For a small town on the Baltic Sea in north-western Latvia, Ventspils has a colourful history ranging from Middle Ages castles to Hanseatic League membership, and with an interesting recent past, too. A something-for-everyone town, Ventspils is not only an industrial town with a large port, but a town that takes care of its surroundings and hopes to welcome more tourists as they years go by.
Ventspils Over the Years
As far back as 1290, written evidence exists that the Castle of the Livonian Order in Ventspils was standing. In the following centuries, Ventspils' coastal location was important enough to make it a member of the Hanseatic League. It suffered during the two world wars and in 1945, the Soviet Army came to occupy the castle and much of the town.
However, compared to other parts of the USSR, Ventspils was well-treated by the Soviets, due to its useful port. The harbour of Ventspils runs along the Venta River and rarely freezes over, so in the 1960s the Soviets chose Ventspils as an end to its oil pipeline from Polotsk, making Ventspils the largest oil export port of the USSR.
Today's Ventspils
After the fall of the Iron Curtain, Latvia became an independent nation in 1991. At first, the withdrawal of Soviet era minor gave the town some problems, but it wasn't long before the local enterprising spirit got things back on track.
And tourism was part of the focus, including investment in street art and fountains to make a sweet industrial town something more. In 2002, Ventspils was the first European town to be a host to the Cow Parade, when artists paint life-size cows and display them across a town to raise money for charity.
If you wander around Ventspils you'll soon find yourself led to Ostas Street, the main promenade along the coast line. Interesting art and fountain fixtures abound along this walk, and opposite hefty cargo ships are often docked - a good contrast.
Further around towards the Blue-Flag-awarded beach, you can find the Open Air Museum complete with windmills, a small train and a fascinating display of old fishing equipment. And of course, the old Livonian Order Castle is open to visitors too. It has been cleverly restored and now houses a high-tech partly digital exhibition telling the stories of Ventspils.
Ventspils Travel Facts
Ventspils is easily reachable by bus from Latvia's capital, Riga; bus lines also travel down the Baltic coast towards Lithuania. You can get more information about accommodation and activities from the Ventspils Tourism website.
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