The castle was built during the first half of the 19th century in Tudor Neo-Gothic forms.  The first owner of the castle was Baron Johann Gottlieb von Wolff.  During the 1870s and 1880s it was rebuilt in the style of French Neo-Renaissance.  The castle was burned down during the 1905 Revolution, but it was restored with certain elements of Art Nouveau forms.  Tours are available of the interior of the building.

Lahemaa – the oldest and biggest national park in Estonia – is waiting to be explored. Experiences include a guided nature walk in the bog, a peaceful afternoon in a traditional fishing village, cooking with the local family, a traditional sauna, some farm work and taking part in the local social life.

Ancient trade routes distributed not just products, but also knowledge, culture and everything that was new and unknown.  Pastor Ernest Glück, for instance, may have already started work on a translation of the Bible into Latvian when he travelled from the Daugavgrīva fortress near Rīga to Alūksne.  There he finished his masterpiece and planted two oak trees alongside the manse that are still there.  Glück also established the first school in Vidzeme for Latvian children.  He was a pastor, translator, author and teacher.  Thanks to him, the Hernhutian movement of brethren flourished in Vidzeme after the Great Northern War.  It directed spiritual and political development and brought Latvians closer to their national awakening.

Of great importance in the Path of Light is Piebalga, which became very important in terms of culture in Latvia.  Culture, science and even politics took on new meaning and sounds.  This is where Kārlis Skalbe, the Kaudzītes brothers, Jānis Poruks, Antons Austriņš and other major figures from the national awakening lived and worked.  The very spiritual aura in this place has not disappeared to this very day.

The fantastic Cesvaine castle has been renovated, and the narrow-gauge railroad between Gulbene and Alūksne is still rolling alone.  The ruins of the Marienburg castle in Alūksne conjure up visions of the hidden wealth of the Order of Templates and the young woman who was bricked into the castle’s walls.  No less intriguing is the story of Marta Skovronsky, who would rise to become Empress Catherine the Great of Russia.

The Madona Regional Research and Art Museum offers a look at the past and present, while the Ate windmill at Kancempji offers a look at more than 4,000 unique items from the history of our countryside, complete with buildings that are more than 100 years old.

The Kaigari farm is in the Mežotne Parish of the Bauska Administrative District and specialises in grain farming.  The farm makes active use of EU funding, some of which has been used to buy modern agricultural equipment.  The farm has some 400 ha of land, and the apple orchard offers a very beautiful landscape, including the Lielupe River valley.

The farm breeds several species of chinchillas and offers a look at them. There are also decorative pheasants, peacocks, doves and different kinds of chickens, along with marmots, dwarf goats, chipmunks, rabbits, a pony, etc. You can purchase chinchillas, decorative birds and other animals, along with quail eggs, chinchilla pelts and souvenirs. There are also ponds for fishing.

The castle hill is an island in the reservoir of the Pļaviņas hydroelectric power plant, and it can be accessed by boat.  The ancient Selonian castle hill was settled several times between the 6th and the 12th century.  This was the political and military centre of the Selonian region.  In 1373, the Livonian Order built a stone castle on the hill, as it did on many other ancient hillocks.  The castle was sacked in 1704 during the Great Northern War.  Remnants of a square tower, a guard room and the 12 m embankment that once protected the castle are all that survive.  Approximately 300 m to the North of the Sēlpils castle hill is Oliņkalns hill, which is underwater.