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This is a territory that is unique at the Latvian and the Baltic level, one which stretches from Valmiera to the Gulbene District. Here we find the irregular Gauja River valley with a dense system of ancient rivers. The meadows on the banks of these rivers are important in terms of biological diversity. There are stands of oak and broad-leaf trees. Many rare and protected birds live and next here – the corn-crake, the woodpecker, etc. The territory is excellent for bird watching, nature studies, ecological tourism and various kinds of active tourism. |
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The Mežotne castle hill is on the left bank of the Lielupe River and opposite the Mežotne Castle. This was one of the largest Semigalian fortified castle hills during the 9th to the 13th century, and an ancient town alongside the hill covered 13 ha of land. The castle hill has been improved. A pontoon bridge across the Lielupe allows hikers and bikers to reach the castle (between May and October). Vīna Hill is approximately 500 m to the South of the castle hill, and a wooden pathway leads to it. |
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The route leads from Riga, the capital of Latvia through beautiful countryside areas to Kaunas, the second largest city of Lithuania. Klūgu landscape garden and park is famous for begonias. Institute of horticulture in Dobele owns a collection of over 200 types and forms of lilac plants. The “Beautiful&Practical” garden is proud of its collection of conifers, and the hosts offer tastings of herbal spice powders, dried berries and fruit. “Rūķīšu tea” is one of the largest farms for medicinal plants in Latvia (purple coneflowers, marigolds, chamomile, etc). Enjoy the beauty of peonia in the collection garden by Andris Berkins. Viestardi tulip garden also grows and processes buckthorn. Next stop is at the vegetable and herb farm “Healthy” producing herbal ointments. Visiting Mint House you will taste mint tea, biscuits, honey with peppermint and peppermint syrups. At Blankenfelde manor you will see a collection of bells and will enjoy natural juices, syrups and pickles produced in-house. In Joniškis, you can visit the White and Red Joniškis Synagogues, the Joniškis Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, and the Joniškis Museum of History and Culture. Jakiškiai Manor has not been renovated and shows authentic elements like ovens, shutters, stairs, doors. There are about 30 different species and varieties of plants growing on the grounds of the Baltic Plant Museum. Šiauliai University Botanical Garden demonstrates heritage rural plant gardens arranged according to the traditions of pre-war, inter-war and post-war periods. Burbiškis Manor and its beautiful landscape and sculpture park is a home to the annual tulip festival. Authentic homesteads representing Aukštaitija region can be seen at Kleboniškiai Rural Household Museum. Baisogala Manor is called royal, since it once belonged to a Lithuanian Grand Duke, its 12-hectare park is one of the most beautiful in Lithuania. There are two beautiful heritage gardens surrounding the museum of Mačiulis-Maironis, a famous Lithuanian poet. Home produced “Happy Foods” can be bought from Garsi Tyla homestead, and you can have a walk in their 100-year-old orchard and see the culinary herb garden. The Lithuanian Institute of Horticulture carries out both scientific and experimental/production activities. You can also buy seedlings, and seasonal fruit and vegetables. At Tadas Ivanauskas Homestead at Obelynė Park you will see a collection of 300 species and forms of plants, including some of the oldest trees on the planet – the ginkgo biloba and the dawn redwood. In Kaunas you will see the Oldest Apple Tree in Lithuania – almost 360years old, 8 metres tall, with a girth of 285 centimetres at a height of 1.3 metres. The Vytautas Magnus University Kaunas Botanical Garden exposes the Lithuanian Heritage flower garden plants according to their botanical classification. The tour ends in Kaunas that was the capital of the country from 1920 until 1939. |
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The owner of this guesthouse is a homeopath and phytotherapist who grows ecological medicinal plants. She offers educational programmes for adults and children, as well as a large library of books about health issues. All visitors are welcome to enjoy medicinal plant baths, herbal teas, colour therapy, aroma therapy, and camps that offer a chance to pick medicinal plants to produce healthy nutrition. The sauna and healing facility offers health promotion and beauty procedures. |
