Overview
Ventspils is a Latvian port city on the Baltic Sea. It's bisected by the Venta River. The old town, with cobblestone streets and 17th-century storehouses, is centred on Town Hall Square and Market Square.
Description
Fabulous amounts of oil and shipping money have turned Ventspils into one of Latvia’s most beautiful and dynamic cities. The air is brisk and clean, and the well-kept buildings are done up in an assortment of cheery colours – even the towering industrial machinery is coated in bright paint. Latvia’s biggest and busiest port wasn’t always smiled and rainbows, though – Ventspils’ strategic ice-free location served as the naval and industrial workhorse for the original settlement of Cours in the 12th century, the Livonian Order in the 13th century, the Hanseatic League through the 16th century and finally the USSR in recent times. The 13th-century Castle of the Livonian Order now houses Ventspils Museum, with exhibitions on the castle and the city. Close to the city's beach, Ventspils Water Park has slides and pools.
Ventspils, Ventspils Rajons
Latvia
URL:
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/latvia/western-latvia/ventspils