle began in 2018, and it is closed to visitors.  Still, you can look at its exterior and tour its garden.  

The Jelgava Castle stands between the Lielupe and Driksa rivers. The Baroque castle was designed by the well known Italian architect Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli, and this was the most important piece of early work that he did. The Latvian Agriculture University is housed in the castle today. A museum was established in 1968. +371-6300-5617. The socle story of the south-eastern wing has the graves of rulers from the Duchy of Courland – members of the Kettler and Byron dynasties, which ruled from 1569 to 1791. There are 18 restored sarcophagi here.

The square structure with walls that are nearly two metres thick became known as the Gunpowder Tower during the rule of Duke Jacob, because that is what was stored here.  There might have been a well here, because groundwater is close to the surface.  The tower and the castle were linked by a 12-metre bridge on one pillar.  The tower is only visible from the outside.

Tukums in the historical sources is mentioned in 1253 agreement of the Livonian Order and the Bishop on the division of Kursa. If the town's name is translated from the Liv language, it means "a pile, mountains of sand". at the beginning of 14th century German merchants and craftsmen settlement was formed at the Livonian Order stone castle, whose flowering was facilitated by the proximity of Riga - Prussian road. Later the city was largely influenced by the construction of Riga - Tukums railway in1877. During the Soviet period the on the eastern outskirts of Tukums, the largest Soviet military airfield and military town in the Baltic States was deployed. Today Tukums is a district centre of the same name with a wide range of services offered to tourists.

A country farmstead in vicinity of Valdeķi. A room for guests in the hosts' home. Guests can see farm animals. Country sauna with birch and juniper besoms, herb teas. Volley-ball grounds, 10 tent places.

The owners have a large collection of old-time tools and can talk about how they were used at the farm. Families with children can help to take care of livestock in the evening (feed the animals, milk a goat, etc.)

This is the widest water fall in Latvia – 249 metres wide and up to 1.75 metres high.  This is an interesting natural, cultural and historical object in that it is linked to various events and legends.  Duke Jacob of Courland invented equipment to catch fish.  It was fastened to the cliffs of the waterfall, and this created the tale of a city where salmon and other fish who were leaping across the waterfall fell into the nets and were thus caught in the air.  During Jacob’s rule, there was talk about digging a canal around the waterfall to ensure shipping, and work began on the project.  During the early 18th century there was the idea that the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea could be connected via the Venta, Nemuna and Dnieper rivers.  Turkish prisoners of war continued to dig the canal, but the local dolomite cliffs were a problem.  Attempts to blow up the cliffs led to damage to nearby buildings, so the work ended.  The impressive ditch can still be seen today.  In 2012, a wooden pathway was installed on the right bank of the Venta to offer a good look at the waterfall.  It is worth visiting here during various seasons of the year, when different types of fish migrate.

Eine 1651 gebaute Kirche wurde mit Pausen während des Halbjahrhunderts gebaut. Die ist voll umgebaut und heutige Ansicht erhielt 1876. In der Kirche befindet sich ein der bedeutendsten sakralen Einrichtungsgegenstände Lettlands – die älteste im Stil des Manierismus errichtete Kanzel Lettlands (1590) und die im 19. Jahrhundert eingestellte Kapellenglocke einer zerstörten Ritterburg (1450), die die älteste Kirchenglocke Lettlands ist. Das vom deutschen Meister F. Wolf geschaffene Altarbild “Christus am Kreuz” sowie der Altar sind vor kurzem renoviert worden.

Das Gartenbauinstitut ist das führende Forschungszentrum für Obstbau und Gemüsebau in Lettland. Es befasst sich nicht nur mit der Auswahl und Einführung von Pflanzenarten, die für die landwirtschaftlich-klimatischen Bedingungen der baltischen Staaten geeignet sind, sondern stellt auch nahrhafte, ballaststoffreiche Lebensmittel aus den Gärten des Instituts her. Während der Frühlingsblüte haben die Gäste von Dobele die Möglichkeit, durch einen der größten Fliedergärten Europas zu spazieren, wo 240 verschiedene Fliederarten blühen. Im Mai/Juni können die Gartengäste des Gartenbauinstituts die Aprikosenbaum-, Kirschbaum-, Pflaumenbaum-, Apfelbaum-, Birnbaum- und Quittenbaumblumen genießen.

Zum ersten Mal ist der Name von Kandava in den schriftlichen Quellen im Jahr 1230 erwähnt worden. Im Jahr 1253 hat der Livländische Orden auf dem steilen Ufer des Urstromtales des Flusses Abava eine gemauerte Burg gebaut, an deren Fuß sich eine Siedlung herausgebildet hat. Im 17. Jh. wurde Kandava zu einem bedeutenden Handelszentrum. Die Stadt und ihre Einwohner haben schwer unter der Pest und den Ereignissen des Ersten Weltkriegs gelitten. Die Stadtrechte hat Kandava im Jahr 1917 erlangt. Während der Sowjetzeit wurde der Sportkomplex der Landwirtschaftlichen Fachschule von Jaunkandava zu einem bekannten Ort für Training.

Im Birkenhof wird sehr schmackhaftes Roggen- und Weizenbrot in alter Tradition gebacken. Den besonderen Geschmack gewinnt das Brot durch das Backen im über 70 Jahre alten Backofen. Brot kann man bestellen oder nach vorheriger Vereinbarung auch selbst backen.

Am Ufer der Venta erhebt sich eine wahre Perle der Holzarchitektur - die mit romantischen Geschichten und Legenden umwobene und unlängst erneuerte „Villa Bangert“. Man erzählt sich, dass ein gewisser Kapitän Bangert dieses Gebäude seiner Braut in Paris gekauft habe. Seit 1940 befindet sich in diesem Haus das Heimatmuseum der Stadt Kuldiga. In dem Museum hat man nach der Rekonstruktion der Räume die einzigartigen Wandmalereien und verschiedene andere Details im Interieur wiederhergestellt und somit eine Exposition – die Wohnung der Familie Bangert -  geschaffen, die uns ein Bild davon gibt, wie eine wohlhabende kuldigaer Familie zu Beginn der 20er Jahre gelebt hat. Ausserdem kann man hier auch die Kollektion des Spielkarten- Sammlers Jāņis Mētra sehen. 

Das in dunklen Tönen gestrichene Gebäude wird  im 17. Jh. erstmalig in Dokumenten erwähnt,  in dessen Keller befand sich das erste Gefängnis der Stadt. Der historische Ratsplatz daneben war der wichtigste Treffpunkt und auch Strafvollzugsplatz, denn in der südöstlichen Ecke des Platzes gab es einen Pranger. Heute befindet sich hier das Touristeninformationszentrum und eine Weberwerkstadt. Hier kann man in Kurzeme hergestellte Waren und Souveniere erwerben, in der Werkstatt bei der Webearbeit zusehen.