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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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The craftswoman uses clay, rocks and other materials to produce dishware and various interior design objects, finishing them in an open kiln. Visitors can take an informational tour, watch the craftswoman at work, and sit down to produce their own cups. Guests are welcome to attend the opening of the kiln. |
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This is a single-family farm, and visitors are welcome to tour it and see white peacocks, pheasants, ducks, chickens, French cattle and white genetic fund pigs from Lithuania. |
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Muiža sāka veidoties 16. gs. beigās (īpašnieki - Tīzenhauzeni, vēlāk Bēri), bet no 1753. g. tā kļūst par Mēdemu dzimtas īpašumu. Tagad redzamo muižas pili (mūsdienās tikai atliekas) cēla 1806. - 1810. g. klasicisma stilā (Johana Georga Ādama Berlica projekts) pēc itāļu izcelsmes Pēterburgas galma arhitekta Džakomo Kvarengi meta. Muižas īpašnieks tajā laikā bija Johana Frīdriha Mēdema dēls - Kristofs Johans Frīdrihs (saukts par Žanno). Elejas pilī bija savākti daudzi nozīmīgi Eiropas mākslinieku darbi, kā arī iekārtots izcils interjers. 18 muižas kompleksa ēkas nodedzināja Pirmā pasaules kara laikā (1915. g.) un līdz mūsdienām ir saglabājušies tikai nelieli pils pirmā stāva drupu fragmenti ar kaltiem portika kolonu kapiteļiem, pārvaldnieka māja (apskatāma no ārpuses), atsevišķas saimniecības ēkas un parks. No pils drupām pa aleju var aiziet līdz Tējas namiņam (bēdīgā stāvoklī). 0,5 km ziemeļos no pils drupām atrodas 1912. g. izveidotā Mēdemu dzimtas kapsēta. Elejas pils mūra žoga arkādē iemūrēts dobumakmens. |
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The restaurant is in the Park Hotel Latgola with a broad view of the city from the 10th floor. It offers Lettigalian and global cuisine. |
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This potter upholds pottery traditions from the village of Silajāņi. He produces glazed and unglazed products such as dishware, candelabras, etc. You will hear attractive stories about pottery, be allowed to knead some clay and work on the potter’s wheel, and be able to tour an exhibition hall with samples of the master’s work, as produced over the course of the years. You can also commission and purchase products. |
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The biography of Krišjānis Valdemārs tells us that during the summer of 1839, teachers and students from the Lubezere school spent a few days on the coastline in Roja, where Valdemārs would later help to build a maritime school. The area was breath-taking and unforgettable for the little boy. “The noble appearance of the sea grabbed the spirit of the young man so powerfully that during those three days, I thought about nothing other than the noble sea, with childish courage that allowed me to prepare a plan for a deeper port in the Roja River so that larger boats and small ships could enter it,” Valdemārs wrote. (Source: Roja TIC) |
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This is Latvia’s oldest nature reserve and, indeed, the country’s oldest protected natural territory. Moricsala is an island in Lake Usma, which is the fifth largest lake in Latvia. The reserve was established in 1912 at the initiative of a group of nature students from Rīga. They wished to protect the deciduous forest of oak trees on the island, along with the local flora and fauna. The nature reserve also includes the Lielalksnīte island. Visits to the reserve, however, are strictly prohibited. |
