This family company offers high-quality and traditional beekeeping products in the Gauja National Park. There are some 110 hives of bees, and the products include honey, pollen, bee bread, wax and propolis. The owners also produce new and unprecedented products which satisfy the demand of clients for something that is unusual, but healthy. You can take a tour and purchase honey.

The first church was here in the early 18^th century, followed by the second and third one (1847-1848), and then the one that is there now. The church was damaged during World War I and then during the Soviet era, when wool was stored there between 1969 and 1993. In the 1990s, the building was in terrible shape, but it is gradually recovering its appearance. Between 1826 and 1856, the sexton and organist at the church was the Latvian poet and translator Ansis Līventāls (1803-1878). His grave and monument are alongside the church. At the same place are the graves of German and Russian soldiers who died during World War I, as well as the grave monument of the pastor and writer Jacob Florentin Lundberg (1782-1858).

The farm breeds cattle and grows vegetables. You can receive consultations and purchase seeds and vegetables.

Construction of the Sigulda castle was begun by the Order of Brethren of Swords in 1207, but in 1236 it was rebuilt for the needs of the Livonian Order.  The building suffered much damage during wars in the latter half of the 16th century and the early part of the 17th century.  It was burned down during the Great Northern War and was not restored.  Visible today is the south-western wing of the castle’s convent building and the main gate tower, behind which is the internal forecastle with an open-air stage that offers an impressive view of the ancient Gauja River valley.  The new Sigulda castle was built between 1878 and 1881, and it was owned by Count Kropotkin.  From 1923 until 1940, the castle housed a centre for writers, and during the Soviet Union it was a hospital for cardiology patients.  Since 2003, the Sigulda Administrative District Council has been located here.  The buildings that have been preserved include a wooden home (mid-19th century), where the Kropotkin family used to live, a granary (late 18th or early 19th century), the home of the gardener (19th century) and a brick wall (19th century).  If we go to the north-eastern direction, we will find the Vējupīte valley less than two kilometres away.  It includes the shallow (3.6 m) but high (6.1 m) Pēteris cave and the deep Pūču valley with the little Kraukļupīte River.  At the place where the two valleys come together we find the Satezele castle hill (its flat surface is 90 x 75 m), where, in the early 13th century, the oak castle of the ruler of Livonian lands, Dabrelis, was once found.  Nearby is the Kraukļu valley, with 11 m sandstone walls and a cave that is 5.2 m deep.  Nearby is the Paradise (Painter) hill, which offers a lovely landscape that has been painted and photographed since ancient times.  There is a Ferris wheel in the western part of Sigulda that is open during the summer, as well as an aerial tram that is the only transport vehicle of its type in the Baltic States and was installed in 1969.  The cable that carries the tram is 1,060 metres long and links the shores of the ancient Gauja River valley between Sigulda and Krimulda.  The cable is approximately 40 metres above the Gauja.  The south-western part of Sigulda features the mighty Beite cliff which is split by a deep stream valley.  To the west of the cliff is the Emperor’s View viewing area that is 67 m above the Gauja and offers a good view of Krimulda and the Turaida Castle.  A viewing area was established here in 1862, when Tsar Alexander II of Russia visited Sigulda.  The wooden Emperor’s chair is to the east of the viewing area.  The Turaida Museum Reserve is in the place where the shore is split by deep valleys carved out by streams.  It features several outstanding monuments that are as much as 1,000 years old.  Of note are the Turaida Estate (21 buildings), the grave of the Rose of Turaida, the Turaida Lutheran Church (1750), which is one of the oldest wooden churches in Latvia) and the Turaida Castle.  Folksong hill, which is nearby, is used for various thematic events.

Kuģīša piestātne atrodas Ostas ielas malā, kur tai piekļaujas Tirgus iela. „Hercogs Jēkabs” ekskursantus izvizina 45 minūšu garā braucienā (no maija – oktobrim) pa Ventas grīvu, piedāvājot aplūkot Ventspils ostas un vecpilsētas ainavas no citiem skatu punktiem.

“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.

The Soviet Border Guard arrived at Lapmežciems (its border with Ragaciems) in the mid-1960s and left in 1991.  Some 50 military personnel were stationed here.  The military personnel and local residents organised various events and celebrations.  The only thing that worried locals was a radar which was said to cause various problems.  The zenith missiles were dismantled and taken away in 1991.  An apartment building is still on what was then the military base.

Historians say that the Livs or Livonians lived in the territory of Latvia long ago, starting in the 10th century.  They populated Northern Kurzeme and the river banks of the Daugava and Gauja rivers.  They asked the first German tradesmen who appeared in the area about the price of textiles at the market in Visby.  This means that they were familiar with the island of Gotland.  The Livonians were courageous and spiritually strong seafarers, because only strong men can live with the sea, go fishing and seal trapping, and take root in the by no means fertile sands of the seashore.

The territory between Ģipka and Ovīši is known as the Livonian coastline.  There are still romantic seashore fishing villages of Livonian origin, as well as Cape Kolka, where the great Latvian activist Krišjānis Valdemārs insisted that it was the centre of Europe.  Livonians all along the seashore responded to his call by taking part in building sailing ships all the way up to Ainaži, where there was a maritime school.  That allowed the ships to sail to the far corners of the world, thus creating a century of sailing ships.  This wasn’t possible without the Livonians.  Also on the coastline are the oldest lighthouses in Latvia, with the one at Ovīši still serving as a star that shows the route for seaborne ships that are heading for Rīga.

The Livonian heritage is also seen in the tradition of fishing for lamprey eels – something that is still very much in place in Carnikava, Svētciems and Salacgrīva.  Old-time fishing equipment that cannot be seen anywhere else is on display in the latter town.

The Latvian nation emerged when the Livonians flowed together with the Lettigalians, the Livonians joke.  It may be that there is some truth in the anecdote.  Liv or Livonian culture, lifestyles and history are closely linked to Latvia and cannot be separated from it.