Some people call this area The Gate of the Courland, but whatever the name, surroundings of Tukums town is peppered with beautiful landscapes, hills and, of course, the seaside is there as well. This route if full of small, winding roads that, in some parts, will require some skills of the driver. You will see the largest oak tree in Baltics, historical palaces and tombs that can provoke your imagination, but a walk along the dune paths along the sea will help you to relax and find peace.
Half of the 16 places of interest on the route are related to names of various barons of Courland, such as Von der Rekes, Kleists, Lambsdorfs and castles, manors, churches, and tombs they built. You will have the opportunity to see the former hunting palace, now the guest house – Jaunmoku Palace, enjoy the linden tree alley in the park of Vecmoku Manor, as well as appreciate the exposition of the Road Museum in Slokenbeck Manor. The former owners of those buildings are buried in either now abandoned cemeteries such as the Cerste Baron’s Cemetery or in chapels that vary in their state of repair. For example, Birzule Chapel has been restored with the help of the descendants of the Lambsdorf family and the local government.
The vicinity of Tukums has also been fateful for some well-known people – in August 1925, when the car drove off the road, the first Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, Zigfrids Anna Meierovics, who achieved the de facto recognition of Latvia, died. A memorial stone was placed at the scene of the accident. In August 1990, the famous Russian singer Viktor Tsoi died on the Talsi – Tukums road. His fans have erected a monument by the side of the road and still gather every year on the day of his death to commemorate him.
Both are noteworthy, for example, Kaive big oak was appointed in honour of the King of the Baltic Oaks and ranked 11th largest in the whole of Europe, but, Plienciems White Dune is a unique natural formation, across which a footbridge trail leads to the sea. The railway bridge over the River Abava was an ambitious project in the time before World War II. It was hastily built before the railway itself. The war came and the project was never finished, but the bridge “to nowhere” is still standing. Something similar nowadays is happening with the historic airfield, about 4 km from Tukums. There was an idea of turning it into a passenger airport for budget airlines, but it has not happened yet as the project was probably too ambitious.
