ARCHIPELAGOES Baltiska skärgårdar Lettland Ventspils

Ventspils är en lettisk hamnstad, och första större hamn söder om Rigabuktens inlopp. Läget gör den till ett intressant alternativ även för den som vill fortsätta seglingen norrut mot Ösel.

Staden är en småstad med en blandning av mindre sten och trähus. Den har sin charm trots att den blivit en smula sliten. Det verkar som om historien stannat upp i och med det sovjetiska maktövertagandet.

Ytterligare upplysningar om vad Ventspils kan bjuda på hittar du dels under Gästhamnar, dels under Krogar eller Hotell.

"When a Latvian thinks of Ventspils he immediately thinks of three things: the port, the Venta River and the Baltic Sea, usually in that order. This is no coincidence, because it is the combination of these three elements which have led to the success, destruction and rebirth of this ancient city.

Already mentioned in historical documents as a port in 1263, Ventspils truly began to grow as a city after the Livonian Order erected a castle here at the end of the 13th century. Located at the mouth of the Venta River, Ventspils and its ice-free port became a strategic base for trade on the Baltic Sea.

Ventspils entered a brief Golden Age as the shipbuilding centre for Duke Jacob of Kurland’s fleet. It was from this small city in present day Western Latvia, that Duke Jacob launched his fleet into the Baltic Sea. These ships set sail for exotic destinations in the Carri-bean and West Africa where the duke possessed colonies.

Unfortunately, for the duke and for Ventspils, larger powers on the Baltic Sea were preparing to pluck this jewel for themselves. The Great Northern War decimated the city to the point that only seven families were left alive. The Grand Duchy of Kurland first fell to Sweden and was finally snatched by Russia in 1795.

Ventspils was reborn as Russia’s chief ice-free port at the beginning of the 20th century. It was also a prominent port during Latvia’s interwar period and also during the Soviet occupation.

Today, Ventspils is a free port and enjoys Latvia’s lowest rate of unemployment. The city’s wealth is evident in its renovated old town, castle and its pristine beaches. At the beginning of a new millenium, Ventspils’ future seems bright."