Last visit to Sigulda. Tourist routes around Sigulda
We decided to get to Sigulda as early as possible, but at the same time we really didn’t want to get up early. The choice fell on the minibus, which departs from Riga at 9 o’clock. And in two hours it delivers you to the Sigulda Bus Station. For me, the name of this city is associated with the bobsleigh and luge track. After studying the materials, it turned out that the city is rich in its history, and is interesting for its castles, which have been preserved, albeit partially.
A little history. Sigulda is located on the banks of the winding Gauja - the most beautiful river in Latvia. People have settled in these picturesque places since ancient times. In the II-III millennia BC. e. Finno-Ugric tribes lived here, engaged in hunting and fishing. Until the end of the 12th century, Sigulda was inhabited by Livs. The territory was then conquered by German crusading knights. At the same time, the division of Sigulda took place: one bank went to the Livonian Order of the Sword, and the other went to the Riga Episcopate. During the Livonian War, or more precisely, in 1562, the Poles took possession of Sigulda; during the Polish-Swedish War, the city came under Swedish rule. All these strife, as well as the Great Northern War and the plague, caused enormous damage to Sigulda. But she survived and continues to develop."
The route of our hike around the city and its surroundings began from the Bus Station. The route is on the map maps.google.ru/maps/ms?msid=2… If you arrived at the railway. station, then we pass through the station square and Ausekla street. Directly in front of us is the post office building, we go around it on the right and move along Raina Street. On the left side we will see the Bus Station. In the same building there is a tourist information center, where you can get maps of the city and surrounding area, get the necessary information, and if you want to book an excursion or come up with an entertainment option. Let's go through the bus station to get out on the opposite side. Here, near the bus station, we will see an interesting sculpture “Wind Bell”. Inside the concrete bell there are 8 bells. From the wind they play their melody. The sculpture was installed in 2007 in honor of the city’s eight hundredth anniversary.
Let's go back to Raina Street and turn left. We move to the intersection with Pils street. Here at the intersection there is a park of keys. Three huge keys resting on a stone wall and arches - a symbol of three historical centers surrounding areas - Sigulda, Turaida and Krimulda. Opened in honor of the 800th anniversary.
At the next intersection with Cesu Street there is another interesting park (on the left as you go) - a walking stick park. Opened in honor of the city's most famous souvenir. Making walking sticks is an ancient craft passed down from generation to generation. This history goes back more than 200 years.
On the right as you move along will be the Sigulda Evangelical Lutheran Church. It was first mentioned in chronicles in the 15th century as the Church of St. Bertulis. The current church (lat. Siguldas luterāņu baznīca) on Baznīca iela was built at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries, and the bell tower with a pencil-sharp dome was added to it in 1930. During Soviet times (from 1965 to 1990) it was the only functioning church in the entire district.
We go further and on the right we pay attention to the peculiar sculptural group “Parade of Knights”. On a small platform, knights painted black are assembled from various pieces of iron. Instead of heads there are stones, the rest of the organs are depicted just as realistically. Each knight has his own name. Having hugged the knights, we merged with them.
And now we come to the places that are described in many reference books dedicated to Sigulda. Behind the bars of the beautiful gates the new Sigulda Palace peeks out. Although this is not a castle at all, but simply a two-story main house of the estate, built not so long ago - in 1878-1881 according to the design of the architect J. Mengelis for the owners of the estate, the princes Kropotkin. The original four-story tower, which gave the building an even greater resemblance to a castle, was added in 1937.
So it would be more correct to call the “New Sigulda Castle” the Sigulda Palace complex or the Sigulda Manor complex. Before Latvia’s annexation to the USSR, the Latvian Society of Journalists was located here, in Soviet times (since 1953) the cardiological sanatorium “Sigulda”, and now the Sigulda Regional Council.
On the territory of the estate there is a fairly large and very well-kept park with alleys, flower beds, various sculptural compositions, including a bronze monument to the Latvian linguist and teacher Atis Kronvald.
Just behind the palace is the Old Sigulda Castle. Sigulda Castle is one of the medieval castles in Sigulda (Latvia), built in the early stages of the conquest of the Baltic lands by the crusaders. Construction works The construction of the castle began by order of the first Master of the Order of the Sword, Winno von Rohrbach, in 1207 on the territory of one of the former Liv settlements on the banks of the Gauja River. Almost immediately it became a bone of contention - in 1236 it was captured by the knights of the Livonian Order and a new confrontation broke out - between them and the Bishop of Riga, who “in revenge” built his castle opposite - in Turaida.
