Ventspils

Ventspils (Windau in German, Vǟnta in Livonian, Виндава in Russian) is a 38,447 inhabitants town on the Venta River and Baltic Sea, in the historic region of Courland. It's the 6th most populated city in Lativa, the largest Latvian port and an important industrial center, fact that haven't diminished its beauty. Many consider Ventspils one of the most dynamic places in Latvia.

How do I arrive to Ventspils?

  Ventspils is an important seaside city so there are many ways to arrive there from all over Latvia and other countries.

• Boat: there are ferries from/to Lübeck (Germany), Nynäshamn (Sweden) or Saint Petersburg (Russia).
• Bus: there are buses every hour to Riga (aprox. 4 hours) from Ventspils Bus Station for 7.50€ (one way). There are also 7 daily buses to Liepāja (aprox. 3 hours), to Pāvilosta (aprox. 1 hour 15 minutes) and 5 daily to Kuldīga (aprox. 1 hour 15 minutes, via Jūrkalne).
• Car: if you rented a car from Ventspils it can be reached Kuldīga, (aprox. 50 minutes), Alsunga and Jūrkalne (aprox. 50 minutes), Pāvilosta (aprox. 55 minutes), Liepāja (aprox. 1.5 hours), Jūrmala (aprox. 2 hours) and Riga (aprox. 2 hours 30 minutes). 

History

Ventspils was born around the castle of the Livonian Order that was built here in 1290. The town, called by then Windau, which had a mixture of German and Latvia, joined the Hanseatic League in 1314. The original church was constructed in 1495, and eventually the fortress developed into a trading post. In 1561 During the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia Ventspils blossomed as a shipbuilding center (from where the Duke's fleet set out to colonize Gambia and Tobago). Polish-Swedish War, the Great Northern War and a plague almost make the town disappear. With the Third Partition of Poland (1795) Ventspils fell under Russian Empire control. Its shipmaking industry was modernised in 1850s, being connected by train with Riga and Moscow (1890) and becoming one of the most important ports in the empire. After WW1 it lost a lot of population (mainly Germans) and its strategic value. The Red Army established a base here in 1939 during the Soviet occupation, with all the Germans remaining being deported and replaced for Russians. In this period a oil pipeline was built too, leading the USSR in crude oil export. 

 

What can I visit in Ventspils?

Ventspils is a town with some nice places and a cool atmosphere. Walking around Ostgals, a romantic and special 19th century spot, enjoying Nagabu iela or watching the statues by Feldberg or the remaining cow ones from the Cow Parade are some interesting activites in Ventspils' streets. There are boats available to discover Venta river mouth.

These are Ventspils's main attractions:

• Ventspils Beach: this beach is considered the treasure of Ventspils, where water sports can be practised. Despite being an urban beach, it's very clean and in summer many people come here. Going north can be found South Pier, where there's the sightseeing tower SKATUTORNI where obrserving cruises arrive Ventspils and leave it.
• Seaside Open Air Museum of Ventspils (10-18 Tue-Sun from May to Oct; on request from Nov to Apr; 1.40€/ 0.60€  adults/ retiree, students and kids): museum which displays objects linked to fishing brought from nearby villages like fishing tools, anchors or fishermen cabins. Moreover there's a part of the narrow-gauge railway built during the German occupation in 1916 which can be used (3€/ 2€  adults/ retiree, students and kids) with the original train engine. There's a combined ticket for all the museums in Ventspils (5€/ 2.50€  adults/ retiree, students and kids). 
• St. Krusta Catholic Church: Neoclassic church built in 1898 that has eye-catching Corinthian columns and no clock tower, making it look like an ancient Greek temple.
  
• Livonian Order Castle of Ventspils (10-18 Tue-Sun; 2.50€/ 1.50€  adults/ retiree, students and kids): 13th century castle built with a convent-house style which has remained unchanged until our days. Its chapel is the oldest church in Kurzeme region. It was used as a prission in Soviet times and nowadays it's the local history museum, with avant-garde expositions.
• St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church: Byzantine style church built in 1901 by the harbour.
• Ventspils House of Crafts (10-18 Tue-Sat; 1€/ 0.50€  adults/ retiree, students and kids): 18th century wooden building which was once used as school and now hosts a place to learn about Kurzeme craftworks like weaving. To learn about pottery proccess it's neccesary to book on advance.
• International Writers and Translators' House: former town hall from the 18th century which hosts a place where Latvian and foreign writers and translators are on visit regularly.  
• Ventspils Lutheran Church: church from 1835 whose is named after tsar Nicholas II, who gave a lot of money to local Lutheran community in Ventspils. 
  
• St. Nikolaja Russian Orthodox Church: Byzantine style church built in 1901 by the harbour.
• Herberts Dorbe Memorial Museum (11-17 Mon-Fri; free): house where the Latvian writer Herberts Dorbe used to live; it has the writer’s collection of ethnographic items, mentioned in his book Savu bēniņu direktors.
• Going 30 km north there's Irbene Radio Telescope (8-19 Mon-Fri and 11-20 Sat-Sun from May to Oct; day tours: 7€/ 4€/ 3€  adults/ retiree and students/ kids; night tours: 8€/ 5€  adults/ retiree and students), a complex with telescopes which used to be used to spy Western countries communications during Soviet times. Nowadays it can be used to observe the Moon, the Sun and stars.

Livonian Order Castle of Ventspils

Ventspils Beach

Suiti people

Going 50 km south appears the village of Alsunga (Alschwangen in German, Alšvanga in Livonian), a 1,345 inhabitants place and center of community where the Suiti people live, a small Catholic community (they converted because the lord of the area, Johan Ulrich von Schwerin, fall in love with a Polish princess) in the middle of the Lutheran part of Latvia. They have their own dialect and their culture is very rooted and preserved, being included in UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Some of its most interesting places are Alsunga Castle (9-17 Tue-Fri and 11-16 Sat from May to Oct; 1.50€/ 0.50€  adults/ retiree, students and kids), 14th century castle built by the Livonian Order rebuilt in 1741; Alsunga Museum (9-17 Mon-Fri and 11-16 Sat from Jun to Sep; 9-17 Tue-Fri and 11-16 Sat from Oct to May; 1.50€/ 0.50€  adults/ retiree, students and kids), ethnografic museum which shows Suiti people history, traditions, daily life and music (similar to Caucasian polyphony); or St. Michael Catholic Church, 16th century church. There's a combined ticket for the museum and castle (2€/ 0.70€  adults/ retiree, students and kids). Not far from Alsunga (14 km) can be found Jūrkalne (Felixberg in German), another Suiti people village with 238 where Abraham Zevi Idelsohn, Jewish ethnologist and musicologist, was born. Its beautiful cliffs and the lonely beach are worth to be enjoyed. One of the most popular dishes here is sklandrausis (rye sweet pie with potatoes and carrots), with Livonian origin.

Where can I eat in Ventspils?

The gastronomic offer isn't bad in Ventspils and there are many places with medium price. In case you'll eat Latvian food, the restaurant Zītari (Tirgus iela 11) or Skroderkrogs (Skroderu iela 6) may be good choices or places like the Modern restaurant Ostas 23 (Ostas iela 23) as well.

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