Kuldīga is a rarity among the North-Eastern Europe provincial towns. For this particular area of the world, the old town of Kuldīga keeps a well preserved and the least transformed heritage of the 18th-19th century town environment with a characteristic landscape of clay tile roofs, historical building ensemble, picturesque street views, fantastic nature and exciting emotional feel.
Specific character of Kuldīga old town, in comparison to Scandinavian states, Western Europe or other parts of the world, can be explained by distinctive political, social, and economic platform that has promoted preservation and conservation of the historical environment after the Second World War, authentic town environment of the 13th century, as well as the character of cultural landscape from first half of the 20thcentury.
One of the most powerful expressions of charm of the old town of Kuldīga is the medieval historical centre near the river Alekšupīte that runs through the old town from the South, flowing between buildings, and reaching the river Venta with great accent - mill (an example of technological development in the 19th-20th century) pond and a waterfall.
The silhouette, panorama and urban landscape of the old town of Kuldīga cannot be perceived without direct context of the natural surroundings of the site - the primeval valley of the river Venta (depth 58 meters), rapid flow of the river and the widest waterfall (240 meters) in Europe, formed in dolomite riverbed of the Venta river. The impressive landscape of nature objects is harmonically improved with the massive brick bridge, built in 1874, used for horse cart traffic (nowadays - motor transport) and pedestrians. The old bridge across the river Venta is the longest brick bridge, except railway bridges, in Europe with vaulting construction. The total length of the bridge is 164 meters and the complete carriageways width is 11 meters.
The nature and picturesque city environment in the old town of Kuldīga is in true synthesis, that expresses itself not only in the sense of history of culture, but also in impressive aesthetic values and identity of the environment.
Visual material: Kuldiga District Municipality and Evija Maļkeviča
