Page 183 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Estonia Latvia & Lithuania

WESTERN LA T VIA  181

R Lutheran Church of VISITORS’ CHECKLIST y VIRAC (Ventspils
St Nicholas International Radio
Tirgus 2. Tel 6362 2750. Practical Information Astronomy Centre)
Open 9am–4pm daily. Road Map C3. * 44,000.
With a portico at the front and n Dārza iela 6, 6362 2263. Ventspils Starptautiskais
a tower with an obser vation ∑ visitventspils.com Radioastronomijas Centrs
platform, this attractive yellow- Transport Road Map B3. Tel 2923 0818.
and-white church (Sv Nikolaja £ Dzeaizceļnieku iela. @ Open Mar–Nov: 6am–6pm daily. &
Luterāļu baznīca) stands on the Kuldīga iela 5. g Plosta iela 7. 8 call in advance. ∑ virac.venta.lv
old market square. Dating from
1835, it was built in accordance Situated in a former Russian
with the wishes of Tsar Nicholas I. of fishing boats and anchors, and army town, the 1970s military
a Narrow-Gauge Railway. Until installation is believed to
E Seaside Open-Air the 1960s, the steam engine have spied on commu-
Museum linked seaside villages, but now nications between Europe and
Riņķa 2. Tel 6362 4467. Open May– it takes a 1.4-km (0.8-mile) trip the USA for at least a decade.
Oct: 10am–6pm Tue–Sun. & 7 - through Seaside Park. When they left in 1994, the
∑ ventspilsmuzejs.lv Narrow- Russians took the smallest
Gauge Railway: May–Oct: Sat & Sun. dish, leaving the two heavier
The Seaside Open-Air Museum ones, which are 16 m (52 ft)
(Piejūras brīvdabas muzejs) was and 32 m (105 ft) in diameter.
opened in 1954 to preserve The bigger one is the largest
the heritage of Latvia’s fishing radio telescope in Northern
villages, which began to Europe and the world’s
disappear as the Soviet eighth largest.
authorities regarded the shores A combination of size
as areas of military importance. and precision engineering
Buildings were moved from makes the larger dish
their original loc a tion and especially valuable to
reassembled here and the site scientists. Guided tours of it
now includes homesteads, begin with the ground-floor
smokehouses, curing cabins, net laboratory. Visitors can climb
sheds and even a large windmill. Water slides and swimming pools at the up to a viewing platform
Traditional crafts are displayed Aqua Park and then step into one of
around the site in summer. the sus pended laboratory
There are also large collections Aqua Park pods. The structure was built
Medņu iela 19. Tel 2642 9684. Open by a naval factory in the
May–Sep: 10am–9pm daily. & - Ukraine, and the interiors
Hercogs PLOSTA IELA With three pools, several slides, are remi nis cent of a ship.
Jēkabs
Russian Orthodox Jacuzzis and saunas as well as a The unmarked road to VIRAC,
Church of
Venta St Nicholas variety of water play grounds, the leading past eerily empty
Aqua Park (Akvaparks) is popular
residential buildings, is just
P I L S I EL A with families. Swimming gear east of an electrical substation
LIELĀ
T I R G U S
Ventspils JĀŅA IELA Lutheran Church
Beach O S TA S I E L A Ventspils of St Nicholas can be rented on site. on the P124. Book in advance
Venta Castle for a guided tour.
P I L S I E L A L Ventspils Beach
The residents of Ventspils are
Station
K V A L D E M Ā R A AVOTU KU L D Ĩ G A S I E L A Bus 2 km (1 mile) S of town. 7
OSTGALS RĨGAS IELA KATOĻ U IELA S A U L E S I E L A PLATĀ R A I Ņ A I E L A LAUKU BRĨVĨBAS IELA proud of their beach, particu-
larly the 1.2-km (0.7-mile)
LOČU IELA K A R L Ĩ N E S LĨVU J Ū R A S I E L A MEŽA IELA L I E P U ALEKSANDRA SARKANMUIŽAS stretch that received an EU
Blue Flag in 1999 for meeting
DAMBIS
KATOĻU IELA LIEPĀJAS GANĨBU IELA JŪRAS IELA 130 m (140 yards) a remarkable achieve ment, since
Aqua Park K R O Ņ A I E L A L I E L Ā D Z I R N AV U international standards. This was
Railway Station
the coast had been contaminated
V I ĻŅ U I E L A
VA S A R N Ĩ C U I E L A Children’s M E Ž A I E L A L I E L A I S P R O S P E K T S Ventspils by industrial pollution during
L I E L A I S P R O S P E K T S
M E D Ņ U I E L A
the Soviet era. Parts of the
1 Ventspils Castle
beach have been set aside for
City
2 Russian Orthodox Church of
windsurfers, nudists and smo kers,
P Ē T E R A I E L A
PA R K A I E L A
St Nicholas
3 Lutheran Church of St Nicholas and there are playgrounds for
children. At the northern end of
Seaside Open-Air INŽENIERU
Museum LAIMAS 4 Seaside Open-Air Museum the beach is a break water, with
5 Aqua Park a promenade leading to a Radio telescope at VIRAC, the largest of its
STRAZDU IELA 6 Ventspils Beach lighthouse at the end. kind in Northern Europe
ATPŪTAS
RIŅĶA IELA
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp301–302 and pp323–4
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