During the Livonian War of 1558-1583, battles between Russian, Polish and Swedish troops took place here; the Poles won, capturing the castle. However, the Swedes did not give up and thoroughly battered the castle during the war at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries, and Sigulda passed from hand to hand for another century and a half. In the end, the Russians decided to restore order near their borders and, during the Northern War, annexed these lands to Russian Empire, completing the task of turning the castle into ruins and making an estate out of the almost completely ruined Sigulda, which a little later (in 1737) was given to one of the royal nobles. This nobleman was Field Marshal General Pyotr Petrovich Lassi. Subsequently, the castle passed from hand to hand along the family line on the female side.
In 1867, by decision of the owner family, the family coat of arms of the von Borchows was built into the gate tower of the castle. Before this, the owners took care of thoroughly strengthening the once monumental castle complex. At the same time, two arches were built to strengthen the interiors. The remains of this castle complex continued to amaze the imagination of contemporaries, inspiring such popular Russian writers as Alexander Aleksandrovich Bestuzhev-Marlinsky, who worked in the concept of romanticism, which involved an appeal to the images of medieval castles of Livonia.
What has survived to this day from the castle is the monumental gate tower, the bridge to it, the North Tower, and fragments of the walls of the castle chapel, which are laid out of roughly hewn limestone (“ white stone") - in it you can schematically see vaults and window openings made in the early Gothic style. The chapel also preserved in fragmentary form elements of interior decoration (in particular, the supporting beams (consoles) of the vaults) and individual elements of the design of the castle facades (meaning the original cruciform niche, updating the religious aspect, invariably present in Gothic sacred architecture). The tower itself, which is a regular quadrangle in plan, was erected around 1400 during the time of the Master of the Livonian Order, Willemar von Bruggenoe, to replace the previous one, which was not so massive and inspiring hope. As building material according to the old tradition of order castle architecture, a roughly rounded heavy boulder was used, which is objectively considered the most durable, resistant, and, of course, safe material compared to many others.
A stage was built inside the castle and now concerts are held here. You can now climb the restored walls of the Gate and North Tower. For ease of inspection, special stairs and flights were built.
After visiting the castle, we walked through the park of the New Sigulda Castle onto the road leading to the bridge over the Gauja River. The road winds down to the river. From the bridge there are magnificent views of the river and the banks covered with forest.
We continue moving along the road. We reach a clearing and, crossing it, we run into a serpentine road that will lead us to the ruins of the Krimulda medieval castle. The serpentine road was built back in 1862 for the visit of Russian Tsar Alexander 2.
Let's climb the serpentine road to the very top. There will be signs right in front of us. In front of them you need to turn right and you will see the ruins and the castle wall. The ruins of Krimulda Castle appear as they were a hundred and two hundred years ago - overgrown with bushes and trees, quiet and deserted - as if sleeping.
Although, of course, there is nothing special to look at - the foundation of the castle wall along the perimeter and the only surviving fragment of it above the steep cliff. On this remnant (or rather, reconstruction) of the stone wall, two openings of Gothic windows are visible, a small loophole near the ground and even a dormer window - this is on the outside, and inside (if you can call the back side of a lonely wall that way - there are several more windows and former gates located now below ground level, it is quite possible to climb around the ruins, if, of course, you are not afraid to break your neck. After examining the wall, you can walk north along the foundation of the castle to a small observation deck (from which, however, you can see little) and then go down along the wooden ones. up the steps into the Gauja valley, heading towards the caves...
In the meantime, let’s go read the history of Krimuldas Castle (Krimuldas pilsdrupas). It was founded in the second half of the 13th century at the direction of the Riga Dome Chapter, and after construction was completed, Sigulda received three castles, which have come down to us in one form or another.
However, Krimulda Castle (its real name is Cremon) was initially built not as a military citadel (it had only two small turrets for defense), but rather as a residence for receiving distinguished guests. In 1601, the Swedes easily captured it, but during a quick retreat they burned it, in the full sense of the word, leaving behind no stone unturned...
Only in 1861, the then owner of Krimulda, Count Lieven, began to carry out excavations on the territory of the castle and even, apparently, showed them to Emperor Alexander II, who visited Krimulda in July 1862. In those same years, thanks to the fashion for ancient ruins, the fragments of the wall I mentioned were restored on the previous foundations, and so successfully that they are perceived by many as originally ancient.
Here we are at the observation deck. From here you can clearly see Turaida Castle. Further along the steps we will start back into the river valley. On the way we will cross the Vikmestes River. The river was previously the natural border of the Turaida and Krimulda lands. There is a nice bridge across the river, which will serve as a place for photos.
We go out into the open. To our left is a high cliff. There are inscriptions everywhere on the clay wall. Many date back to the last century. And here is the first cave in front of us. This is the Maza Cave (during the Soviet Revolution). It is located on the right bank of the Gauja River, at the foot of the main slope of the ancient Gauja valley. The depth of the cave is 14 meters, the width at the entrance is 7.7 meters, the volume is 25 m3. The height of the cave at the entrance is 2 meters and decreases with each meter. After walking a few steps, you need to bend down, take another step or two and you can only move forward on all fours. If you lie down, then by the light of a flashlight, you can see an island sparkling in the water. Further on, the ceiling of the Maza cave no longer decreases, but at a height of 30 cm it extends five to six, perhaps more, meters deep. The end of the cave is not visible. A spring flows from the depths of the cave.
