Jūrmala is a Latvian resort, and the fifth-largest city in the country. Its name combines the Latvian words jūra or sea, and mala or side, so it essentially means ‘seaside.’ With a population of around 50,000, this is said to triple in summer with holiday makers and seasonal residents.
We had previously visited in 2009 on a day trip from Riga where I celebrated my 50th birthday. I have two abiding memories: historic wooden villas and chilly August weather.
We stayed for two nights, and using a map provided by Tourist Information, we tried to tick off as many of the 21 marked sights, in what was limited time. We walked a section of the 24km long beach beginning at large size letters of Jūrmala. This, as well as a huge bronze sculpture of a turtle, provided good photo opportunities. The map showed an ‘illuminated trail’ along the beach but we didn’t have chance to return in the evening. Unfortunately, the weather hadn’t changed much since our original visit, and the beach was largely deserted, apart from dog walkers. On reaching the Dzintari Concert Hall, we turned inland and walked along Jūras Iela: a street lined with historic wooden villas from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These were said to represent all the architectural styles the city is famous for. The ornate wooden façades had gingerbread trim and carved balconies in pastel colours, and large gardens shaded by pine and birch trees. These villas were the summer homes of Riga’s wealthy families during the Russian Empire, and during the Soviet era was a getaway for high-ranking officials. Many had ‘For sale’ signs, as they were owned by Russian oligarchs who since the war in Ukraine, are prohibited from entering Latvia.
However, there is more to Jūrmala than the city centre, and a driver-guide allowed us to fully explore the rest of the 32km long, thin ribbon of land between the Gulf of Riga and the Lielupe River. The city comprises of 14 small districts each with their own character. For example, Dzintari is known as the forest village due to its central spacious forest recreation area, Kauguri, the largest and most urban residential district, has lots of Russian built apartments and Vaivari is known for rehabilitation and spa centres.
One of the most western districts is Ķemeri and here we found a Water Tower, in white, pink and red, which was built in 1929 as a mineral water reservoir. It’s now a tourist attraction, with 192 steps to the top of the 42m tower. This involved three flights of stone steps where a short exhibition on the landing allowed us to get our breath back, before a series of narrow metal staircases, which got gradually steeper and narrower until we exited via a hatch. The top provided views of the former Ķemeri Hotel, built in 1936 and known as The White Liner, as it was one of the most magnificent hotels in the country. Now in private ownership, it is not operating, although there are hopes it will reopen in the future. We also viewed, and later walked through, Ķemeri Resort Park and found the Islet of Love, an artificial island formed at the end of a small canal with a beautiful white stone rotunda. Nearby was St Peter and St Paul’s Orthodox Church, said to have been built from wood and only one nail.
Amazingly, around 50% of the city is covered by forest and our final visit was Ķemeri National Park. A trail through the trees, led to Ķemeri Bog and a wooden boardwalk trail, where eventually we had the option of a short loop (1.4 km) or a longer version (3.4 km), and we opted for the latter. The walk took us over a mosaic of open water pools, mosses, dwarf pines, and peat hummocks. Whilst it was flat, there were no handrails and as it was only three vertical planks wide, we had to carefully pass other visitors.
We rounded off our day with a very late lunch at the beach-front Kafejnīca ‘Kūriņš’. Here we enjoyed a pork chop with mushrooms, and what was described as ‘witch’ chicken filet with cheese, black plums (prunes) orange sauce and ginger, with a shared side of baked potato. The portions were huge, but after all our energetic activities, we felt they were thoroughly deserved.
