Daugava's Road

Aromatic coffee is produced here from chicory and on the basis of ancient recipes from grandma Alīda. All of the ingredients come from surrounding fields and forests. Roasted chicory coffee PAULĪNE (rye, chicory, carrots, acorns); roasted rye, chicory, and hemp coffee SĒLIJA (rye, chicory, carrots, hemp leaves); rye malt, chicory, and hop coffee VIESĪTE (rye malt grains, chicory, hops). Produce can be purchased.The owner will offer you a tour, during which you will be able to taste and buy her coffee.

This is Latvia’s first major hydroelectric power plant, and construction along the right bank of the Daugava began in 1936.  The plant was designed by the architect Eižens Laube.  The first hydro-aggregate (17 MW of capacity as the largest plant in Latvia) was switched on in 1939.  A second round of construction occurred between 1976 until 1979, the result being a new building on the left bank of the Daugava, increasing the capacity of the plant to 260 MW.  Another round of reconstruction occurred between 1998 and 2001 on the left bank of the Daugava (the HES-2 plant).  The Energy Museum is now there.

The complex dates back to the 17th and 18th century, when a fortress was replaced by a mansion and other buildings.  The rectangular yard that is in the centre of the state is surrounded by the mansion, two granaries with columns that were built opposite one another, a stable and a wheelhouse.  The stable and wheelhouse, the bell tower and the gate create the most impressive part of the buildings.  Bells were rung because of religious rituals, but also to inform people at the estate about everyday issues.  The silhouette of the building is reminiscent of cloisters, city halls and churches that were common in Europe in the 18th century.  In 1780, the estate was taken over by the family of Karl Otto von Löwenstern, and the mansion can only be viewed from the outside.  There is a hiking trail near the estate.

This is a unique example of industrial heritage – the only open munition factory in the Baltic States.  It includes Europe’s oldest pellet pouring tower, and it is still used for that purpose today.  Tours are available for those who contact the factory in advance, and a guide will lead groups through the factory, the tower and the museum.  Today the factory manufactures nine types of bullets for smooth-barrel weapons, as well as bullets for pneumatic weapons.  The products are exported to Germany and other countries.

The Kurmīši farm grows medicinal plants in an ecologically pure and lovely nature park, "Curves of Daugava," which is part of the protected landscape area "Augšdaugava." Since 1994, the farm has produced approximately 40 types of medicinal plants so as to ensure the preservation of the farm.  Enthusiasts and tourists can learn all about medicinal plants and how they are prepared.  After the tour, you can taste and purchase Kurmīši herbal teas, which taste the best if you add honey from local beekeeping operations.  Candles made of beeswax offer a special atmosphere.  The farm has areas for relaxation and a facility where the candles are made.  You can purchase a wide range of wax souvenirs and tour the beekeeping facility.  The owner also offers guided tours of the arm. 

The rock is along the main street of Krāslava and is found at Augusta Street 12.  After major reconstruction of the city’s infrastructure, the rock was successfully integrated into the surrounding landscape.  The rock is 2.8 m long, 2.2 m wide and 700 cm high.  It once served as a border stone for the village of Krāslava.  It was placed there in 1729 to commemorate the day when the noble Plater dynasty bought Krāslava.  The dynasty’s seal is engraved in the side of the rock along with the date when it was installed.  Legend has it that Polish King Augustus II dined at the rock after a hunt, and that is why it is known as Augustus’ Rock.

Established in 1900 at the place where the Pērse River flows into the Daugava (now the reservoir of the Pļaviņas hydroelectric power plant), the park offers a look at 17^th century Swedish cannons and monuments from Medieval graves.  Next to the high school in the park is a restored fountain, “Head of a Faun,” which was near the legendary Pērse waterfall during the 1930s.  The waterfall is now underwater, but its location is indicated by a stone sculpture, “Girl of Pērse,” which was created by the sculptor Juris Zihmanis.  A path leads to an 11 metre high wooden sculpture, “For Eternity,” by the sculptor Ģirts Burvis, and another sculpture, “Little Owl,” which is the work of the Rurāns brothers, both of whom are sculptors of wooden sculptures.

