Turaida Museum Reserve Forest Park

The Turaida Museum Reserve Forest Park, which occupies 6.1ha of the total area of the reserve, is a landscape with a pronounced relief, eight historic pond sites, a river ravine and natural tree cover. At the beginning of the 20th century, the area the Forest Park now covers consisted of pastures, meadows and arable land belonging to Turaida Manor with large trees in the middle of the field that still remain to this day. Part of the area was covered by a pond system designed for fish farming.

In the renewed Forest Park light once more glimmers on the ponds, and you can see the restored historic water level regulators here. Three special trees stand out in the hilly landscape – a crab apple, a pine tree and an oak – which all qualify as stately trees. The old deciduous trees serve as a suitable home for a variety of insects, including the protected hermit beetle (Osmoderma eremita). Each season, Forest Park reveals another facet of its beauty thanks to the diversity of the plants that grow here.

The Turaida Museum Reserve Forest Park is designed as a place to enjoy silence, promote the regeneration of people’s physical and mental health and raise awareness about natural values. Recreational areas and information booths have been set up in the park that encourage people to get acquainted with the natural values all around, help identify them and understand their importance to creating a good, balanced life. The Forest Park is a suitable place for parents to get inspired to learn about nature together with their children.

Living in harmony with nature has long been one of the highest wisdoms of Latvian ancestral customs. In the Turaida Museum Reserve Forest Park every plant, insect or piece of decaying wood could be the protagonist in a story that would help understand the finely structured, unified order of the natural realm.