In 1957, proclamations issued in 1932 and directed against the bourgeois government of Latvia were found in the cave - therefore the cave was called the Cave of the Revolution. In 1990, the cave again became known as Maza.
Let's walk 150 meters. And before us is the most famous cave of Sigulda. Gutman's Cave is the largest cave in the Baltic countries. It is probably impossible to say anything new about Gutman’s cave. Perhaps, proudly tell you that you also left your painting on its walls (without saying that for this you had to erase writings from a hundred years ago). We did not do this, but rather enjoyed looking for the oldest inscription. We managed to find a record from 1811.
The cave is really beautiful. Its walls (as well as the surrounding stones, slopes, and other surrounding caves and cliffs) are filled with inscriptions left by visitors over the centuries. These walls consist of dense red sandstone, formed in the Devonian period, more than 400 million years ago.
A clear and cold stream flows out of the cave and flows into the Gauja, which flows nearby.
As for romance, according to one version, in ancient times, the leader of the Livs named Rindaug ordered a beautiful but unfaithful wife, who did not wait for him back from the war, to be walled up in a rock. The walled-up wife sobbed bitterly; her tears formed a clear stream, which then gnawed out the cave.
The most famous legend is that of Maya, known as the Rose of Turaida. The most beautiful one in the area was engaged to the local gardener. Every evening they met at this cave. As usual, a local rich man fell for the beauty and tricked Maya into calling her to the cave. When the rapist had already grabbed her, she, realizing that she would not be able to escape, offered him a ransom for herself. He asked what they were talking about. In response, Maya gave the villain her red scarf, which was tied around her neck. She explained that the scarf was enchanted, and that no one could hurt someone who wore the scarf.
The officer expressed doubt that the scarf was magical, but Maya offered to test its power by again tying the scarf around her neck and offering to hit her with a sword. The rapist decided that the handkerchief was indeed enchanted, since the girl offered to stab her without fear. He took the sword and struck Maya on the neck, killing her on the spot.
At the sight of the murdered girl, he woke up, sobbed bitterly, rushed into the forest and hanged himself there with a sword belt.
A young man in love, who came on a date and saw his beloved dead, was accused of murder, and only the confession of the rapist’s accomplice saved him from the gallows.
After the funeral, a cross was placed on the grave of the Turaida Rose, and the beloved young man left for Württemburg, where he was born.
Over the centuries that have passed since the death of Maya, the story has acquired various mystical details and has become a legend - one of the most famous legends in Latvia.
In addition, they also talk about the healer Gutman (Gutermann - from the German “good man”), who treated many people with the help of water from a stream. The cave was named in honor of Gutman.
FROM the cave we will return to the road along which we will need to climb to the very top. To the right of us we will see the entrance to the Turaida Museum-Reserve, and to the left there is a bus stop, where you can return to Sigulda and trays with souvenirs. For lovers of souvenirs, we recommend buying them here. The choice is larger and cheaper. About visiting the castle and continuing the walk in the next part.
Sigulda is a small town and a wonderful holiday destination, located in the picturesque Gauja National Park. Here you will find a relaxing holiday surrounded by pristine nature, nature reserves, castles and palaces from the Middle Ages, as well as places for active recreation and entertainment.
In this article we will tell you about hiking routes in Sigulda and its surroundings, as well as what to do and what you can see in Sigulda in one day with or without children.
Hiking routes in Sigulda and its surroundings
In addition to walks around the city itself, Sigulda has prepared several walking routes in the surrounding areas of the city.
In the photo, a map of Sigulda routes with all the attractions:
Such a card can be obtained free of charge at the Sigulda Tourist Information Center, located in the building of the Auto and Railway Stations, at the address: st. Ausekļa iela 6, Sigulda, entrance from the city side from the station square.
In red on the map Above is the route through the city of Sigulda itself, with all its attractions: the key square, the cane park, the Sigulda Evangelical Lutheran Church, the White Castle, the Sigulda Castle of the Livonian Order, etc. The route is picturesque and interesting, the city hides a lot of hidden places.
Particularly beautiful, it includes the New and Medieval castles, as well as the creative quarter of Sigul Castle.
We recommend everyone to take a walk along this route, or rather not even along the route, but around the city of Sigulda, regardless of how far you came to the city. We talked about a walk around Sigulda and its main attractions earlier.
After walking through the center of Sigulda, you have the opportunity to go along two different routes - green or burgundy-lilac.