This is one of comparatively few castle hills along the banks of the Daugava River that is not overgrown with trees and bushes, which means that it has a classical castle hill form that is part of the local landscape.  The Dignāja castle hill was settled during several periods, particularly between the 5th and the 9th century AD, when it was an important centre.  Archaeologists have found that Lettigalian tribes lived here.  After the Holy Crusade invasion, the Livonian Order built a castle on the hill that has not survived.  It is said that there was once an underground passageway under the hill.  The hill itself offers a lovely view of the Daugava River valley.  World War I trenches have been preserved the area.  There was once a settlement at the foot of the hill.

A wooden church was built by local craftsmen here between 1655 and 1658.  Financed by the Plater aristocratic family, it was a miniature basilica, and this is seen as one of the oldest wooden churches in Latgale.  That makes it a unique cultural and historical monument.  The central altar has baroque wood carvings that were produced by masters from a local sculptural school.  The side altar includes a painting of Mary Magdalene from the mid-18th century.  The church was moved to its present location on the right bank of the Daugava in 1698.  It has been restored several times – in 1890 and 1918.  The stone wall that stretches around the church dates back to the late 17th century, and the freestanding bell tower was built in the mid-19th century.  It was restored in 2002.  According to various sources of information, the Indrica congregation is the oldest one in Latgale.

Materials of archaeological excavations show that the Ogre river banks were inhabited by the Livs. Ogre as a larger populated area and a major resort developed after the construction of Riga-Daugavpils railway in 1861. Until the World War I about 300 cottages offered their services in Ogre, most of them were destroyed during the war. The next "major" event took place 1965 when one of the largest knitwear plants in Europe was built in Ogre, which was staffed by guest workers from Vietnam and countries. Today, Ogre has still not recovered its glory of a resort, but has become a rather exclusive site of mostly low-rise residential buildings.

This is the only place in Latvia where you can tour a cellar in which the owner uses birch juice to prepare syrups, birch wine, sparkling wine (champagne), lemonade, and fermented birch juice. You can taste and buy the products.

This is the farm of a moderately wealthy Selonian farmer from the 19^th century. It features a residential building with a mantel chimney, two granaries, a threshing barn, a sauna, a windmill, a smithy, a steam locomotive and a threshing machine. Groups will enjoy thematic programmes such as “Crafts at the Selonian Farm,” “When Honey Melts on Your Tongue,” and “A Wedding at the Selonian Farm.”

The Eastern breakwater was installed in the mid-19th century to reduce silt in the river valley and to regulate the flow of water.  It is made of wooden pilings that are covered with rocks.  The breakwater is 2.2 km long and has been rejuvenated as a popular place for hiking, leisure and fishing throughout the year.  Birds can be watched from the breakwater, and sometimes people are lucky enough to spot a seal.  At the start of the breakwater are two rocks with engraved text to say that the site was visited by Russian Tsar Alexander II in 1856 and by his heir, Nikolai Alexandrovich, in 1860.  This points to the importance of the Rīga port in terms of Baltic Sea trade routes at that time.

Found at Rīgas Street 22A, this impressive building was suggested by Latvian President Kārlis Ulmanis and built in 1936 and 1937 after a design by the architect Verners Vitands.  It is seen as one of the most outstanding architectural monuments from the first period of Latvian independence, and it is said that it was once the most modern multifunctional building in all of Europe.  The building now houses the Daugavpils Theatre, the Latgale Central Library, the Latvian Cultural Centre, the Latvian House, the US Information Centre, the Daugavpils Tourism Information Centre and other institutions.  Unity Square is alongside the building, and beautiful compositions of flowers are nearby during the growing season.

