The areas of the richest cultural heritage in KNP are Lapmežciems municipality (Kaņieris Castle mound and Siliņupe Stone Age settlement) and Ķemeri - a town of national importance due to its architectural monuments (Hotel “Ķemeri”, the water tower, the Lutheran church and Ķemeri Park with its architecture etc.) Many valuable cultural monuments were destroyed during the two world wars. Some of them were destroyed during the Soviet times.
Ķemeri. The place name “Ķemeri” is first mentioned in the historical documents of 1561 in relation to granting land ownership to a farmer called Kaspars Ķemers. Thus, the farmer's name also gave name to a part of Jurmala city. Another version is that the name originated from the name of the house of the local forester “Ķemeres”. The forester was the first person who started using medical baths in his own house. Ķemeri is long famous for its curing springs. The first water analysis was done in 1801 by an academic from St. Petersburg, T. Lovics. In 1891, the first data was published about using mud for medical purposes.
Most significant objects to see in Ķemeri:
• Ķemeri Railway station. The train station, which had been destroyed during World War I, was rebuilt in 1922 and was thus the first building constructed in Ķemeri after Latvia gained its independence. It underwent reconstruction once again after World War II. The opening of railway line between Riga and Ķemeri in 1877 resulted in a considerable influx of holidaymakers and other visitors to the then flourishing resort. Today, the railway station greets the residents of Ķemeri and visitors arriving by train from Riga or Tukums.
• Hotel “Ķemeri”. The most impressive and popular building from the first period of the independence of Latvia is the Hotel “Kemeri” or “White Ship”. Its unique forms were designed by distinguished Latvian architect Eižens Laube. This comfortable hotel with more than 100 rooms, hall furnished in the style of Ludwig IV, rose room and library rich in bibliographical rarities was opened to guests in 1936. The President of Latvia, Kārlis Ulmanis attended the opening ceremony. The “White Ship” is a unique architectonic jewel in Latvia; the sight of its façade alone is more than sufficient justification for a visit here. Restoration works have been under way at the hotel for several years now. Connoisseurs of Latvian cinema should look out for the hotel’s five-storey building with its roof terraces and sightseeing belvedere any time they get the chance to see Aigars Grauba`s film, “Dreadful Summer”, shot in 2000.
• The Water Tower. A reddish water tower is situated not far from the Hotel “Kemeri” dating back to 1929 and commanding the skyline above the park like a giant lighthouse. Prior to World War II, visitors of the resort could gaze down at the neighborhood of Ķemeri from the sightseeing platform at the top of the tower which stood 42 meters above ground.
• Ķemeri Park. Recuperation and rest are unimaginable without the invigorating sensations of walks in the fresh air. This awareness resulted in the establishment of the landscape park with its network of paths which has been an integral landmark in Ķemeri since 1838. Several bridges including the “Musical Bridge” with notes in the parapets, the “Bridge of Sighs”, the “Brigde of Caprices” were built over the small River Vēršupīte wending its way through the park to Lake Slokas. Several sulphur sprigs fall into the river, dying the dark water of the river pale and filling the air with peculiar sulphurous odour. Back in the halcyon days of the resort, visitors took to small boats and paddled their way along the river and its canals. In the shade of the trees, there stands a monument for the founders and directors of the resort; alleys bearing names of famous people can also be found in the park.
• The “Love Islet” and Pavilion – Rotunda. (arh. Fr. Skujiņš). One of the most stunning architectural objects in Ķemeri Park can be found on the artificially created “Love Islet”. Originally made of wood with a splendid array of carvings, the pavilion has been located here since the end of the 19th century. The stone rotunda came later, but experienced the same amount of favor and benevolence from resort visitors who came here to enjoy refreshments accompanied by the special music of the day. Unfortunately, the ravages of time have left their marks on the rotunda and it is now in need of considerable restoration. In spite of this, the all – enveloping enchantment of the romantic silence can be felt everywhere.