Green route on the map small in length. Walking along it you will go deeper into the Gauja National Park, where you can enjoy wild nature. This route includes a visit to Paradise Mountain, the Krauklu (Voronov) cave and gorge, the Satesele settlement and Petra Cave.
Burgundy-lilac route longer than the green one, its length is 5 kilometers in one direction. In addition, this is the most picturesque and visited route in Sigulda. We walked along it and received a lot of unforgettable impressions, we recommend it!
By choosing this route you will be able to ride a cable car, enjoy the clean fresh air and nature of the Gauja Park, visit the Krimulda estate and the ruins of the Krimulda medieval castle, the Gutman Cave, which is associated with a romantic cave, go to the most visited museum in Latvia - the Turaida Museum-Reserve, on the territory where the famous Turaida stone castle is located. About a walk along this route and all its places of interest.
And finally, route marked in blue on the map(first photo in this article), the one on the left. To walk along it you need to return again to the Sigulda station square. Following this route you will see the Royal Throne, the Piken cliff, the small Devil’s Cave and the rocks of the Devil’s Cave. On the way to this route you will come to the bobsleigh and luge track and the Forest Cat adventure park.
What can you do in one day in Sigulda
In one day in Sigulda you can have time to walk around the city and follow one of the suggested routes. We would recommend the longest route, with Gutman's Cave and Turaida Museum-Reserve. Although you can choose any other of the proposed routes to your own taste.
To take one of the routes in time, you need to arrive in Sigulda early in the morning and expect to spend the whole day in the city. About the best way to get from Riga to Sigulda and back.
Having visited Sigulda, we were convinced from our own experience that one day is very little for such a charming town, with a lot of beautiful historical and natural places. We haven't seen so much in one day yet. Conclusion: for Sigulda you need at least three days. But if you only have one day in Sigulda, then it doesn’t matter either, choose your route and follow it, one day is enough for that.
One day with children in Sigulda
In Sigulda, you can take a walk around the city with children and visit one of two adventure parks.
First - adventure park "Tarzan" located near the cable car. But in the photo with the map he is number 11. In the Tarzan Adventure Park there is an obstacle course for children and adults with more than 100 different obstacles placed in the trees, a carousel lift, trolleys, a track that works on the principle of a roller coaster, a catapult, a rotor, a giant swing in the trees , a climbing wall, large trampolines, velomobiles, tube rides, attractions - archery, and a separate area for picnics. The Tarzan Adventure Park is located at: Sigulda, Peldu Street 1.
Photo taken near the cable car
Second, Adventure Park "Forest Cat". To get to this park you need to follow the blue route, the park is number 25 on the map. This park offers obstacles, cables, nets, bridges of various designs, swings, beams, ropes and ladders, as well as rope flights, volleyball a playground, a guest house built in Alpine style, a sauna complex, a tavern and seminar rooms. In winter, there is a ski slope in the park. The Lena Cat adventure park is located at Sigulda, Senču Street 1.
A touch of almost a thousand years of history awaits visitors to Turaida Castle in Sigulda. An unusual exhibition, part of which is located in the open air, allows you not only to get acquainted with the eventful history of the region, but also simply to admire the picturesque landscape, against which there are ruins and ancient buildings.
Bishop Philip of Ratseburg was the first to lay the foundation stone of the castle-fortress, and in 1214 the construction of the majestic structure was completed. It could not stand to this day, since the fire of 1776 destroyed it almost completely. But a rural estate was built on this land in the 19th century, completely preserved.
Over the past 50 years, not only scientific research of the castle has been actively carried out, but also restoration work. Visitors can not only get acquainted with the exhibition of the museum-reserve, but also climb the 26-meter observation tower to admire the beauty and grandeur of the castle rising from the ruins. The South and North Towers, some walls and living quarters have already been restored, in which you can examine antiquities found on the territory.
Time and cost of visit
The museum is open:
- from November to March from 10 to 17 hours, in April until 19 hours.
- from May to September from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., in October until 7 p.m.
In the summer, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., all expositions are open, and during the remaining hours only the territory of the reserve, the main tower and the tower-shaped southern building are open.
Cost of visit:
- winter period: adults 3€, schoolchildren – 0.70€, family ticket 2+2 – 6.40€, 1+2 – 3.70€
- summer period: adults 5€, schoolchildren – 1.50€, family ticket 2+2 – 10.70€, 1+2 – 6.40€.
Preschoolers can visit for free.
Organized sightseeing tour in a group of up to 30 people for 1.5-2 hours in Russian, English or German languages costs 35.57€, thematic for 30-40 minutes - 14.23€.
Various museum programs are organized, for example, “Visiting the Turaida Vogt”, which will cost a group of adults 66.87 €, schoolchildren 35.57 €, students - 49.80 €. Read about other programs on the official website.