Before its flooding, the canyon of the Daugava River between Pļaviņas and Koknese was one of the most outstanding and beautiful parts of the Baltic terrain, and Oliņkalns hill was one of the largest castle hills in Latvia.  The Andrejs cliff as up to 20 metres high, and it was part of the Daugava canyon.  Before the area was flooded because of the construction of the Pļaviņas hydroelectric power plant, there were rapids near the hill that made it hard for rafters to sail down the river.  Today it is a small island in the reservoir of the plant (it can be seen from the side of the Rīga-Daugavpils highway (A6) opposite Stukmaņi).  It is separated from the shore by 300 metres of river, under which the Dūņas valley is now resting.  A small part of the ramparts of the castle hill can still be seen on the island along with the ruins of an open-air stage and a few metres of the dolomite cliff that have remained above water.  It is thought that the Alene castle was on the hill in the 13th century.  Latvian mountain climbers installed a memorial stone in 1998 opposite Oliņkalns hill.

Jānis Jaunsudrabiņš (1877-1962) was a Latvian writer, painter and book illustrator, and he was one of Latvia’s first art critics.  The writer spent two years in Kaplava, where his experiences led to the novel “Highlanders.”  There is a memorial room in Kaplava, and alongside the building is a memorial stone.

This was an island after the Rīga hydroelectric power plant created a reservoir, and before that it was a peninsula on the Left Bank of the Daugava.  During World War I, there were massive battles between Latvian Riflemen and a much larger German army on Death Island.  On December 25, 1916, the Germans used poisonous gas against the Latvian troops.  In honour of this, the architect Eižens Laube designed a monument to fallen Latvian riflemen on the northern shore of Death Island.  It was unveiled in 1924.  Death Island can be reached by boat, and the trenches and graves there are of interest.  There is a pier for boats on the north-western shore of the island, and nearby is a location for leisure.  Some of the trenches and dugouts have recently been restored.  The battles were described by Aleksandrs Grīns in his masterpiece, “Snowstorm of Souls.”

The old wooden tower at this site was torn down and replaced with the one that is there now. The restored tower offers one of the loveliest views in Eastern Latvia – one of the eight curves of the Daugava. This is the Rozališki curve. Here you will get a whole new sense of the Daugava River and its mighty valley in a place where the waters of a hydroelectric plant bubble away in our present day and age. It is claimed that the scene that is seen on the 10 lats note is based on the view which can be seen to the West from the tower.

This nature park is one of the richest and most unusual nature parks in Latvia in terms of its natural resources, the surrounding environment, the landscapes, the biological diversity of the area, and the cultural monuments which are found there. The main treasure there is the little-changed Daugava River valley, where there are eight major curves in the river at a length of four to eight kilometres. There are also the gullies of river tributaries. Outstanding views can be found on the steep shores of the Daugava River valley, particularly the Slutiški and Ververi cliffs and the Elerne gravel hill. There are some 20 archaeological monuments on the shores of the valley -- ancient castle hills at Najene, Markova, Vecračina, etc., countless churches -- the Juzefova, Sprukti, Borovka, Elerne, Sīķele, Kaplava and other churches, the Rozališki, Lielborne and other baronia estates, and the unique village of Slutiški, which is home to the Old Believers. There are interesting nature trails and bicycling trails in the area. Horseback riding is available, and there is a viewing tower along with other elements for tourists. Boating down the Daugava River is an interesting way to spend time.

There are records to show that there has been a church at this location since the 17th century, and the current one was built between 1792 and 1794 by the chief construction specialist of the city of Rīga, Christopher Haberland.  He designed the cupola-shaped building, with the cupola ensuring good acoustics inside the building.  The altar is opposite the entrance door.  Between the columns of the building is an altar painting showing Christ and St Peter on a storm-ravaged sea.  Other important objects include chalices from the 18th or 19th century, candelabras, etc.  The building was restored in 2014.  To the South from it is the Katlakalns cemetery, which is the final resting place of the distinguished Baltic German writer Garlieb Merkel (1769-1850).  He was of great importance in ensuring the end of indentured servitude in Latvia.

