The centre was opened in 2018 with the aim of facilitating tourism in Alsunga and the historical Suiti territory and to offer information about the district, thus establishing a positive and attractive image for Alsunga and the historical territory in Latvia and abroad.

For the first time, Balvi as populated area was mentioned in 1224. In the turn of 19th and 20th century, Balvi as manor and the parish centre formed as a larger settlement. During the Latvian freedom fights in 1919 Balvi was a place of establishment of Latgale guerrilla regiment. In 1926 Balvi obtained village rights, but by the 1928 became a town. During the World War II, while retreating, the German burnt down Balvi almost completely. People of Balvi are proud that the sun rises here about three minutes earlier than in the capital. Also the centre of the town has changed over the recent years.

Ancient Scandinavian gravesites are found near Grobiņa at the Liepu alley (as are the ancient Priediena graves). The skeleton, fire and hillock graves date back to the 4^th to the 10^th century. A dig in 1987 led to the discovery of a unique and richly ornamented gravestone from the 8^th or 9^th century which was produced in honour of a fallen Scandinavian soldiers. It is now housed at the Liepāja Museum of History and Art and is the only discovery of its kind in the south-eastern reaches of the Baltic Sea.