How to get there
From the Sigulda railway station you need to walk 3 km or take a bus towards Krimulda to the Turaida stop on the P8 highway, and there is also a cable car to the castle.
Sigulda is an ancient Latvian city, located in the middle of the Gauja Park, one of the main attractions of Latvia.
I couldn’t fit a story about Sigulda and its surroundings into one article; there are too many interesting things here.
Therefore, first we will walk around the city, examine the Sigulda castle of the Livonian Order and the Kropotkin estate, ride the cable car from Sigulda to Krimulda, see the sanatorium and the remains of an ancient fortress in Krimulda.
And in the second essay, we’ll talk about.
The entire route can be covered within a day. So let's go!
Sigulda, how to get there, Riga - Sigulda.
From Riga to Sigulda it is only 51 kilometers, and you can get there in several ways:
by personal car on the A2 highway or by taxi (40-45 minutes);
by bus from the central bus station (buses run from 06.30 to 23.00 at intervals of 1 hour, ticket costs 2.50-2.70 €, travel time 70-90 minutes);
by train from the railway station (direction Riga-Sigulda, Riga-Valga, Riga-Cesis to Sigulda station; trains run from 06.15 to 21.35; ticket price – 2.35 €; travel time – 75 minutes).
Our choice is the train.
Sigulda.
Sigulda is a city in Latvia with many historical, architectural and natural attractions. Our journey begins from the railway station building, its appearance reminiscent of past centuries. There is an information desk in the railway station building. Almost all newly arrived tourists go there to receive: free maps, brochures, tourist routes around the reserve and consultations. We are no exception either.
Having filled our heads with all kinds of information, we begin to get acquainted with Sigulda. Sigulda is a small town that can be walked around in one hour if desired. But this amazing journey, short in real time, takes us for a long time to other times and exciting events.
Leaving the station building, we find ourselves on the station square of Sigulda. In the center is an unusual clock representing the logo of the factory producing the most delicious sweets in Latvia - “Lima”.
There is a small fountain on the square. Everything looks so quiet, cozy and touching under the gentle Baltic sun of Sigulda.
The fountain, which is not surrounded by a parapet, as is usually the case, is a favorite place for children. Deftly run between the streams clear water– a whole art!
Right on the station square there is a map of the city of Sigulda with comments in Latvian and English. Therefore, for those who are in a hurry, you can not go to the information center, but immediately plan your route.
Sigulda, photo.
Sigulda is a shady green town. Among the alleys with centuries-old trees there are houses covered with ivy. The special atmosphere of the city encourages a leisurely walk and contemplation of the beauty of the world. The Latvian authorities did their best - everything was well maintained and not a single piece of paper was left behind.
We walk along the streets of Sigulda and look at different buildings. Here is a building that resembles an administrative building or a school.
Here is a small house, welcomingly inviting you to a shop and cafe.
Walking around Sigulda, you always feel in the middle of a large well-kept park. Carefully trimmed lawns, bright flower beds, clean paths.
In such wonderful weather, tourists are attracted by open-air cafes among shady greenery.
A fashionable form of a vertical flower bed with the numbers 2014 (the year of our trip to Sigulda).
Sigulda, attractions.
The city is so small that it makes no sense to indicate the addresses of attractions; you won’t be able to pass them by anyway.
Sculpture “Wind Bell”, installed in 2007 in honor of the 800th anniversary of Sigulda, is the work of I. Bert. Inside the concrete figure there are 8 bells, which make amazing melodic sounds in windy weather. Our weather was calm and we couldn’t check it.
If you move along Pils street, you will come to Square of Three Keys, equipped in 2007, for Sigulda’s birthday. The composition consists of three iron keys installed next to a stone wall. The keys are a symbol of three ancient settlements located in the Gauja Park and forming the historical and cultural appearance of this area - Sigulda, Krimulda, Turaida.
Also in the Square of Three Keys, one of the paths is designed as a bridge, benches are placed, and flower beds are laid out.
In Sigulda, many houses or on their facades have the flag of the Republic of Latvia. A cloth with a red-white-red (carmine) stripe was approved as a flag back in 1923. According to ancient legends, this was the sign of the soldiers of the Wenden fortress (now Cesis) back in the 13th century. They also say that the simple white cloth around the edges was soaked in the blood of the brave commander of the fortress’s defenders during its heroic defense from the invaders.
Fairytale corner: a stream turns the wheel of a small mill. It’s like a house for gnomes in a blooming park!
There are many such overgrown, undeveloped plots of land in Sigulda, where nature triumphs.
Installed on one of the squares monument to Krisjanis Baron– Latvian writer, folklore collector, author scientific works about Latvian folk songs. The sculpture was installed in 1985 in honor of the 150th anniversary of the Dine Collector - Lithuanian folk songs.