The Krāslava Catholic Church was built between 1755 and 1767 after a design by the Italian architect A. Paracco, and it is considered to be Latgale’s most outstanding Baroque monument. The interior can be toured, and you can also visit the restored cemetery where members of the Plater family of noblemen are buried.

The Naujene castle hill is on the steep bank of the Daugava River, is up to 25 metres high and has two valleys on its sides.  Between 1275 and 1277, the master of the Livonian Order, Ernst von Ratzenburg, organised the construction of a brick castle to replace a Lettigalian wooden castle that had stood there before.  The castle had a drawbridge and an external and internal forecastle.  Until the middle part of the 16th century, the castle was the residence of one of the top officials in Dünaburg.  The forces of Ivan the Terrible sacked the castle in 1577, after which the location lost its strategic importance.  New fortifications were built in the location that is now the city of Daugavpils.  Alongside the ruins of the castle is a miniature model that helps to imagine the appearance of the location many centuries ago.  A well-appointed pathway leads from the car park to the castle hill.  The hill offers one of the loveliest views of the curvy Daugava River and its surrounding nature park.

The museum is in the mansion of the Dole Estate, which was built in 1898 for the Loeuwis von Menar dynasty.  The collection presents Daugava as an important water route, with the apparel of Baltic and Liv tribes, everyday objects, etc.  Outside the movement is equipment to catch lampreys and a reconstructed weir to catch salmon.  Alongside is a 17th century cannon from the Duchy of Courland that was found in the Misa River and was cast in Baldone.  Nearby are four cannons from the Russian tsar’s army.  Those were found on a building lot in Salaspils in 2007.

The central part of the town of Krāslava is an historical monument because its low-story and beautiful wooden buildings. The best views of the historical centre relate to the carp park near the Adamova trail, the Karņicskis hill, the bridge across the Daugava (Prospekta Street), and the Priedaine viewing tower on the left bank of the Daugava River.

An ancient Latgalian settlement. During the 10th century Kraslava district was under authority of the Prince of Polotsk, but the 13th century - under the authority of the Livonian Order. Until the beginning of 18th century it existed as a manor centre. In 1729 Kraslava was bought for 1400 thalers by Johan Ludvig Plater. Plater family ruled Kraslava for two centuries. In the of the18th century Platers began construction of Krāslava palace. After first division of Poland in 1772 Latgale was annexed to Russia. Kraslava began to perish. After construction of Riga - Daugavpils - Vitebsk railway (1865) economic life flourished again. Kraslava was little affected by the World War II, therefore, early wooden buildings of 20th century remained almost untouched.

Located at Daugavas Street 58 in Skrīveri, this was the first home of the Andrejs Upītis (1877-1970).  It was built in 1908, but the one that is there now was built on the foundations of the first one in 1921.  The building houses a museum which features the life and work of the writer, including the writing his great novel “The Green Earth.”  There is a garden around the building.  In 1952, Upītis gifted the house and garden to the state.  The museum offers tours and educational programmes.

This is a modern and contemporary centre, including an old and restored granary. It offers an exhibition hall, an historical exhibition, a shop where you can purchase crafts, and a conference hall. Craftspeople from the region work here, and you watch them at work or try your own hand at what they are doing.

The Western breakwater was finished in 1885 and stretches 860 metres into the sea.  Together with the Eastern breakwater it regulates the flow of water from the Daugava River into the sea, also reducing silt levels in the river.  The structure of the breakwater is based on piles that are strengthened with rocks.  The breakwater has been reconstructed and strengthened several times.  During the 19th century, it held a prison for offenders.  Approximately ½ of the breakwater has been restored with cement, but the rest of it is in fairly sad shape.  Polish King Stefan Báthory ordered the construction of a lighthouse alongside the Daugava in 1528, and the first map to show a lighthouse was produced in 1536.  A 1721 list of lighthouses in the Russian Empire notes a pile of rocks at the location upon which a fire was lit.  Later there were wooden and stone towers that were destroyed during wars.  The current Daugavgrīva lighthouse was built in 1957 and is 35 m high.  Its light can be seen at a distance of 18 nautical miles.

