Kuldīga

Ventas Rumba — Europe's widest waterfall

Ventas Rumba is not tall. The water drops only about two metres over a ledge of dolomite rock that stretches across the full width of the Venta River. But at 240 metres across, it is the widest natural waterfall in Europe by the measure of breadth, and the sight of it — a broad, foaming curtain of white water spanning the entire river — is striking in a way that high but narrow falls rarely are. The scale only becomes apparent when you stand on the bridge and look along its full width.

The falls are at their most dramatic in spring, when snowmelt raises the river level and the full dolomite ledge disappears under a continuous rush of water. In April and May, vimba fish attempt to leap the falls on their way upstream to spawn — a natural spectacle that has been observed here for centuries. Locals traditionally caught the leaping fish mid-air with hand-held baskets — a practice called "catching fish in the air" in old Latvian sources. The custom continues today in a more ceremonial form, and the riverbanks draw crowds during the spring migration. After the run, the caught vimba are smoked over alder and sold at the riverside.

The falls are best viewed from the old red-brick bridge that crosses the Venta just upstream. Built in 1874, the bridge is 164 metres long and is the longest brick bridge in Europe still carrying road traffic. Its seven arches follow the original design from construction, and the whole structure has survived — with repairs — two world wars and 150 years of spring floods. Walking across it at waterfall level, with the Ventas Rumba spread out below and behind, is the defining Kuldiga experience.

The old town

Kuldiga's old town is remarkably well preserved, and its inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2023 came as recognition of what has been evident to any visitor for a long time: the streets are cobbled, the houses are low — mostly one and two storeys — and many date to the 17th and 18th centuries, arranged in a pattern that has changed very little since the Duchy of Courland period. Wooden buildings with carved window frames and painted gables sit beside stone and brick structures from the Swedish and Russian imperial eras, and the overall impression is of a prosperous market town that stopped growing at a certain point and stayed that way.

The UNESCO citation recognised the intact urban landscape and the way Kuldiga's architecture reflects the social and economic history of the Duchy of Courland — a small but ambitious state that occupied western Latvia from 1561 to 1795 and, at its peak under Duke Jakob Kettler in the 17th century, maintained colonies in Tobago and the Gambia. Kuldiga was one of the duchy's most important secondary towns, and several of its surviving buildings date from the period of Courlandian prosperity. The town hall, rebuilt in the 17th century and still standing on Ratslaukums square, is the most prominent civic building.

The town grew around the castle of the Livonian Order, built in the 13th century on a hill above the Venta. The castle was destroyed in the Great Northern War in the early 18th century, and only foundations and earthworks remain, but the castle park is a pleasant green space with river valley views and a good vantage point over the Ventas Rumba. Kuldiga's St. Catherine's Church, a Lutheran church built in 1640 and one of the oldest wooden churches in Latvia, stands a short walk from the market square and is worth seeking out for the carved interior woodwork.

Aleksupite and the smaller waterfall

A smaller river, the Aleksupite, flows through the heart of the old town and has its own waterfall — a half-metre drop over a weir — near the town centre. What makes the Aleksupite distinctive is not the height of its fall but its route: the stream runs alongside and literally beneath houses, crossed by miniature stone bridges, bordered by herb gardens and kitchen plots, and threading through yards that have backed onto it for centuries. On summer evenings, with the doors and windows of the old houses open, the sound of running water is constant throughout the central streets.

The confluence of the Aleksupite and the Venta, just upstream of the main bridge, is a particularly good spot for watching the vimba run in spring. The smaller stream also draws fish attempting the shallower crossing, and the confluence has been a traditional fishing ground for the town's residents for generations.

Food and local life

Kuldiga, Latvia is a working town as well as a heritage site, and the food and cafe culture reflects that. The Goldingen restaurant on the market square is the main address for sit-down Latvian cooking — pike-perch from the Venta, smoked vimba in season, rye bread dishes, and the local grey peas with bacon that appear on most menus in western Latvia. For something informal, the market hall on Baznizas Street sells bread, dairy, seasonal produce, and smoked fish on weekday and Saturday mornings. The Kuldiga bakeries on the side streets of the old town produce good rye sourdough and the sweet pastries — rauga pankukas, maize bread — that are particularly associated with the Kurzeme region.

The Duchy of Courland and the wider region

Kuldiga, Latvia sits at the heart of Kurzeme (Courland) — the westernmost region of Latvia, historically distinct from Vidzeme and Latgale in its Germanic and Scandinavian influences. The Duchy of Courland, which governed this territory for over two centuries, left a legacy visible throughout the region in manor houses, churches, and the well-built market towns that served its agricultural economy. The Abava Valley, about 30 kilometres east of Kuldiga, is a quieter and less visited stretch of landscape with further manor house ruins, riverside forests, and a handful of small craft operations and breweries in converted farm buildings. Sabile, a small town in the Abava Valley, has a hill vineyard — claimed to be the world's northernmost outdoor commercial vineyard — which has produced wine in small quantities since Soviet times and now hosts an annual wine festival each July.

