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This route passed along many places where events directly related to the emergence of the Latvian state and to the subsequent freedom battles occurred. The historical route from Rīga to Liepāja via Dobele, Saldus, Skrunda, Durbe and Grobiņa was used as long ago as the 13th century. People in the Kurzeme region of Latvia have always eat sea, river and lake fish, particularly smoked fish. Potted smoked cod, served in a clay pot, is a particular delicacy, as are smelts, sea pike, sprats, herring and salmon, available all year long. Ladies of the house bake tasty rye bread, sourdough bread and tasty carrot buns, and they also cook various porridges from barley. Dairy products, Summer Solstice cheese and “white butter” has an important role. Fresh goat milk cheese is prepared with dills and garlic, and goat milk cheese is also tasty. Menus will include local domestic fowl and meat dishes, including roasts, ribs, sausages, as well as more exotic dishes such as pig’s tongue and bull testicles. Fancy taverns will offer pheasant and wild game with mushrooms, lingonberries, juniper berries and wild herbs. In Kurzeme you will be greeted with delicious pies, sheet cakes, poppy seed pastries and honey cakes, biscuits with poppies and cranberries, dessert from rye bread, lingonberries or cranberries and sweet cream.Blackberry dumplings are popular. More unusual are marmalades made from wild plants such as mountain ash, cranberries and even fir needles. Slake your thirst with aromatic herbal teas with honey and enjoy a mug of beer or some homemade wine. |
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Another coastal defence battery was sited about 1,500 metres to the East of Lūžņa, where the Lūža River flows into the Baltic Sea. Remnants of Soviet-era buildings can still be seen there.
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In Metsanurme Village Centre you can see restored old threshing barn, limestone barn oven and few tools that were used ages ago. You could be also interested in seeing an outdoor exhibition which focuses on historical agricultural tools. All of this is made to look interesting to not only locals but also visitors. |
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Four-star hotel and restaurant of Vecgulbenes manor is located in a beautiful historic place, in a renovated horse arena building that was the largest closed arena in the Baltics. |
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The café is in the former administrative building of a collective farm in the centre of Gaigalava. It cooks dishes with ingredients from its own farm and others. |
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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 Joži farm is along the side of the Jaunpils-Viesata road in Jaunpils. It is one of the largest grain farms in Latvia (winter and summer grains, as well as rapeseed), and it was established in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Today the farm has 14 grain silos and is reconstructing its grain drying facility. The farm has some 5,000 ha of land and state-of-the-art farm equipment. Owners Gunvaldis and Guna Sproģis have been actively involved in various EU projects and have won various competitions such as the "Sower" competition. |
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72 types of wild rhododendrons with 193 different species
This is the only specialised rhododendron nursery in the Baltic States. Specialists there work on different kinds of rhododendrons, seeking to produce decorative and winter-resistant types of the flower. The nursery also sells plants. In the facility’s pine forest, which covers 11.8 hectares, you can see a large collection of rhododendrons from all over the world.
There are 64 winter-resistant types of rhododendrons at “Babīte,” including “Alma Mater,” “Academia Scientiarum,” “Emeritus,” “Eduards Smiļģis,” “Dita Krenberga,” and others (these were developed by Rihards Kondratovičs). All of these are appropriate for Northern Europe.
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The company is in a building that was built in 1911 and produces milk, kefir, buttermilk, cream, cottage cheese, sweet cottage cheese crèmes, butter, yogurt and cheese. A store alongside the co-operative offers Straupe Dairy Co-operative products, as well as cheeses manufactured by its partners – Smiltenes Dairy and SIA Latvijas Piens. This is one of five companies in Latvia that is allowed to manufacture one of the EU’s guaranteed traditional characteristics product, “Summer Solstice” cheese. The products have been awarded the “Green Teaspoon” and “Latvian Goodies” status. Group tours are offered a chance to taste the products and learn about the co-operative’s operations. |
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The owners have maintained a historical windmill (built in 1885) and its mechanisms. You can go on a tour of the structure, look at the mechanisms of the mill and taste local baked goods and country bread. |
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The monument is on a hillock along the lovely shores of Lake Alūksne and alongside Pleskavas Street (P 40). The monument was unveiled on June 20, 1923, by Latvian President Jānis Čakste and was designed by the sculptor Jūlijs Miesnieks. It features a shield with crossed words, and the text reads “For fallen soldiers from the 7th Sigulda regiment, 1919-1920), and on the other side there is a text “Better to take my head than our fatherland.” The monument was torn down during the Soviet occupation (1953) and restored in 2009. |
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The church has a non-traditional design and layout: the altar is in the middle but the pulpit- above the altar. The church has also an original bell tower with a bell casted in 1634. The present wooden interior was created by the students of Riga Crafts High School. Next to the church there are ruins of the old church and the rectory where at the end of the 18th century as a tutor worked Garlieb Merkel who in Liepupe observed events used in his famous book "Latvians". |
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The viewing tower is in a seaside meadow near Mērsrags. It is an unusual type of biotope in Latvia and is located to the North of the Mērsrags port. The tower offers a good view of reed-filled meadows, areas where wild cattle have grazed, and an amazing wealth of different kinds of plants. |
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The tower is in the western part of the Vasenieki swamp, and an interesting nature trail with information stands and pathways was recently established there. The tower offers a look at unique swampland – visitors can survey the entire swamp. Wear proper footwear when it is damp outside!