Found on the right bank of the Daugava where the little Karikste river flows into the Daugava, all that remains of the castle today is a set of ruined walls and foundations.  The castle was built by the Livonian Order in 1224, and it was inhabited until the mid-17^th century, when it was sacked during the Polish-Swedish war.  The ruins offer a good view of the local gravel road that goes along the right bank of the river valley.

This is a modern and contemporary centre, including an old and restored granary. It offers an exhibition hall, an historical exhibition, a shop where you can purchase crafts, and a conference hall. Craftspeople from the region work here, and you watch them at work or try your own hand at what they are doing.

Found in the western part of Daugavpils and on the banks of the Daugava River, this is almost the only fortress in Northern Europe that has been preserved since the first half of the 19th century.  Work on the fortress began in 1810, though it suffered much damage during the war of 1812 and because of flooding in 1829.  The fortress was of strategic importance in terms of its location, not least in terms of the battle against Napoleon’s forces.  It was consecrated in 1833, though construction work ended nearly half a century later, in 1878.  The fort is divided up into squares, with the Parade Field in the centre of the whole fortress.  After it lost its strategic importance in 1897, a warehouse was installed there.  Prior to World War I, General Jānis Balodis, Colonel Frīdrihs Briedis and others served at the local garrison.  In 1912, in honour of the centenary of the aforementioned war, a monument was unveiled in the park of the fortress.  During the Soviet occupation, Red Army units took over the fortress, and a technical aviation school was established there.  Even today, the fortress is a “city in a city.”  It has a residential area, though the buildings are quite shabby.  Both inside and outside the fortress are many elements that relate to military issues.  Right now fundamental work is being done to reconstruct the buildings, water pipelines and streets of the fortress.  The fortifications of the fortress are home to one of the largest colonies of bats in all of Latvia, and it is strictly forbidden to disturb them when they are asleep.  Major restoration of the fortress has included the establishment of the Mark Rothko Art Centre.  The distinguished artist was born in Daugavpils in 1903, when Latvia was still part of the Russian Empire.

Established in 1957, this is the first company to have produced the popular milk candies “Gotiņa.”  The tasty candy can be bought, and tours are available.  The owner of the company is the main candy master, and he is happy to talk about the complicated method by which the candy is produced.

The Dole is the largest island in the Daugava River, surrounded to the Northeast by the rapid waters of the Daugava and to the Southwest by calm and gradually overgrown waters from Dry Daugava.  The island is a specially protected nature park, established in 1986 to protect the landscape and cultural and historical values of the island in the wake of the construction of the Rīga hydroelectric power plant, as well as rare and protected species of plants and animals.  The island is also meant to provide education and leisure for visitors.  Best known on the island is the Daugava Museum, which is in the mansion of the old Dole Estate.  The museum features some 13,000 exhibits that speak to the history of the island and the river – Baltic and Livonian apparel, tools and household objects.  The exhibition also presents the Daugava as an important waterway and the related history of forms of transport and rafters.  In the park is an open-air exhibition with reconstructed lamprey eel traps and a barrier to fish salmon, along with a set of fishing tools.  A dolomite cliff is alongside the museum on the steep shore of the Dry Daugava.  The ruins of the Vecdole castle can be found on the south-eastern end of the island, near Bēči.

