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Kuldiga Old City in the Primeval Hollow of the River Venta

Latvia (Europe and North America)

Date of Submission: 03/01/2005
Criteria: (ii)(iv)
Category: Cultural
Submission prepared by:
The State Inspection for Heritage Protection M. Pils street 19, Riga LV 1050, Latvia
Coordinates:
Latitude 56°58'03'' Longitude 21°58'14''
Ref.: 1987

Description

Historically the river Venta and Venta falls had been significant factors in developing Kuldiga town. The following heritage objects are geographically connected with the valley of the river Venta: Old Kuldiga castle mound, Kuldiga Castle, Venta channel.

Old Kuldiga castle mound is located on the left bank of the river Venta below Venta falls by the estuary of Old Kuldiga nullah in the river Venta. The natural watercourses protected the biggest castle mound of Latvia from three sides. The castle mound and the ancient town occupied in total more than 1 ha big area. There was Old Kuldiga town with an area of about 10 ha behind the southwest wall and ditch. In 1355 the citizens of the ancient town had to move closer to the newly built stone castle built by the knights in the territory of the present town. There are several legends (about underground passages, copper pendants) and tales (events described in 10th century about the Cours King's Dorno brave resistance to the attack led by Danish Viking Hedding's son Frodi) about the castle mound. This castle mound is a heritage monument of national importance.

Venta waterway has also been one of the factors determining that in the middle of the 13'~ century the Livonian Order started to build a stone castle by the very Venta falls. The natural barriers - the valley of the river Venta and the river Aleksupite ensured protection of the castle but the dolomites forming the valley of the river were used as a building material for the castle. In the 13th century a settlement which was the foundation of the development of Kuldiga town started to develop around the Order's castle. In 1701, during the Nordic war Swedish troops invaded Kuldiga castle which became uninhabitable in 1709 but in the beginning of the l9th century the ruins of the castle were removed.

Venta channel on the right bank of the river is also connected with Venta falls. Venta channel was started to dig in the 17'~ century during the reign of the Duke Jacob of Kurzeme to provide a shipping bypass round the falls. In the l9th century the government of tsarist Russia continued digging thus implementing a magnificent project of joining the Baltic, the White, the Black and the Caspian Seas as a result of which Russian inland- waters would be interconnected. Thus, the channel is a historical testimony of man's grand plans of changing the nature which failed due to economical or other reasons. The historical centre of Kuldiga town had started developing already in the 13th century and it had preserved the planning elements which arose in the 13th -19th centuries. Kuldiga was a significant political, administrative, economical and cultural centre, a country of the Livonian Order during the time of Kurzeme - Zemgale Dukedom and Kurzeme Province of Russian Empire. So, in 1368 Kuldiga was included in the Union of Hansa Towns. The lack of modern roads and railways prevented the changes in town planning and building in the last centuries therefore Kuldiga has preserved characteristics of a provincial town which confers a special heritage value to it. The Medieval historical centre near the river Aleksupite is unique; it is the only extant town building ensemble of the 17th-18th century in the Baltic States.

The historical centre of Kuldiga is a cultural monument of national importance. In the historical centre the narrow streets, and mainly peculiar one-storied buildings with a chimney in the middle and roof with red tiles, often in the centre of the model facades frontons, are preserved. These houses are proud of their architecture, luxurious doors, bay windows and door-handles rich in ornaments. Such harmony of background buildings is unique both in winding and in upward streets.

The Old Kuldiga is big. There are three junction points in its plan - three market places; interconnecting them with lines the borders and the centres of gravity of the Old town are clearly marked. These include the Old town and the castle hamlet round the ancient market place by the St. Catherinls Church, posterior market place with Town Hall by the Catholic Church and the newly established market place in 1930. In the vicinity of Kuldiga the river Venta forms up to 58 m deep valley. Venta falls is a significant geologic-geomorphologic object in the valley of the river Venta. The fall had developed as a result of geological processes by water falling from the hard dolomites of Plavinas series down on dolomites with sandstone and clay layers and eroding them. The height of it varies from 1,8m to 2,2m. The width of the fall reaches 240m in summer time. In time of fish migration inhabitants of town and tourists can observe the migrating fish surmounting the fall. As a natural barrier in fish migration Venta falls has facilitated from the heritage point of view development of interesting fishing styles of salmon and vimba by using specially construed weirs. For the purpose of installing weirs and fishing there

are gutters cut in the dolomites of falls. An architectural monument of national importance - the ancient brick bridge across the river Venta built in 1874 and designed by an engineer Friedrich Stapprany who was born in 1837 in manor Remberge (present Selpils parish) is one of the longest brick bridges in Europe, constructed according to the standards of the l9th century - 500 feet (153m) long and 26 feet wide (8, 0 m), appropriate for two carriages going in opposite directions.

There is outstanding scenery to the valley of the river Venta and Venta falls from Kuldiga Bridge. The high visual value of the scenery is determined by the fall and the flow of Venta. The image of Venta falls is changing every season (photo). The left bank of the river Venta also allows for high quality sceneries to Venta falls and the red brick bridge. The deep valley of the river Venta, Venta falls, changing riverbed and the red brick bridge together have made very harmonic scenery which proves that humans are able to make a harmony of their objects and natural scenery.