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There are several buildings from the estate that survive to the present day and were built by the Plater dynasty of noblemen. The old mansion that is on the side of the Count Plater Street was built in 1759 on the banks of the Jāņupīte River. The Baroque building was designed by an architect from Venice, Antonio Parazzo. Later the mansion was rebuilt, and after a new castle was erected, the Plater family spent its summers on the first floor of the old building. The second and third floors had a library with some 20,000 books. The noblemen managed to move most of the contents of the library to safer locations during World War I, when the library as such was destroyed. Work on the new castle of the Krāslava Estate (on the upper part of the Daugava River Valley) began in 1756 (architect Domenico Parazzo). Initially it was in the Baroque style, but reconstruction at the turn of the 18th century involved Classicism. Unique Rococo wall paintings with views of Rome have been discovered in the building. These were based on samples from castles in Poland and were painted during the 1760s and 1770. A high school used the new castle until the 1970s. Then the building was abandoned and gradually turned into a ruin. More recently there has been major renovation of the castle’s façade, and it now has a good appearance. Surrounding the structure is a romantic landscape park that dates back to the mid-18th century. It is on the hillocks of the Daugava River Valley and the valleys that cross it. An artificial grotto has been restored, and a statue of a lion stands guard over the site. The stairway has been placed in its historical location, and the park features pathways and a yard. |
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The restaurant is in the “old school” of Ungurmuiža. Together with the nobleman’s estate and park, this makes up a unique cultural and historical monument. Latvian cuisine: Potato pancakes with cured meet and loganberry jam, chanterelles soup, vegetable soup, porridge with meat, Brasla trout, roast pork with rhubarb sauce, manna, desserts with berry sauce. |
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The Livonian Order built a castle made of bricks and fieldstones in this location in 1253. The building measured 72 x 40 metres and had a three-story residential area and a gate tower at its centre. An entrance for soldiers was installed at the height of the second floor of the fortified wall during the 14th century, with barriers and four bastions installed during the 16th and 17th century. Legend has it that the daughter of a knight was bricked into the wall and that there was once a secret underground passage to the Lutheran church that is 200 metres away. The park includes the “Ancient Seashore” promenade, featuring plaques with quotes from Zenta Mauriņa and Jānis Rainis. |
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The saloon is on the edge of the Rīga-Daugavpils road (A6), works with local fishermen, and grows herbs and greens in its own garden. Latvian cuisine: Cold soup, sorrel soup, chanterelle, soup, potato pancakes, filet of Daugava catfish, bream or pike-perch. |
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Nacionālā parka galvenā ainavas dominante. Ezers ir ~ 8,4 km garš un līdz 3,3 km plats. Tā austrumu krasti pārsvarā ir ar mežiem apauguši, ziemeļrietumu krasts – purvains, bet rietumu krastā parādās apdzīvotas sētas un simpātiskā Plateļu (Plateliai) pilsētiņa, kur meklējamas skaistākās skatu vietas. Ezera krastos ir labi attīstīta infrastruktūra - tūristu mītnes, ēdināšanas uzņēmumi (Plateļos), ūdenssporta un atpūtas inventāra noma. Ūdens dzidruma dēļ, Plateļu ezeru ir iecienījuši zemūdens niršanas entuziasti. Ezerā ir vairākas salas, no kurām interesanta ir Pils salas (Pilies sala), uz kuras no 15. – 16. gs. atradās muiža. Pastāv uzskats, ka senie Plateļu apkārtnes iedzīvotāji sākotnēji ir dzīvojuši uz salas, kuru ar krastu savienojis uz pāļiem celts tilts. Jāpiemin, ka 15 gs. pirmoreiz pieminētā Plateļu pilsētiņa atradusies uz Šventorkalņa (Šventorkalnis) kalna. Apkārt Plateļu ezeram ir izveidots ~ 24 km garš velomaršruts. Tā ir ļoti laba iespēja iepazīt parku videi un ceļotāja veselībai draudzīgā veidā. |
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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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Saimniecība piedāvā zirgu izjādes (ratos un mugurā), iespēja apskatīt dzīvniekus lauku sētā (zosis, vistas, truši, teliņi, kazas, aitas, suņi un kaķi). Pļavas ar ārstniecības augiem, mežs, dīķis, stārķu koks. Sarunas par dzīvi ar saimniekiem. Rīta rasas skaistuma procedūras, "varžu koris", tējas baudīšana seno ābeļu paēnā, ārstniecības augu vākšana kopā ar saimnieci. Telšu un piknika vietas (līdz 20 cilvēkiem). |
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