Slītere National Park

Slītere National Park (also know as Slīteres nacionālais parks in Latvian) is a 265 km² national park in the ethnographic district of Courland, Latvia.  It's located in the Courland peninsula, where Baltic Sea (Dijera) meets the bay of Riga (Majara); it's also one of the oldest National Parks in the Baltic countries and the smallest National Park in Latvia too. The most representative landscape of the park are the Blue Hills or Zilie Kalni; and even the National Park isn't very big, it hosts some beautiful villages of the Livonian Coast like Kolka or Košrags.

How do I arrive to Slītere National Park?

 The best way to reach this National Park is going to Kolka, the largest village in the National Park.

• Bus: there are five daily buses from Riga to Kolka (aprox. 4.5 hours). To arrive to Kolka from Ventspils, Kuldīga or Liepāja it's neccesary to transfer in Talsi on your way to Kolka.
• Car: if you rented a car, Kolka can be reached from some destinations like Dudaga (aprox. 35 minutes), Talsi (aprox. 50 minutes), Mērsrags (aprox. 55 minutes), Ventspils (aprox. 1 hour), Tukums (aprox. 1 hour 20 minutes), Kuldīga (aprox. 1 hour 35 minutes) or Jūrmala (aprox. 1 hour 40 minutes) or Riga (aprox. 2 hours 10 minutes).

 Once in the Park, a good choice to move along it is renting a bike and cycling along it or going by car.

History

Livs or Livonians are a Finnic ethnic group which lived in two separated areas: the northern coast of Courland and Vidzeme. In Middle Ages Livs had a high level of development thanks to trading. The conversion from paganism to Christianism started with the Danish bishop Absalon, who is said to have founded Kolka's church and continued with Livonian crusade with the Livonian Brothers of the Sword. After the Livonian War, the Livonian Order was disolved, the Duchy of Courland was created and Russia was defeated. With the Third Partition of Poland Livs were then under Russian power, starting to be assimilated by the Latvians (but the Livonian Coast preserved its traditions thanks to its isolation and the links with Saaremaa. After WW1 Livonian culture revived with Latvian independence and the creation of the Livonian Society and diffusion of Livonian language. In the Soviet times they were hardly repressed, not only some being deported to Siberia, but also they weren't allow to fish (their traditional job) and their language was prohibited. With the Latvian independence, Livs started to revive again, starting being taught in Kolka, Ventspils, Dundaga and Riga. The last Livonian native speaker person, Grizelda Kristiņa, died in 2013, making Livonian extinct (even though there are people who speak it as second language, it's taught in schools of the area and in the University of Tartu, in Estonia). The first research body dedicated to Livonian studies, the Livonian Institute at the University of Latvia was established in 2018. If you want to learn more about Livonians and their traditions, check this webpage: http://www.livones.net/en. The National Park was created in 2000.

What can I visit in Slītere National Park?

There are 12 fishing villages in the Livonian Coast, which are seeking currently to get into UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List. These aren't many things to do in this National Park but it's a good point to relax or practice outdoors and adventure activities:

• Dundaga (Dūoņig in Livonian, Dondangen in German): 1,583 inhabitants small town by Dundaga Pond. Even it's outside the National Park, here there's a Park's tourist office. The town has a Crocodile Statue, homage to former Dundaga resident Arvīds Blūmentāls (person who inspired the film Crocodile Dundee by Paul Hogan).
  • Dundaga Castle (only in guided tours; 3€/ 0.85€  adults/ kids): castle built in the late-13th century by the Archbishopric of Riga and owned from the 16th century till 1918 by the Baron of Osten-Sacken, an important Baltic-German family. It's the largest estate in north Kurzeme and since 1926 the castle has been used as a public building.
  • Kalna Dārzs: mound that was an ancient settlement of civilizations from Iron Age to the 13th century, when it was abandoned with invasion by the Livonian Order.
  • Dundaga Castle Park: park that surrounds the former castle/manor of Osten-Sacken family used to be known as deer garden, because many deers were brought for hunting. For the park it was also designed Dundaga Pond, an artificial water body installed on the river Pāce.
    
  • Dundaga Lutheran Church: church comissioned in 1766 by Carl von der Osten-Sacken (Kārļa Ostenzakena), who was buried here after his death in Berlin. It was used by both German and Latvian communities before WW1 and has some nice relics, like a 17th century Bible.
• Kolka (Kūolka in Livonian): 874 inhabitants village that is home of largest remnants of the Livonian community in Latvia.
  
