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The city of wind, amber and musicians. In the literature sources Liepaja was mentioned for the first time in 1253. The city strived as a trade harbour already at the end of the 16th century. Especially important was the ruling period of Kurzeme Dukes Jacob and Friedrich, when the export and import of Lithuania and Kurzeme goods was provided through Liepaja harbour. Instead of the Līva River that was filled with dune sand a channel was excavated and wharf was formed. The growth of the city continued in the 18th century also after the Northern War and the plague epidemic. When in 1795 Kurzeme was added to the Russian Empire, as one of the most important western harbours of the Empire the harbour of Liepaja developed even more rapidly. From the end of the 18th century until the 19th century Liepaja also became a popular recreation place for the aristocrats of Petersburg. At the end of the 19th century the construction works of War Port and fortress begun. The city became a military strategic place. It suffered hard during World War II. In 1967 the sea trade harbour terminated its operation in Liepaja and Liepaja became a closed city where the War Port was "a city within a city". Today the War Port and its offer is one of the top tourism spots in Latvia. |
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Dabas liegums veidots ezera, tā salu, ainavas, augu, putnu un sikspārņu aizsardzībai. Liegumu var apskatīt "no malas" - no ceļa, kas iet gar tā ziemeļu un ziemeļaustrumu robežu.
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Lustužkalns Hill (72 m ASL). A hunting
castle owned by Livonian Order master
Walther von Plettenberg was located here
in the 16 century. During the reign of
Russian Empress Catherine the Great, a
recreational castle was built here. A
legend from the time says that a golden
carriage is at the bottom of the local Lake
Valgums.
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“Airītes” is a museum found at the place where the first commander of the Latvian Armed Forces, Col Oskars Kalpaks and other Latvian soldiers (including three officers) fell during a battle on March 6, 1919. The public donated money in 1920 to build a monument, and it was unveiled on September 3, 1922. In 1935, work began on a building that was proposed by the Col Kalpaks Battalion organisation, the plan being to exhibit items related to Kalpaks’ battles. It was opened a year later. The monument was destroyed during the Soviet era, and the building housed a post office and some flats. The memorial was restored during the national Renaissance in 1988 and 1989, and on November 11, 1990, the museum was reopened. During renovations in 2007, the second floor burned down. The museum and exhibition were renewed in 2013. The exhibits speak to Kalpaks’ life during World War I and Latvia’s liberation battles. Employees regularly organise commemorative events in honour of Kalpaks, as well as celebrations of Lāčplēsis (Veterans’) Day. |
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These are hillocks at the northern end of the Vidzeme highlands, and this is an important location for boreal (Northern) forests and swamps. Various kinds of swamps are found here, and the area is home to a variety of protected invertebrates.
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The botanic garden is part of the Siauliai University and is the newest and smallest botanical garden in Lithuania, covering 6.54 ha of land. |
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Nature restricted area is located to the South from former railroad Ventspils-Liepaja and includes approximately 6 km of Uzava River (and the old drainage system). The territory was used for agriculture during Soviet time, now it starts overgrow by scrubs. The protected nature values – rare bird species, including corncrakes, variety of grassland habitats and plant species. Territory is not useable for tourism activities. There is a possibility to get good insight into the North part of restricted area from the road Alsunga – Berzkalns where information stand is located.
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This is an ancient populated area. There were 50 homesteads here during the 1930s, with only ten remaining in 1990. The Livonian scholar and entomologist Kārlis Princis (1893-1978) was born in Oviši. In 1944, he emigrated to Sweden. The Oviši lighthouse (1814) is 38 metres high and is the oldest functioning lighthouse in Latvia. There are lovely views from the top of the lighthouse. The building in which employees of the lighthouse used to live was erected in 1905 and has been preserved. A narrow-gauge train station was in the building at one time. The Oviši Lighthouse Museum is nearby, as is the metal Tree of Austra. Opposite Cape Oviši is a great place for bird watching. |
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The military communications facilities at Pāvilosta are along the southern part of the town. The facilities are owned by the local government, and there is no information about their use at this time.
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Zosna (Veczosna) Manor. The building is surrounded by a small park near the bank of Lake Rāzna.
There are 39 different species of trees and bushes. It was built in 1870 by the order of duke Goļicins. It is
one of the rare truss buildings in Latgale.
