The town of Subate was first listed in documents in 1570, when Duke Gotthard Kettler of the Duchy of Courland sold the Subāte marketplace to Count G. Plater-Sieberg. When the Plater-Sieberg dynasty converted to Catholicism in the mid-17^th century, Lutherans in Subate protested by moving to the eastern bank of Lake Subate. That was the property of the Prode Estate (only ruins remain at this time), which was owned by the Osten-Sacken dynasty. In 1685, the Osten-Sackens built a Lutheran church for the “refugees,” and Jaunsubate was established around it. Both parts of the town were merged again in 1894. During Latvia’s liberation battles in 1919, Subate was liberated by Lithuanians, at which time the town was divided up between Latvia and Lithuania (though the border between the two countries was set at the previous line in 1921). The historical centre of Subate was established between the 16^th and the 19^th century, and it includes four churches for various congregations and low wooden buildings which stretch along narrow and curvy streets. The town is on the shores of a sub-glacial depression with Great Lake Subate and Lesser Lake Subate therein. This provides the town with unusual landscapes for Latvia.

The Grey Dune of Pāvilosta nature reserve covers 42 hectares of land and has been designated to protect Latvia’s widest dune (1.5 km parallel the seacoast, and 812m in the direction from the sea to inland) and the biotopes and species found there. A two-storied watching platform is built to savour the scenery.

 In Soviet time, local fishermen used to dry seaweed in dunes for production of agar, and thus rich vegetation developed in the dune. The Gray Dune is part of a unique landscape with the sea view, the traditional architecture of Pāvilosta fishing town, and biotopes, including protected, which border the nature reserve: pine forest, embryonic dunes, white dunes, and wet beech where once can find springs. Biotope 2130, “Fixed dunes with herbaceous vegetation (grey dunes)” is found here. At present, pines are taking over the biotope, therefore some maintenance activities are required. The Grey Dune is most beautiful in the second half of July and in August when the blossoming Breckland Thyme (Thymus serpyllum) and Narrowleaf Hawkweed (Hieracium umbellatum) colour the dune in shades of yellow and violet. The most typical species here are Pasqueflower (Pulsatilla pretense), Grey Hair-grass(Corynephorus canescens), Blue Hair Grass (Koeleria glauca), Sand Pink (Dianthus arenarius).

The Gray Dune earned wide recognition when a group of enthusiasts actively campaigned for six years to achieve the status of the nature reserve. Guna Grimsta, a group representative remembers that they organised events and activities throughout Latvia involving large part of the society, prominent personalities, church parishes, NGOs, school youth and university students. The activists were writing letters, making videos, doing research articles, composing music, collecting signatures and submitting proposals to achieve official status of the Grey Dune as an especially protected nature site. They organised seminars, concerts, art plenaires and exhibitions, educational excursions, joint-work, musical church services, meetings with high officials and their on-site visits to the Gray Dune.

In 2006 the group received the title „Proudness of Latvia” awarded by the national TV3 broadcasting company and daily paper „Diena”.
The nature reserve „Gray Dune of Pāvilosta” was established in October 30, 2007. It is the most recent Natura2000 site in Latvia.

Through sauna rituals and various herbs,  here you can get rid of stress, tiredness, improve your health and energise your spirit. The body is refreshed and immunity is increased. Various massages, scrubs and mud masks. 
Facilities: White and Black saunas, hot tub, blacksmith's, where you can try your hand too.

Lauku sētas atrodas pie upītes, ciema nomalē, kas jau izsenis bijusi mājvieta biškopjiem. Vieta piemērota mierīgai atpūtai. Izglītojošas nodarbības ikvienam, kas ir ieinteresēts Dzūkijas kulinārajā mantojuma, amatniecībā un tradīcijās. Maizes cepšana, pīrāgi ar sēnēm, olu rotāšana ar vasku, pinumi no salmiem. Vakarēšana ar dzuku dziesmām un dejām. Tautastērpu izgatavošana gan bērniem, gan pieaugušajiem.

The manor’s castle was built in the middle of the 18th century (belonging to the noble kin of baron Medem) as a huntsmen castle. Later, in the 19th century, it was rebuilt by adding a second floor. The kitchen was situated in the vaulted basements of the castle and when the food was ready, it was brought upstairs in the elevator. The gantry entrance of the castle (late baroque) and marble buttons above it picturing the coat of amrs of the union of Medem and Keizerling noble kins, is one of the most valuable example of arts monuments of the 18th century. To this day there are various  outhouses preserved- a  threshing barn, a granary and a smithy, as well as the park. In front of the castle one can see a magnificent oak, which was supposedly planted by K.Ulmanis. From 1837 the manor’s castle has also served as a place for Vilce primary school. 

The Pīlādži farm is in the Durbe Parish of the Durbe Administrative District.  It is primarily a grain farm, but also breeds livestock and grows flowers and vegetables.

Die älteste (16 Jh.) der drei Burge am Fluss Nemunas. Renoviert nach dem 2. Weltkrieg. Heutzutage – eine Schule. Ein Park. Blick vom Burgturm.

Vāldamõ – a residential building that is yellow and has natural roofing materials.  It was built as a new farm at the beginning of the last century.  Virgo is the next homestead to the North from Vāldamõ, and it was established as a new farm in the 1920s.  The house (1930) features interesting wood carvings.  Next to the North is Fīlmaņi, which has a building that appears antique, but was built in the early 20th century as a single roof.  Silkalni is the homestead that we find if we turn to the right toward Pitrags at the crossroads.  The yellow building was built around 1906 as a single room.  Norpiedagi is to the South from Silkalni – a brown and larger house than the previous one.  The home was built around 1906 as a one-room granary by the active Liv public activist and boat builder Diriķis Volganskis (1884-1968).  His son, Edgars Valgamā, who was also a Liv cultural activist and worked as a pastor in Finland, was born here.  Anduļi can be found at the aforementioned crossroads.  This is one of the largest old farms in the village, and it is owned by the village elder.  The history of the homestead was first recorded in 1680, when it was called Kūkiņi.  The homestead includes a residential building (c. 1909), a threshing barn (1905), a granary (mid-19th century), and a smokehouse made of a boat that was cut in two.  Under the part of the threshing barn which is on the back of the dune, there is the medieval, so-called Plague cemetery.  Žoki is a homestead that is on the other side of the road from Anduļi.  The building that is there now was built on the foundation of an older one.  In the mid-19th century, Žoki was home to the first reading school for Liv children from the seashore villages of the Dundaga region.  Liv Nika Polmanis (1823-1903) worked there as a teacher.  Next to the North of Žoki is the Tilmači homestead, with several buildings that were built in the late 19th and early 20th century – a brown residential building, a stable and part of a granary.  When the residential building was restored, the owner found a board reading "1825. Kurlyandskaya gubernya."  The seven historical homesteads and buildings were at one time considered for listing on the UNESCO list of world heritage.