  • Livonian Community House at Kolka (8:30-17 Mon-Fri): ethnographic museum about Livs with objects and Livonian language recordings, a film about them and their culture and traditions. It works as a tourist office too.
    
  • Cape Kolka or Kolkasrags: horn that is the most important in Latvia, where there are wonderful sunrises and sunsets. Be careful, swimming isn't recommended due to shifting currents. There's an information center in Kolka about the cape and the history of the region too.
  • Kolka Lutheran Church: church whose construction began 1885, founded by Karls Ludvigs Ferdinands von der Osten-Sackens (at that moment owner of Dundaga Castle), that was demolished in 1969. It was rebuilt when Latvia recovered its independence and has a nice altarpiece by Helēna Heinrihsone.
  • Kolka Russian Orthodox Church: church built around 1885, when many locals from Kolka accepted the Orthodox faith, that was demolished in 182 (rebuilt in the 1990s with two onion-types domes).
    
  • In an artificial island 6 km from Cape Kolka it can be found a 19th century lighthouse, Kolka Lighthouse. It was built because Cape Kolka is considered to be quite dangerous for boats.
  • Around Kolka it's possible to take some interesting hikes. One of them is Kolka Pine Trail (1.9 km), an easy round walk through a gorgeous pine forest, gray and white dunes, the seashore and with a viewpoint too, Kolkasrags Bird Watching Tower.
  • Just 5 km south there's another trail, Ēvažu Nature Trail (1.2 km), a trail around Ēvaži Bluff and its 8-15 m height steep bank, very close to the 164 inhabitants village of Melnsils (Mustānum in Livonian).
    
• Only 10 km south from Kolka is located Vaide (Vaid in Livonian), a village of 10 people. There aren't many things to do here but enjoying the wooden houses and visiting Purvziedi Antlers Collection (9-20 from May to Oct), a collection of more than 500 antlers collected by a forest ranger (none of the pieces belong to hunted animals). Close to this village there are others like Saunags (Sǟnag in Livonian), a village with 15 inhabitants that is considered the oldest of the 12 villages of the Livonian Coast, and Pitrags (Pitrõg in Livonian), another small village with 39 people living there. In this latter village it can be found Pitrags Baptist Church, a preaching house built in 1902, and Pie Andra Pitragā, a place where looking closely at a wide range of ancient fence types (more than 20 ancient fencing samples of the Livonian Coast through collecting information on the Internet and researching old photographs). It offers accommodation, smoked fish, fishing and bike rent too.
  
• Going 18 km by road there's Košrags (Kuoštrõg in Livonian), another really small village with 13 people, considered the newest among the 12 Livonian villages. It's streets are filled with nice wooden buildings, considered the most interesting in terms of architecture. Apakšceļs Road, which connects Košrags with Dūmele, is lonely and forested road with old legends about a mill.
• Mazirbe (Irē in Livonian, Klein-Irben in German): 134 inhabitants village in the southern part of the National Park. It's considered the cultural capital of the Livonians. Here it's celebrated the Liv Festival in the August, with a meeting of Finno-Ugric language family.
  
  • Boat Cemetery and Mazirbe Seaside: beautiful beach with dunes and rests of boats. Those boats are there because Soviet authorities prohibited locals to use them, thinking they could use them to emigrate to Sweden. 
  • Liv People's House (11-16 from June to Aug; visit by appointment the rest of the year; donation): small ethnographic museum with Livonian items, audio recordings of Livonian language, photos and exhibitions in a building by Erkki Huttunen. Founded in 1939 with Latvian help but also from Finland, Estonia and Hungary.
  • Mazirbe Lutheran Church: first built in the 18th century and rebuilt in the 19th century, this church is considered one of the most beautiful in Kurzeme coastline.
  • Plague Stones: stones which witnessed the disaster brought by the Great Plague in Latvia. They have inscriptions about Latvian medicine and in Latin, regarding the weather, events at the Liv's land and historical personalities.  
  • Next to Mazirbe the visitor can take a round trail, Narrow Gauge Railway Trail (15.4 km), that goes on a former railway built by Germany in WW1 that reaches Sīkrags.
    
