Visiting a blacksmith has always been something special.  Does this job still exist, and is it still importance?  Some may wonder who is a blacksmith is in the first place.  The DUDU Nests open-air smithy will answer all of your questions.  The blacksmith will teach you all about his profession, talking about the tools and materials that are necessary, the relevant traditions and the everyday work of blacksmiths today.  You can forge your own nail to test the difficulty of the work.  The blacksmith will happily attend your event with his open-air forge.  This is perfect for students, smaller children, wedding guests or individual visitors.

The palace was built as the summer residence of the duke of Courland, Ernst Johan Byron, and it was designed by the outstanding Italian architect Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli. The construction of the palace ensemble took place between 1736 and 1740. The decorative finishing of the interiors was carried out from 1765 to 1768 by the sculptor Johann Michael Graff and the painters Francesco Martini and Carlo Zucchi. The significance of the palace lies in its authenticity as it has not been modified through rebuilding since then. Intensive restoration works started in 1972 when the Rundāle Palace museum was established. The restoration was completed in 2018.

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.

Atrodas netālu no Biksēres muižas, blakus muižas parkam. Ozolkalna klēts saimniece Līga Kuba aušanas prasmes pirms pāris gadiem apguvusi Sarkaņu amatu skolā. Šeit radusies iecere par privātas aušanas darbnīcas izveidi, kas arī īstenota. Saimniece savas aušanas prasmes nodod jebkuram interesentam. Apmeklētāji var iegādāties šeit darinātos suvenīrus.

Work on the Valmiera Castle began in 1283.  The castle was burned down in 1702 during the Great Northern War, and the city’s walls were torn down in the late 17th century.  Ruins of the castle and remnants of other Medieval fortifications have been preserved.

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.