Page 184 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Estonia Latvia & Lithuania

182  LA T VIA REGION B Y REGION

u Talsi Kurzeme Duchy (1561–1795),
Road Map C3. * 12,500. @ but viniculture may have begun
n Liela iela 19–21, 6322 4165. long before. In the 1930s, the
_ Mara’s Craft Market Fair (Aug). vineyard was used to experiment
∑ talsitourism.lv with grape varieties, but this
ceased during the Soviet period.
The administrative centre of Work began again in 1989, and
northern Kurzeme and a there are now 650 vines of 15
transport hub for the region, varie ties. Wine-tasting is possible
Talsi is an attractive town spread at the annual wine festival.
out around two lakes and across
nine hills. It was originally a Liv Environs
settlement, captured by the Mara’s Caves (Māras kambari),
Kurši during the 10th century, named after an ancient Latvian
and then by the Livonian Order goddess, are 12 km (7 miles)
in 1263. A mound remains southwest of Sabile. In the Middle
where the Order’s castle stood Latvian grape variety Zilga growing at Vīna Ages, these sandstone caves were
on Watermill Hill (Dzirnavkalns). Kalns, Sabile’s renowned vineyard used as a hiding place by bandits.
Talsi’s oldest surviving
building is the 18th-century i Sabile } Drubazas Botany Trail
Lutheran church, atop Church Road Map C3. * 3,500. @ “Drubazas” Abavas pagasts. Tel 2837
Hill (Baznīckalns). The most n Pilskalna iela 6, 6325 2344. 0702. Open call in advance. &
noted pastor of the church was _ Wine Festival (Jul). ∑ sabile.lv
Karl Amenda (1771–1836), a
close friend of composers A small town on the banks of o Pedvāle Open-Air
Beethoven and Mozart. Nearby, the Abava river, Sabile was first Museum
the cobblestoned Kalēju and mentioned in 1253, by which Pedvāles brīvdabas mākslas muzejs
Ūdens streets are notable for time it had long been inhabited
water troughs. by the Kurši tribe. Only a mound Road Map C4. Strauta 4. Tel 6325
The Talsi Regional Museum remains of the tribe’s castle, 2249. @ Open May–Sep: 10am–6pm
daily; Oct–Apr: 10am–4pm daily. &
(Talsu novada muzejs), housed although the stones were used 8 - ∑ pedvale.lv
in a late 19th-century Neo- to repair the town’s 17th-century
Classical residence, fea tures an Lutheran church, which houses The near-derelict buildings and
interesting exhibition on the Latvia’s oldest bell, made grounds of Pedvāle
Livs. The building’s original in 1450. Manor, a short
painted ceiling can be seen in Just 1 km (half walk uphill from
one of the rooms. a mile) from Sabile, were
Sabile centre is the bought by sculptor
Environs farmstead Drubazas, Ojars Feldbergs in
Laumas Nature Park, 20 km where you can 1991. A year later,
(12 miles) north, has several follow a 2-km they were opened as
walking and cycle paths. Guided (1-mile) guided walk Sculpture, Pedvāle the Pedvāle Open-Air
tours are available, including through forests and Open-Air Museum Museum, one of
one focusing on bees. It also marshes, and vist the Latvia’s most
has a camp site. farmhouse for wine tastings. interesting museums. Scattered
Sabile Wine Hill, Sabiles Vīna around the 100-ha (247-acre)
E Talsi Regional Museum Kalns, is said to be the northern- site are over 150 works by
K Mīlenbaha 19. Tel 2910 2628. most vine yard in the world. The Latvian and international artists.
Open 10am–5pm Tue–Sun. & - strong and sour wine it produces Many of the artworks are
∑ talsumuzejs.lv was popular in the court of the designed specifically for the
museum during conferences
and workshops. The on-site
ticket office provides a map to
help visitors in their exploration.
Some of Feldbergs’s own work
can be found exhibited in the
attractively decaying estate
buildings at the far end of the
site, while other buildings
have been renova ted to
accommo date visiting artists.
The former manor house is
now a guest house open to
Picturesque view of Talsi with a canopy of trees rising behind the public.
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp301–302 and pp322–4

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