  • In the the village of Sīkrags (Sīkrõg in Livonian), a tiny village with 11 people, another hike can be taken, Pēterezera Nature Trail (3.5 km), which goes crossing sandy dunes and marshy lowlands.
• Going 5 km south from Mazirbe there's Slītere Lighthouse (10-17 Sat-Sun; 2€/ 1€  adults/ retiree, students and kids), a lighthouse from the 19th century that is used now as a park observation tower, having expositions about the park too. From here, when the sky is cloudless, it's possible to see Sõrve lighthouse in Saaremaa (Estonia). Nearby there's Slītere Nature Trail (2.3 km), a hike where enjoying the rich flora and fauna of the park.
• Other villages that are part of the Livonian Coast, although part of the municipality of Ventspils are: Jaunciems (Ūžkilā in Livonian), 4 inhabitants; Lielirbe (Īra in Livonian, Irvemünde in German), 4 inhabitants village at the mouth of the Irbe river; Miķeļtornis (Pizā in Livonian, Pissen in German), 30 inhabitants village where it's located Miķeļbāka Lighthouse, a 56 m high lighthouse first established in 1884 and rebuilt in 1957 (it's the highest lighthouse in the three Baltic states); and Lūžņa (Lūžkilā in Livonian), 3 inhabitants village where there used to be a Soviet military base and that playedd an important role in the maintenance and development of the Livonian language during the interwar period.
  

Livonian people singing

Košrags

Mērsrag blue cow

In the road between Kolka and Jūrmala, 60 km from Kolka, there's rural town of Mērsrags (Markgrafen in German), a 1,986 inhabitants town in the Gulf of Riga, beside Lake Engure. The main things to do in Mērsrags are visiting Mērsrags Lighthouse (on request from Apr to Oct; 1€), a lighthouse from 1874, Mērsrags Lutheran Church, one of the oldest wooden church in Latvia (first built in the 16th century but its current outlook is from 1809) and Saieta Nams Museum (on request; donations), a small local museum which shows the life in the area in the 19th and 20th century. Outside the town can be found Lake Engure Nature Park, a park located around Lake Engure. This is an important stopping place for migratory birds and birdwatchers. But the most weird and at the same time interesting is that in this town the blue cows can be seen. Blue cows are traditional from Livonian families in Kurzeme region, appearing in the beginning of the 20th century, and having shown to be resistent to adverse weather.

Talsi town center

From Dundaga, 30 km south, there is the town of Talsi (Tālsa in Livonian, Talsen in German) with 11,371 inhabitants. It's placed between 2 lakes and 9 hills, nicknamed the green pearl of Courland. Although there aren't many things to do here, it's still a nice place to do, such as visiting Talsi Regional Museum (10-17 Tue-Sun; 2€/ 0.40€  adults/ reduced), a museum with valuable artefacts of the region located in a 19th century Neoclassic building; the mound of Talsi Hillfort; Talsi Synagogue, a former synagogue from the 19th century that today is used as a house nowadays or Talsi Lutheran Church, a church first built in 16th century and rebuilt several times with some interesting relics. Another place to visit here is the Chapel and Cemetery of Heinz-Kupfer, a cemetery and chapel built in the 19th century for Baltic German merchant families.

Where can I eat in Slītere National Park?

The best choice in this National Park is booking a B&B, with awesome houses, and buying at supermarkets food to eat out. Here one of the most typical dishes are smoked fish but other Livonian dishes are a cold soup called Kolka stragnam or carrot pies called sklāndakakūd. Some interesting choices are Saulesmājas (Kolkas rags) or Ūši.

Learn some Livonian

    Livonian is the traditional language of the Livonian Coast (north Kurzeme) and is currently spoken by 40-210 people. Livonian language is related to Finnish and Estonian (Finno-Ugric languages). Its last native speaker died in 2013 but Livonian is in a process to be revived (with some ethnic Livs learning it or in universities in Latvia, Estonia and Finland).
These are some basic words in Livonian:

Livonian	English	Livonian	English
Tēriņtš	Hello	Nä	Yes
Jõvā ūomõg!	Good morning!	Äb	No
Jõvā pǟva!	Good afternoon!	Pōlaks	Please
Kui sinnõn lǟb?	How are you?	Tienū	Thank you
Īe tēriņtš!	Goodbye!	Āndagid andõks!	Sorry!

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