• Restaurant “Jautrais ods” (‘Cheerful Mosquito'), now called “Meža māja” (“Forest House”). Being surrounded by forests and bogs, life in Ķemeri would be unimaginable without its annual invasion of mosquitoes. This probably explains why one of the most famous leisure and entertainment venues in Ķemeri was named in honour of this highly sociable insect. A pristine example of national romanticism style architecture, the “Cheerful Mosquito” was first opened in the summer of 1933 as a sports and recreation complex before its subsequent reincarnation as a fashionable restaurant. Indeed, before the Second World War, it exquisite cuisine and eclectic entertainment program including dances and cabaret shows had an almost magnetic appeal for visitors to the resort. Later, during the Soviet era, a children’s sanatorium was established in this building. Today it is known as “Forest House” and serves as the administration building of Ķemeri National Park and is also home to the National Park’s Information Centre and Nature School.
• The Catholic and Lutheran churches. The newest of the three churches in Ķemeri, the Roman Catholic Church of St. John the Baptist was built in 1899. And like most buildings in Ķemeri it was made of wood. The Lutheran Church, in its turn, is one of the few stone buildings to be built in Ķemeri during the 18th century. The author of the church altar piece “Christ healing the sick” (1943) is famous Latvian artist I. Zeberiņš.
• The Orthodox Church of St. Peter-Paul. Adorned by a beautiful décor laced with woodcarvings, the Orthodox Church of St. Peter-Paul hides among the trees of the park like a gingerbread house. Gilded crosses decorate the six traditional cupolas. This is the oldest of the three churches in Ķemeri and was built in 1893. Legend has it that the Church of St. Peter-Paul is a wooden building constructed entirely without nails. Memorial sites honoring fallen soldiers from both World Wars are located in the immediate vicinity of this Church.
• Ķemeri Bathing Facility. The healing resources of Ķemeri such as sulphur waters and mud have been used for medicinal procedures since the end of the 19th century. In 1924, a special facility was built for this purpose, being one of the most modern in Europe at that time. The 1st class mud baths were equipped with such features as mechanical hot mud supply and pumping of used mud back to the bog. In Soviet times, a resort clinic was established here. A sulphur spring once used for recuperative baths now sprinkles the backyard in its ongoing guise as a witness to history.
• The Sulphur Spring Pavilion “Ķirzaciņa” (“The Lizard”). Experts would have you believe that the odor of salubrious sulphur springs can easily be mistaken for the smell of rotten eggs. There are more than 20 such springs in Ķemeri. One of these springs, named “The Lizard”, flows into the River Vēršupīte not far from the Hotel “Ķemeri”. The whitish yellow waters of the spring bubble away at the foot of the stone sculpture and legend has it that washing one’s face and hands in its water does wonders to one’s health. Even though it is very much an acquired taste, the sulphur water is perfectly drinkable.
Ķemeri National Park includes also some old fishing villages along the coast - Bigauņciems, Lapmežciems and Ragaciems.
There are two archaeological monuments of national importance in the Lapmežciems municipality:
• Siliņupe Stone Age settlement. (III – II B.C.) Dating back to Neolithic age, the settlement was established during archaeological expedition in 1954. People started to use this delve for living some 5 millenaries ago. The raising water levels made the place swampy, so people were forced to move away. The archaeological expedition of 1954 revealed a relatively thick cultural layer here, containing stone, flinty, bone and amber finds, as well as relics from antique dishes.
• Kaņieris Castle mound. The true history of Kaņieris Castle mound is still a mystery. Legends say that it was a settlement of sea pirates long ago. The pirates used the mound for setting up false lighthouses to allure ships, make them run ground and plunder them afterwards. Both, the type and location of Kaņieris Castle mound are unique and unusual. This is the only castle mound located so close to the sea, in a swampy and uninhabited place.
Other objects of interest in Kemeri National Park are Lustūžkalns in Smārde municipality and Robežakmens (Border Stone) on the border of the municipalities of Sala and Valgunde.
Border Stone is a valuable nature and history object still out of wider public access. In the 18th century the stone marked the border of two countries – Russian Empire and Duchy of Courland. In 19th century it still remained the border between provinces of Vidzeme and Kurzeme.
Last revision 22-11-2008
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