Architecture and walks in the old town

The best way to see Kuldiga's old town is without a plan — the street grid is small enough that getting lost is barely possible, and most of what is worth seeing is encountered on foot. The town museum (Kuldigas muzejs) on Pils Street occupies a historic house from the 17th century and covers the town's history from the Livonian Order through the Duchy of Courland and into the modern period. The permanent collection is modest but the building itself — low-ceilinged rooms, original floors, period furniture — is the main attraction. The exhibition on the UNESCO inscription and what was documented during the assessment process is informative and recent.

The Roman Catholic church of the Holy Trinity on Baznizas Street dates to 1640, one of the few Catholic churches in western Latvia surviving from the Courland period. The interior has been restored and contains carved wooden altarpieces and decorative details that reflect the town's prosperity in the 17th century. St. Anne's Lutheran Church, a short walk away, is older but more architecturally austere. Together the two churches represent the religious duality of the Duchy of Courland — nominally Lutheran but with a significant Catholic minority, particularly among the nobility and the Polish merchants who traded along the Baltic routes.

The walk from the market square down Baznicas Street toward the Venta bridge takes you past some of the finest streetscapes in the old town: a run of wooden and plaster-faced houses from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, each slightly different in height and detail but unified by the low scale and the cobbled surface underfoot. The bridge viewpoint at the end of this walk — looking upstream toward the falls with the old town rooftops behind you — is the single best photographic position in Kuldiga.

Food and where to eat

Kuldiga, Latvia has a small but well-regarded restaurant scene for a town of its size — about 12,000 people. The Goldingen restaurant (named for the town's German historical name) on the market square is the main address for Latvian cooking: pike-perch from the Venta River, seasonal mushroom dishes, dark rye bread baked daily, and grey peas with smoked pork — the dish that is perhaps the most Latvian thing on any menu in western Latvia. The Aleksupite cafe and bakery near the small waterfall is the best informal option, with pastries, open sandwiches, and coffee served in a converted house with garden seating in summer. The local market hall on Baznizas Street sells fresh produce, dairy, and smoked fish most mornings; the Saturday market adds craft goods and seasonal specialities.

Seasonal highlights

Kuldiga, Latvia in spring is the most dramatic version of the town. The vimba fish run at Ventas Rumba typically peaks in late April and the first half of May, when the falls are at their highest and the riverside fills with spectators. The basket fishing tradition — catching the leaping fish mid-air — is practised for the first few days of the run, and the atmosphere is somewhere between a local sport and an ancient festival. The fish caught this way are sold smoked at riverside stalls and eaten on the spot or taken home by the bag. For many Latvian families, making the spring trip to Kuldiga to watch the vimba jump is an annual tradition.

In summer Kuldiga is at its prettiest: the old town gardens are in flower, the Aleksupite stream runs green and clear beneath its footbridges, and the market square fills on weekend mornings with producers from the surrounding Kurzeme farms. The Kuldiga City Festival in July brings outdoor concerts, craft stalls, and a general activation of the old town around the market square and the riverside. Autumn is the quietest season but rewarding for those who prefer empty streets — the UNESCO inscription has increased summer visitor numbers considerably, and September through October sees the town return to something closer to its everyday character, with local cafes and restaurants still open but the tourist traffic reduced.

Where to stay

Kuldiga has a modest range of accommodation suited to a one- or two-night stay. The Metropole Hotel in the old town centre is the main address — a restored early 20th-century building with well-appointed rooms and a restaurant that serves Latvian food with some influence from the wider Kurzeme cooking tradition. Several guesthouses and B&Bs operate in converted houses in the old town, some of which are genuinely charming buildings with period details. Farmhouse accommodation is available in the surrounding Venta River countryside — useful for those who want a quiet rural base for exploring the wider Kurzeme region rather than staying in the town itself. Advance booking is necessary in summer and around the vimba season weekends in April and May, when rooms fill quickly.

Getting here

Kuldiga is about 150 kilometres west of Riga, Latvia — roughly a two-hour drive via Tukums and then the P98 regional road. There is no direct rail connection; buses run several times a day from Riga bus station, with the journey taking about two and a half hours. Most visitors come as a day trip from Riga or as part of a longer route through the Kurzeme region, combining Kuldiga with Liepaja, Latvia on the coast — about 70 kilometres south — or with the Abava Valley to the east. The town itself is small enough to walk thoroughly in half a day, leaving the afternoon for the river, the bridge, the castle park, and a long lunch before the return journey.