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This tour includes a walk along the Baltic Sea coast Lithuania through the Curonian Spit from Nida to Smiltynė (see a detailed description under tour No. 9) and continues further north from Klaipėda to Šventoji located at the Lithuanian/Latvian border. Klaipėda and Palanga are popular seaside resorts with lots of pubs, hotels, street cafés and musicians. Klaipėda is the only port city and the third largest city in Lithuania. Šventoji is also a popular seaside town located next to the mouth of the river Šventoji. Between Klaipėda and Palanga, the Baltic Coastal Hiking Route leads through the Seaside Regional Park (Lithuanian: Pajūrio regioninis parkas). It was founded for the protection of coastal and marine landscapes, biodiversity and local cultural heritage. The most famous place of the seaside is the Dutch Hat (also called Dutch Cap, Dutchman’s Cap or Holland’s Cap) – a 20 m high cliff, which used to serve as a landmark and guide for seafarers and fishermen. |
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The national park was established to protect the 100 or so small islands that make up the archipelago of the local area. The largest island, the Vilsandi Island, is 6 km long and up to 2 km wide. You can rent a boat to get there, or, during appropriate conditions, you can walk across the sea and the small islands from the southern end of the Kuusnõmme peninsula.
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Reškutenu (Reškutėnai) ciema apkārtnē ir atjaunots neliels mitrājs, kura malā uzcelts putnu vērošanas tornis. Ja paveicas, pavasaros te var dzirdēt vai redzēt tādas retas un aizsargājamas putnu sugas kā ķikutu Gallinago media, ormanīti Porzana porzana, melnkakla dūkuri Podiceps nigricollis, griezi Crex crex u.c. Ciema ainava īpaši pievilcīga ir pieneņu un ābeļu ziedēšanas laikā. No putnu vērošanas torņa var redzēt vietas, kur akmens laikmetā dzīvojuši cilvēki. Blakus esošajā purvainajā pļavā bijis ezera līcis, kur tika būvēti ciemati līdzīgi kā Āraišu ezerpils gadījumā. |
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Covered with rocks and with small capes and inlets, this is the eastern shore of the Bay of Rīga and the only place in Latvia where sandstone outcrops are found. These are the result of the abrasive effects of waves between Tūja and Vitrupe. Among the most distinguished of these outcrops are the Veczemi cliffs, which are less than half a kilometre long and up to four metres high. The area has been improved for tourists. It has to be said that this part of the shoreline changes very often, particularly after large storms.
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Here you can cross a swamp without getting your feet wet and enjoy the local environment, which has been little touched by humankind. You can take the dam of the former Smiltene-Valmiera-Ainaži narrow gauge railroad. It crosses the swamp from the South-East to the North-West and is three to four km in length. There is also a circular wooden pathway on the eastern side of the dam. The length of the trail (including the dam) is around 5km, and it will take 90 minutes to two hours to traverse. The area is covered by environmental restrictions.
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Atrodas pie tilta (Akadēmijas iela 1) pār Lielupi. 1574. g. pēc Kurzemes – Zemgales hercoga Gotharda Ketlera pavēles uzsāk jaunas baznīcas celtniecību. Dievnama tornis tapa laikā no 1686. g. – 1688. g., bet 1862. g. to paaugstināja līdz 80,5 m. Baznīca nodega padomju aviācijas uzlidojuma laikā 1944. g. 27. jūlijā. 1954. g. Padomju armijas sapieri uzspridzināja ēkas atliekas. 2009. g. sākās baznīcas torņa rekonstrukcija un šobrīd tajā izveidots izcils interaktīvais muzejs (īpaši draudzīgs bērniem) un stiklota skatu platforma. |