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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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Ancient trading routes provided not just goods, but also knowledge and culture. The Light’s rout relates to the Reverent Ernst Gluck, who was a writer, the first translator of the Bible into Latvian, and a founder of Latvian children's schools, the Hernhutian movement of brothers, Kārlis Skalbe, the Kaudzīte brothers, Jānis Poruks, Antons Austriņš and their spiritual heritage. People in Vidzeme bake rye, wheat, barley, spelt and grit bread with various seeds, caraway seeds, nuts, dried fruit and hemp seeds. Hemp is used to produce traditional butter, oil and dumplings made with grey peas. It is also added to candies and even chocolate. Barley flour in the past was used only for celebrations, but today people will teach you how to use it to bake water pretzels with salt and caraway seeds. Visit farms and restored windmills to track the route of grain. Taste traditional Summer Solstice cheese, as well as Green cheese and tasty goat cheese. Pipe perch from Lake Burtnieks is a local delicacy, and you will also find trout, catfish and sturgeon, as well as crabs in season. Local meat and fowl dishes are popular, including dishes made with rabbit. Kitchens at aristocratic estates will offer wild game and pheasants with forest goodies and wild herbs. In Vidzeme you can meet the Garlic Queen, who prepares plant powders. Enjoy pies, sheet cakes, honey cakes, desserts of whipped cottage cheese, mountain ash, quince, apples, sweet cream and rye bread, as well as blackberry or apple dumplings. Slake your taste with herbal teas with honey, birch juice, berry lemonades or, if you're looking for something stronger, some tasty beer or wine. |
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Viewing tower on pontoons, and there is a footpath to get to it. The tower offers a view of nearly all of Lake Sloka, all the way to Kauguri. Particularly visible is the northern part of the lake. There is also a sulphur spring. The site is good for bird-watching throughout the year, including the winter, because parts of the lake do not freeze over. |
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To the North-west from the Pitrags Baptist church (in the direction of the sea) is a fishing and farming homestead, Kurgati, which was established in the 1930s. This brought new building elements to the Liv Shore – a split roof end which was not typical of buildings in Liv villages. |
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The saloon is in the centre of Vecumnieki and features antique household objects as part of its interior design. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are all prepared on an open fire, making use of an ancient spirit and the cookbooks of grannies. Desserts, too, are all made from natural ingredients. Latvian cuisine: Pork with sauerkraut. Special foods: Handmade pierogi with home-cured meat. |
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Cēsu centrālais laukums – Vienības laukums (20.gs.sākumā – Konventa laukums) – atgādina par Cēsu kauju notikumumiem, kuru nozīme un ikviena dalībnieka ieguldījums aprakstīti devīzē uz pieminekļa “No zobena saule lēca”. Cēsu kaujas 1019.gada jūnijā bija svarīgs Latvijas valstiskuma vēstures pagrieziena punkts, kad apvienotais latviešu un igauņu karaspēks sakāva vācu landesvēru, kas apdraudēja Baltijas valstu pastāvēšanu. Vienības laukums turpina būt par nozīmīgu notikumu liecinieku. 1989.gada 23.augustā daudzu cēsnieku ceļi veda uz Vienības laukumu, kuram cauri vijās Baltijas ceļš. |
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The tree is in the middle of an untended field. Despite many dead branches and the messy surroundings, the tree is beautiful and well visible from the road. It is the third thickest tree in the Baltic States.
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The craftsman produces pottery typical of Vidzeme, but with the range of colours that is typical of Latgale. These products fit in very nicely with the lovely landscape of Racupkalns. You can take a tour, watch the master at work, and work with clay yourself. You can also watch as he opens a Lettigalian ditch kiln. You can commission and purchase the products, as well. |
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The pub Raudnaela is located near Pärnu-Tartu highway, in the place of the former Raudna inn (1700), 15 minutes’ drive from Viljandi. Guests can enjoy delicious home-made dishes, as well as a themed dinner. |
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One of the rare places (see also Rucavas ivju audze) in Latvia where two rare and protected wild tree species grow - yew-tree and Baltic ivy. Territory is not marked on site with information signs or stands therefore it is hard for visitors to find. Not usable as tourism object.
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