Jurmala Tourism Information Center has created a new walking route “Dzintari. Aristocratic Edinburgh”, which invites you to get to know the pearls of the historical architecture of Jurmala and learn the facts of the history of important places.
The route is approximately five kilometers long and mostly leads on asphalted roads, except for one section, where pedestrians will be able to choose – to continue along the beach or the city streets. A total of 42 attractions are collected on the route, the Jūrmala city administration informed.
The walking route starts at the “Dzintari” railway station. Along with the opening of the Riga-Tukums railway line in 1877, a railway station was also established in Edinburgh. In the twists and turns of history, the station has undergone several name and location changes. Further, a walk along Edinburga Prospect up to Dzintari Prospect shows the most outstanding architectural pearls of the neighborhood – summer houses, residential houses and public facilities.
At the end of the walk, the route takes you to one of the most popular recreational spots in Dzintari – Dzintari forest park, located between Dzintari Avenue and Edinburga Avenue. In 1976, the game and amusement palace “Daile” was built here according to the project of the architect Edgars Šenberg, which was one of the most important buildings of modern architecture both in the context of Jūrmala and Latvia.
While going for a walk, those interested will see buildings designed by the famous Latvian architects Eižens Laube, Vilhelm Bokslaf and Konstantīns Pēkšēns, learn about the twists and turns of the history of the “Dzintari” railway station, the Bulduri Lutheran Church, Kristaps Morberg’s summer house, as well as discover facts about objects that were once popular but no longer exist today – Helena Keviča boarding house, Dr. M. Maksimović sanatorium, recreation palace “Daile”, cinema “Dzintars” and sanatorium “Baltija”.
Dzintari is one of the parts of the city of Jūrmala, which was once formed in the western part of the Bulduri (until 1922 – Bilderliņu) manor, which borders the Majori manor. In 1874, in honor of the marriage of Alfred, the Duke of Edinburgh, the son of Queen Victoria of Great Britain, to Maria, the daughter of the Russian Emperor Alexander II, in 1874, the colony of cottages established in the second forest section of the Bulduri Manor was called Edinburgh.
The new route complements the existing six Jūrmala walking routes: “Bulduri. From the German citadel to the center of social life”, “Doubles. Center of Creative Intelligence”, “Vecdubulti. Historical center of Jūrmala”, “Bullůciems. Harmony of Ragakāpa Nature Park and Liedag”, “Lielupe. Pearls of historical architecture and stories of the fates of notable personalities” and “Bulduri. Architectural pearls in Vecbulduros”.
All walking routes are available on the website “www.visitjurmala.lv” in the “City routes” section, where there is also a “Google” map with the route and description.
