The rocky Vidzeme seaside

Riga region

Listen to the landscape

One of the most beautiful parts of the Vidzeme coastline is the rocky seaside with dunes, picturesque steep banks, large and small river mouths, outcrops and rocky islands. The Veczemju bluffs – the only sandstone outcrops on the Baltic Sea – are a spectacular and magnificent sandstone formation with grottoes and caves. The clusters of rocks on the beach and in the sea are rare elements in Latvia’s coastal landscape. The Ķurmraga lighthouse is a singular symbol in the Vidzeme coastal landscape. It was built on the top of the steep bluff, but toppled over during a storm and later slipped down to the sea’s edge.

The Vidzeme coastline features many monumental rocks, the largest of them being the Lielais Krauju (Great Bank), located in the sea. It can be seen from the shore in calm waters.
The Veczemju red bluff is 200 metres long and up to four metres high. The number, size and shape of its caves and grottoes are constantly changed by the action of the sea.
The ancestors of Vidzeme coastal fishing-village residents studied at the Ainaži Marine School, almost every house had a captain or helmsman living in it.