Church, Sigulda.
We are located in front of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Sigulda. It was erected on the site of an older one, which was dedicated to Saint Berthold and was already known at the end of the 15th century. The church bell tower was built in the 30s. 20th century according to the project of P. Pekshen, around the same time the altar part of the interior decoration was restored.
From the bell tower you can admire the picturesque surroundings. It's beautiful inside the church too. There is an organ there that was assembled from several organs during the reconstruction of the instrument after World War II.
There are many public gardens in Sigulda, decorated with unusual works of sculptors and landscape designers. Here composition "Knight's Parade", made of granite, scrap metal and wooden parts.
The knight's parade is the pride of the townspeople, because it expresses the spirit of the area where they have fought since time immemorial, defending ancient castles, brave Liv knights. The composition is installed near the Sigulda Castle with a majestic stone fence. The knights guard this castle.
We are heading to the stone gate leading to the park of the Kropotkin estate. Admission to the park is free. In addition to the estate, the park also contains the old Sigulda Castle.
Kropotkin's estate.
From the gate we contemplate the expanses of the estate and the central building - the New Sigulda Castle, built in the 19th century by the princes Kropotkin. The building is stylized as a fairy-tale fortress and is in harmony with the landscape and wildlife around.
From the hills of the estate there is an amazing view of the building located in the neighboring village - Krimulde. This is the building of the famous sanatorium, located in the former noble estate Princes Lieven, the construction of which dates back to 1854. In Soviet times, a children's sanatorium was located here, now there is a rehabilitation center.
Administrative building on the Kropotkin estate in Sigulda. Nikolai Dmitrievich Kropotkin is the vice-governor of Courland and Livonia, the owner of an estate with a Castle, the founder of a resort in present-day Sigulda, which became famous in the early 20th century. By order N.D. Kropotkin A station, a toboggan run, dachas, boarding houses, and hotels were built in Sigulda, and the city was filled with tourists and summer residents who came here to improve their health and relax.
Monument to KRONVALD ATIS, who stood up for the rights of the LATVIAN LANGUAGE in 1872 at a conference of teachers during the period of Russification and was kicked out of work. Studied and worked in Tartu.
The new Sigulda Castle was built in 1881 where the stone house that belonged to the Livens once stood. During the First World War the building was badly damaged. Then by 1937 it was restored. After World War II, there were medical institutions here, and after the Republic of Latvia returned to independence in the 90s. 20th century The city administration is located here.
Sigulda castle.
We approach the oldest part of Sigulda - Sigulda Castle of the Livonian Order. Entrance to its territory is already paid, so we are content with its external inspection, which, in my opinion, is quite sufficient.
The Castle in Sigulda, like the Castle in, was founded by German crusading knights as a fortification structure.
It appeared in 1207 and bore the name Segewald (“Forest of Victories”). The castle ruins are the center of the park in Sigulda.
The medieval Sigulda Castle makes a striking impression. We see in front of us two watchtowers and part of a powerful fortress wall.
The sign of the Order of the Crusaders has survived to this day in the upper part of one of the towers of Sigulda Castle. It is known that the castle withstood attacks by local tribes many times.
You can easily spend more than one hour on the territory of the former Kropotkin estate. The House of Artists is of interest.
House of Artists– these are paintings made of sand, entrance is paid, children are free. An exhibition of sand sculptures and paintings is organized here every year.
And here are the sand works - a portrait that conveys the mood and character of the character (all the photos in the artist’s house were taken by my daughter).
A figure of a girl, also made of sand.
Nude figure: the amazing capabilities of the material allow you to convey a variety of shades of color, even in the photo the girl’s body seems shimmering and warm
Art composition-installation.
From the ancient buildings and art gallery we return to the pond with a fountain in the middle.
There are also ancient cannons in Sigulda - after all, the city has experienced many military events.
Sigulda Park.
Sigulda Park reveals many unusual granite sculptures. We consider the figure of a man sitting on green grass with a book in his hands.
And here it is beautiful girl in a national costume from folk songs - dain.
Having walked around the estate to our heart's content, we leave its territory. Other attractions of Sigulda include:
White Castle.
This building is called " The White house" It appeared in Sigulda at the end of the 19th century. and was intended for N.D. Kropotkin. Since 1920, the house belonged to E. Porux. She organized a boarding house in the building and nicknamed it the White Castle. Later there was a gymnasium, a school, and during the war - a bomb shelter. Now there is a cultural and educational center dealing with the problems of environmental education and environmental conservation.
In Sigulda you can study landscape design, in particular, the art of arranging flower beds of different shapes, colors and designs.
Walking stick park.
You can't pass by cane park. This park was created in 2007 for the city’s anniversary. The cane is considered the talisman of Sigulda; tourists take cane-shaped souvenirs to their homes from here. When the resort began to develop here, people were required to walk along the park paths with a cane.
