Tērvete Park with castle mound

Zemgale

Listen to the landscape

The Tērvete Nature Park was founded in 1977. A third of the park is taken up by a fairy-tale world – the Fairytale Forest, the Amusement Park and the Dwarf Forest. Walking trails lead through the fairytale realm of renowned Latvian writer Anna Brigadere. Sprīdītis, Lutausis and other characters from Brigadere’s plays have been brought to life in wooden sculptures by Krišjānis Kugra and Ritvars Kalniņš. Gulbju (Swan) Bridge overlooks the ancient Tērvete River valley, with picturesque Swan Lake nearby. The 19-metre-high Tērvete castle mound harks back to ancient times. It was inhabited until the end of the 13th century. The castle mound stands out in the landscape because of its pronounced silhouette and steep slopes.

The Tērvete castle mound is also known as Cukurkalns (Sugar Hill), so named in the 19th century, because its bulwark shape looked like a sugarloaf or cone, then popular sugar products.
To display Tērvete’s ancient history, part of the wooden castle once located here has been rebuilt, based on archaeological research. Work will continue until the castle is completely reconstructed.
Recently, a pedestrian bridge made of glued wooden components and unique in Latvia, has been built here, as has a viewing platform built entirely from wood.