Found on the right bank of the Daugava, approximately half a kilometre upriver from the Skrīveri Agricultural Institute, the hill is in a place where the bank of the Daugava River Valley is split by the deep Ašķere stream valley.  The castle hill was occupied beginning in the first millennium BC, with antiquities from the Lettigalian and Livonian tribes found there.  During the 13th century, a brick castle was built on the hill, but it was sacked during the 17th century.  Nothing remains of the castle.  The castle hill is also known as Raven Hills, and it offers one of the most beautiful views of the central part of the Daugava.  In the direction of Rīga, there is a field with a white cross that represents an ancient church.  There is a hiking trail along the Ašķere stream.  The area is well improved with four trails.  The longest is the Daugava trail (10 km).

To view the Daugava River from a different perspective, visit the Liepkalni bakery, which offers tours in a Viking longboat that is called “Lāčplēsis” and can carry up to 24 people.  The Daugava has always been an important transport corridor for many species and animals that arrived in Latvia because of that, as well as for people and tribes that lived along the banks of the Daugava River and the shores of the Baltic Sea.

The farm features twelve friendly horses from Latvia, Lithuania and Belarus, as well as three eager dogs of various species, along with rabbits, chickens, cows and cats. Here you will feel the true country spirit in four adjoining farms – Klajumi, Ganiņi, Ķemeri and Krasti. The location is near the “Rings of the Daugava” Nature Park, and you can go horseback riding along the border between Latvia and Belarus.

Latvian cuisine: Schnitzel of mushrooms, potato dumplings with dried mushrooms or meat, cream sauce and onions, baked chanterelles with new potatoes, sautéed vegetables and mushrooms, strawberries with ice cream, moonshine liquor.

Special foods: Cranberry fool a la Klajumi

The museum was established in 1973 and has been in the Kalna Ziedi homestead since 1989.  The permanent exhibition is in a building that was erected in 1989 on the foundations of the former home, while the warehouse (1990) was built on the foundations of a cattle shed.  The exhibition hall (2000) was built where a granary once stood.  The only part of the former farm that remains in place is the cellar, but the placement of the buildings is typical for the layout of a farm in Vidzeme.  The collection of the museum speaks to the history of the administrative district, beginning with information about the Stone Age.  The open-air exhibition features beehives with marks of belonging, as well as rare round crosses that are monuments to Medieval cemeteries.  100 metres to the Northeast from the museum is the Kalna Ziedi castle hill, while 200 metres to the south are the remains of a sacrificial oak stump that was destroyed in 1994.  The location is on the edge of the reservoir of the Pļaviņas hydroelectric power plant and offers a broad view of the plant’s dam and the town of Pļaviņas.

Located on the right bank of the Daugava, the church can be seen from various parts of Piedruja.  The first wooden church was built at the instruction of Prince Jan Stapekha in 1632, and it burned down in 1759.  The Baroque stone church that is there now was built in 1759 with its two towers, and it may have been designed by an Italian architect.  The towers stand 27 m high, and under the church is a cellar.  The towers have three bells – the largest one dates back to 1711, the middle-sized one was manufactured in 1896, and the smallest dates back to 1619.  The largest bell weighs nearly 0.4 tonnes.  Inside the church are many important cultural and historical monuments, including a central wooden altar with a painting of the assumption of Mary, three 18th century altars, a pulpit from the early 19th century, St Anton’s altar, a fresco of the Holy Trinity, church dishes from the 17th century, etc.  The building is surrounded by a large garden with a stone fence and stone repositories at the corners of the garden.  Two priests, Kazimirs Konvalevskis and Broņeslavs Stefanovičs are buried here.  Stefanovičs played a major role in the restoration of the church after World War I.  The Piedruja congregation first emerged during the first half of the 17th century.

In the southern part of Līvāni, where Zemgales Street ends at the Daugava River, there is a fairly unusual and exotic form of transportation – one of three river crossings in Latvia.  Unlike the one in Līgatne, this one is operated by a motor, not the flow of the river.  It involves a cable across the river, and it is based on Soviet military pontoons that were used to build pontoon bridges for tanks.  The crossing point was established by its owners.