In the pack of Canes, there are even flower beds made on the composition of umbrellas!
A bright colored fence invites you to visit Winnie the Pooh.
Tarzan Park.
Sigulda invites you to the largest amusement park in Latvia, and throughout the Baltics, for children and adults, “Tarzan”.
From the top of the Ferris Wheel in Sigulda you can see endless dense forests. In areas not occupied by forest, the grass is neatly mown.
The Tarzan amusement park is located in the middle of Sigulda. When organizing it, all the advantageous features of the terrain were used: there is a carousel lift and a picnic area.
Bobsleigh and luge track in Sigulda.
Another place for active recreation is the toboggan and bobsleigh track.
The park has comfortable playgrounds for children. Here you can not only play excavator driver, but also ride in an electric car along paths specially prepared for children.
Cable car, Sigulda.
Another attraction of Sigulda is the cable car, built in 1969, connecting two settlements Latvia - Sigulda and Krimulda.
At the ticket office you can buy a one-way or round-trip ticket. The ticket is quite expensive, and the views from the cabin are not so impressive, so out of curiosity we take a one-way ticket.
We will take a cable car on an aerial tram on a journey through green forests and over the Gauja River. The road is just over a kilometer long, the height above the river is 42 meters, and the travel time is only eight minutes.
From 1969 to the mid-80s. 20th century the cable car was used as the only type public transport, helping to get from Sigulda to Krimulda.
By the way, the cable car in Sigulda is the only one in Latvia. This is another reason to ride it.
The cable car leaves every 30 minutes, so you have to wait a little and then hit the road. The main attractions are visible from the carriage national park Gauja.
The fast waters of the Gauja River, coniferous and deciduous trees sweeping beneath us in the air permeated with the aroma of pine needles.
From the trailer you can see Turaida Castle with its towers and red-brick fortress walls.
Right below us are sandy beaches on the banks of the Gauja.
It's a little breathtaking when we find ourselves above the middle of the Gauja River.
We are speeding along the highway - this means that we will soon arrive at the high hill in Krimulda.
Krimulda.
We are greeted by an information stand in Latvian and English language, telling about another town in Latvia - Krimulda.
We descended from heaven to earth, or rather, simply from the platform of the aerial cable car station.
Krimulda is a small village (very small compared to Sigulda), in which houses from past centuries have been preserved. In the summer they are very beautiful, as they are decorated with climbing plants creeping along the facades of houses and along the carved railings of galleries.
Houses, fences – everything in Latvia is decorated with flowers.
We travel around the territory of the health resort: in the old building there is a shop and a cafe.
The ancient gazebos in Krimulda have been restored; they represent rare examples of the architecture of European dacha villages of the early 20th century.
We are transported back to the Middle Ages as we approach the centuries-old stone walls. And under the trees there are these fabulous mushrooms.
Sanatorium Krimulda.
Meanwhile, we approached the sanatorium in Krimulda.
The sanatorium in Krimulda is located in an old noble estate. The columns are reminiscent of the ceremonial receptions that the owners organized for their guests, of balls and musical evenings.
The sanatorium provides treatment courses for children and adults with diseases of the musculoskeletal system, respiratory and nervous systems.
Having walked around Krimulda to our heart's content, we return to the cable car. Here, hidden among the vegetation, are the remains of an old castle.
Krimulda Castle.
The powerful walls and skillfully laid out windows still amaze with their grandeur and beauty.
And again on the road, along the roads of Latvia, in the footsteps of medieval knights and Russian emperors.
We are moving towards new experiences, amazing and mysterious places.
See you on the paths of Latvia!
Where we went next can be seen in the article:
Let's start with the Sigulda-1 ZPU, because it is perishable. We’ll leave the Ligatne deliciousness for later.
The ZPU of the Civil Defense Troops of the Republic of the LSSR Sigulda-1 is located, oddly enough, in the city of Sigulda (a little more than 50 km in a straight line from the center of Riga). It was supposed to complement the Līgatne ZPU. Part of the party leadership had to take refuge in Līgatne, and part in Sigulda.
The facility is located on the territory of an abandoned military unit. The bunker itself is located under the main ground level, hidden on the surface by a large metal hangar, which is located on an embankment approximately one and a half meters high, that is, between the actual surface of the earth and the “ceiling” of the bunker is approximately two to three meters. Until 2015, HF was abandoned. Then the Laser Tag Club bought it and organized several playgrounds on its territory (but games are not held in the ZPU, but it seems that the owners sold almost all the metal from there).
We wait for the club’s workers to leave for lunch, we rush into the territory and look for the leaner.
So what do we have inside here? Shabby walls and almost complete absence anything iron. The lights are on in two lampshades. Not much, but we'll see.
