Kuldīga’s past has become a pleasant present and a hopeful future – the city’s ancient charm is a stable, unshakable value. The building culture here is formed not only by the values of the past, but also by the far-reaching policy of the current City Council – the small town of Kurzeme is becoming an international restoration center.
It is difficult to find another Latvian city, which is always a ritual. Compact, historical, cozy, tidy, warmly radiant, pampered by nature and cherished by people, Kuldiga is a benchmark of provincial charm. Everything here is created for the well-being of the people of our mentality, the locals live proudly here and the guests are happy to visit. There is no need for attractions here, because everything is already there – a unique urban environment with human-appropriate shapes, sounds, colors, distances, scales and cultural layers. And only here fish fly, which is especially pleased with the object’s expert, architect Zaiga Gaile.
Flying fish city
Building culture
From September 24 to 27 Latvia will host the European Cultural Heritage Days, the theme of which this year is building culture. The National Cultural Heritage Board has compiled more than 30 examples of good building culture, which are united by a special assessment of their creation, maintenance and full life. On the public media portal LSM.lv, we present the life stories of these objects – about responsible customers and owners, about creative and far-sighted architects, which are told by Latvian architectural and cultural heritage specialists.
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-Every spring in April, people go to the ancient capital of Kurzeme, Kuldiga, to watch a show of flying fish in the Venta hub. For hundreds of years, vimba travels up the river, where they meet the two-meter-high widest waterfall in Europe (100 m). Silver fish try to overcome it by leaps and bounds. In the rumble of the waterfall, people gather on a brick bridge and on the steep banks of the Venta at the Alekšupīte source, the waterfall jumps over the slippery rocks, trying to get as close as possible to the waterfall. In summer, the most beautiful adventure for the townspeople is a swim in the Venta hub. Afterwards, people scatter in the winding streets and meet in the pubs of the Town Hall Square.
The entrance to the picturesque city is already royal – the restored 19th-century bridge over the Venta immediately leads to the center of the old town, where a rapid river winds between the cobbled streets surrounded by wooden and stone houses. You can wander endlessly through the courtyards of Kuldīga with high barns and galleries, among the neatly stacked firewood pyramids you can get lost in small flower gardens.
In the sign of Duke Jacob
Ancient settlement of Kurzeme Goldingen The Venta bank dates back to the 12th century, where the most important building for several centuries was the Castle of the Order. The city of Kuldiga flourished especially in the 17th century during the reign of Duke Jacob as an industrial and commercial center that was able to supply local products to Kurzeme and neighboring countries. The city developed crafts and admirable large-scale production – wood, metal, wool, leather processing, soap cooking. There was no place in the town hall square where the needle made in Kuldiga fell – it was full of people, carts and goods.
In 2003, I participated in a ritual in which the old town of Kuldiga in the ancient valley of the Venta was included in the Latvian National List of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. A plaque was buried in the Town Hall Square. The management of the city council is approaching the inclusion of Kuldiga in the prestigious UNESCO World Heritage List with amazing perseverance and patience.
Without any plastic windows
The criteria of construction culture established in the historical old town of Kuldiga management are a self-evident norm for every citizen. Also on the weekend, when we walk along the winding streets, a man sits on the windowsill and pays off a layer of paint from the old window. There is no plastic window in Kuldiga!
Every building is decorated with renovated wooden doors, old buildings are not insulated, no barn is demolished, no fence is accidental, there are only clay tiled roofs, and even the construction of rainwater gutters is controlled by traditional methods. How is that possible? With long parenting work and example until restrictions become the norm. Residents have the opportunity to study and practice at the Restoration Center.
Program in Kuldiga Restoration Center
September 25 and 26 from 12.00 to 16.00 in Kuldīga Restoration Center at Baznīcas Street 30:
- Open day in the premises of the Restoration Center, window plastering and metal fastening process in the workshop
- UNESCO city game “Restoration” in the environment of Kuldiga old town, where you will be able to find out about the objects restored in the last ten years
- Construction of Mini Kuldiga for the youngest participants, painting and creating facades of Kuldiga houses
- September 26, 16:00 restorer Jānis Mertens invites to the lecture “Typical mistakes and their elimination in the restoration of wooden joinery elements”
All events are available free of charge.
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-Here everyone can learn the skills to restore wooden windows, doors, repair their own house. Since our office in Kuldiga has a former Needle Factory, later a hospital reconstruction project on Kalpaka Street, it is possible to get to know the building culture policy of Kuldiga City Council. The renovated building will house the School of Design, where young people will be able to learn metal and wood processing in workshops. The PIKC “Kuldīga Technology and Tourism Technical School” project is being developed in the second building of the former hospital across the street. Kuldiga is thinking about attracting young people to the city, providing an opportunity to study in local educational institutions.
In turn, this means international cooperation with visiting professors, construction of residences, summer camps and exhibitions. In exchange of experience, together with the management of Kuldiga City Council, we visited similar student cities – Umeå in Sweden and Kortrijk in Belgium. The city regularly hosts international seminars, conferences and master classes for restoration specialists. Historic Kuldiga is not just a beautiful tourist postcard, it is a lively developing city!
This is exactly the magic of Kuldiga – a liveliness that pulsates without intrusion. A serious urban environment in which the past is respected as a matter of course and used as a resource. A place where you want to be, come back and forget about any attractions – there is no void that should be filled with noise.
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