Located in the Lielvārde Park and alongside the Andrejs Pumpurs Museum, the church was restored in 1932 on the foundations of a church that was built in 1747 and bombarded during World War I.  Inside the church are several artistic monuments, including the altar, the pulpit, the pews and an altar painting by Kārlis Miesnieks, “Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane” (1939).  On the eastern wall of the church is a stone cross that has partly sunk into the ground.  Specialists believe that it is an old gravestone.

The first church in Piņķi was made of wood.  The idea of building a new church emerged in the 1850s, and the cornerstone for a design by the architect J.D. Felsco was laid on May 25, 1872.  The church that is there today was completed in 1874.  The nine-register organ was built by the distinguished organ builder Wilhelm Sauer in 1890.  On July 17, 1916, the 5th Latvian Riflemen’s Battalion was on its way to the front lines at Smārde and stopped at the Piņķi Estate.  Col Jukums Vācietis delivered a sermon at the church on that date (though not all historians agree that he did so), and that has gone down in history as one of the most important events of the day.  The historical even inspired Aleksandrs Čaks to write the poem “Sermon at the Piņķi Church.”  The church is a cultural monument and can be toured.  It is lit up at night.  Alongside the stone is a rock that was installed in commemoration of the Latvian riflemen.

This tour offers a look at modern farms that based their work on ancient jobs and skills.  Everything that is grown and processed in Latvia's countryside is found at the Central Market in Rīga, where this tour begins.  It is one of the largest and oldest markets in Europe.  From there you will travel to several farms to taste candy made of natural juices, cheese, grain foods, yogurt and ice cream.  You will visit a traditional farm with a technology museum.  Each farm will offer a brief introductory tour.  Along the way, you will visit the Rundāle Castle and its park and rose garden, which were designed by the 18th century architect Rastrelli and are a true jewel of Baroque and Rococo architecture.  In Bauska you will visit City Hall to see a collection of old measuring items, the Bauska Castle and the Bauska brewery.  In Lithuania you will visit farms that grow lavender, medicinal plants and hemp.  They will be happy to sell their products to you.  The town of Anykščiai offers a trail above the trees, and the Krenave archaeological complex is on the UNESCO heritage list.  At the conclusion of the tour, you will visit the Trakai lake castle that was built in the 14th and 15th centuries, as well as Vilnius.

1275 is considered as a year of foundation of Daugavpils. This is the time when the Master of Livonian Order Ernst von Ratceburgs built Dinaburg castle at the Naujene hill fort. It suffered several Lithuanian and Russian invasion until in 1577 the castle was destroyed by Russian troops under the command of Ivan the Terrible. After this event Dinaburg was restored 17 km further on the right bank of the river, where now the town of Daugavpils is located. From 1810-1833a new fortress was built. In 1826 started the building of what is now the historic centre of the town. During the World War I the major industrial companies with workers were evacuated to Russia. During first Latvian Republic, the cultural life in Daugavpils flourished. Most part of the town was destroyed during World War II – in the July of 1944. Nowadays the town is the second largest town in Latvia and is an important economical centre of Latgale historic region. Restoration of Daugavpils Fortress was launched recently; this project can be considered as a unique on the European scale.

The cafe Kolumbine is situated in the suburb of Talsi city, about 1,5 km away from the centre.

A small producer that grows strawberries on the farm, smokes and marinates fish Estonian style. Here, mead and house wine is also made, as well as various meat products.

Stupeļu Hill is 3 km to the South of the Vecumnieki-Ilūkste road. There are no signs, so the castle hill might be difficult to find. The Great Stupeļu Rock, which is discussed further on in this guidebook, is also hard to find when there is vegetation. Stupeļu Hill is approximately 30 m high, and it was one of the highest castle hills in the historical district of Selonia. Archaeologists say that it was first abandoned at the beginning of our era and then populated again during the late Iron Age. It is interesting that iron was extracted and processed near the castle hill. Archaeologists believe that this is the site of one of the earliest “cities” in the region. To the West of the hill is the Great Stupeļu Rock, which is 6.7 m long, 5.6 m wide and up to 2.7 m high. Above ground, it is 35 m³ large, and it may have been a cult location. During archaeological digs in the late 1970s, antiquities from the 10^th to the 13^th century were found here.

Interesanta dažāda vecuma ēku ieskauta gājēju ieliņa (gājēju daļa ~ puskilometrs), kura var novērot pilsētas arhitektūras stilu attīstību no 17. - 20. gs. Šeit tāpat kā citur Kuldīgā var apskatīt un nofotografēt pilsētai raksturīgos virsgaismas lodziņus un greznās un daudzveidīgās ēku durvis. Te vērts pasēdēt arī krodziņā!