The table has been preserved! Important party members were supposed to sit behind him and discuss what to do when the blast waves above were demolishing the houses of mere mortals.
Well, other rooms in which at least something has been preserved:
And this is the second entrance/exit from the ZPU, leading to the parking lot with a helipad:
There was most likely an inventory warehouse here:
This wall in the former diesel plant is worthy of a separate comment. According to the “legends”, behind the backfill there should be a secret passage leading to the Līgatne ZPU. I doubt it about Līgatne (after all, it’s 17 km in a straight line), but Sigulda-2 can definitely lead to the ZPU. I will tell you about it below.
Now we get out and walk a couple of kilometers to the Sigulda-2 control point. There is an operating hotel on the surface of this communication facility. The bunker itself is partly abandoned, but is in good condition: there is a diesel generator, all pressure doors, fire control units, electrical wiring, signs on the doors, civil defense posters, etc. All entrances are closed, except for the entrance from the ravine.
To my great regret, already in the first ZPU my camera battery began to run out. And all that I was able to photograph in Sigulda-2 was the process of breaking through the foam block masonry.
Therefore, you will only have to talk about what is inside. The bunker is a single-sector, one-story flat structure, measuring approximately 30 by 45 meters. The central corridor runs through the entire bunker. There are 2 main entrances, one of which branches into 3 entrances, including the one in the ravine. The object was one of the nodes of the secure terrestrial communication line of the Iskra-1 system (object 535), segment Riga-Sigulda-Valmiera-Valka-Pskov.
Whoever will be there after me, be sure to take a photo of him, please! :)
And now we proceed to a full inspection of the Līgatne ZPU. It is located 67.5 km in a straight line from the center of Riga. The ZPU had the name "Boarding House Object" because a boarding house was built above it. During the USSR, only military personnel with high ranks could get a ticket to it.
Historical reference:
In 1968, a decision was made to build a shelter facility under the boarding house of the fourth main department of the Ministry of Health of the LSSR, which was under construction. The cost was supposed to be 4 million Soviet rubles, but it turned out to be only 10. Construction took 13 years.
The facility performed two functions: it was a communications center and a shelter for the highest echelon of power in the LSSR. After 5 years, the functions of the communications center were transferred to facility 535, which was introduced in Sigulda, the communications equipment in the Boarding House facility was dismantled, and it was left with one function - a reserve command post for the leaders of the republic.
By 1982, the entire health complex of the boarding house, along with the underground shelter, was put into operation. The boarding house itself was classified and until the restoration of Independence of the Republic of Latvia in 1991 was under the patronage of the 8th and 15th departments of the KGB of the USSR.
Now the boarding house is open to everyone, and excursions are conducted in the boarding house. But excursions don’t work, so it was decided to coordinate with one very good Latvian friend and go there after the tourists had left. We arrived at the place in the afternoon and began to wait for the right hour. We while away the time and walk around the territory. It becomes clear that there is a really large object underground: there are as many as seven ventilation shafts, and some of them are located 30-40 meters from the building. Interestingly, most of them are covered with bushes or trees so that they are not visible from a satellite.
VS from the residential part of the bunker (it remains closed, only the rooms where people were supposed to work are accessible):
Vshi from the FVU node and the canteen:
Diesel VSh:
The ZPU has three entrances/exits: from the side of the car park, from the side of the helipad disguised as an open drained swimming pool, and inside the boarding house. Let's look at the one next to the parking lot.
We will get there (the herma is held on by a screwed bolt), but later.
More surroundings:
Swimming pool acting as a helipad (photo from the Internet):
At half past eight we go inside. We are greeted by a curved corridor that leads to the main part of the bunker. There is also a room with diesel generators in it, but, unfortunately, it was tightly closed.
The first herms are inside. The photo was taken in the airlock chamber, where the clothes of those who came from outside should be decontaminated.
Wash your hands!
Having orientated ourselves in space and conjured over the light switches and locks, we go to the entrance located inside the boarding house to imagine that we are important members of the LSSR party, who were alerted and taken to the ZPU.
It is worth providing a map of the site. “Passage to the second bunker” is the entrance to the residential part of the ZPU, where the entrance leads from the side of the helipad. The area of the residential part is half the area of the working part of the ZPU. Impressive scale!
Hm. So, let's transform! From Riga to ZPU Līgatne, General Maris Balodis and radio operator with security clearance Kristina Berzins arrived at the alarm!
Let's go down...
We open the pressure doors...
And we understand that things are bad: only we were able to get to the ZPU. There is not a soul in the huge underground bunker. We have a great responsibility!
Let's go around the bunker clockwise, looking into the rooms.
Let's check what the state left us:
Using one of these phones you can call the Kremlin:
Telephone PBX:
All kinds of equipment:
And here is the meeting room. It's a pity there is no one left to gather.