Līgatne (; german: Ligat) is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

in Līgatne Parish,

Cēsis Municipality Cēsis Municipality ( lv, Cēsu novads) is a municipality in Vidzeme, Latvia. The municipality was formed in 2009 by merging Vaive parish and Cēsis town, which became the administrative centre. As of 2020, the population was 16,291. On 1 Ju ...

in the

Vidzeme Vidzeme (; Old Latvian orthography: ''Widda-semme'', liv, Vidūmō) is one of the Historical Latvian Lands. The capital of Latvia, Riga, is situated in the southwestern part of the region. Literally meaning "the Middle Land", it is situated in ...

region of Latvia. It is situated on the Gauja River. The village of Līgatne was built around the paper mill, still extant, on the River Līgatne in the 19th century. Later it grew into a town and was then awarded city status in 1993.

Līgatne Nature Trails

The reserve known as the Līgatne Nature Trails is also located here, in the

Gauja National Park __NOTOC__ Gauja National Park ( lv, Gaujas nacionālais parks) in Vidzeme is the largest national park in Latvia, with an area of 917.86 km2 running from north-east of Sigulda to south-west of Cēsis along the valley of the Gauja River, f ...

, in the forest on the left bank of the Gauja River downstream from the paper mill. There are extensive paths through the nature reserve both for walking and for cycling, and there is a separate route for cars. There are also facilities for horse-riding and camping. The reserve was set up in 1975 for the protection and display of the diversity of species, both plant and animal, which are characteristic of Latvia. The animals here have been rescued from all over Latvia, either because they were injured, or because they had been tamed and could not survive on their own in the wild. The reserve contains bear, lynx, elk,

European bison The European bison (''Bison bonasus'') or the European wood bison, also known as the wisent ( or ), the zubr (), or sometimes colloquially as the European buffalo, is a European species of bison. It is one of two extant species of bison, along ...

roe deer The roe deer (''Capreolus capreolus''), also known as the roe, western roe deer, or European roe, is a species of deer. The male of the species is sometimes referred to as a roebuck. The roe is a small deer, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapt ...

and

red deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of we ...

. The Gauja river valley contains distinctive geological formations, forests and meadow plants. Particularly significant places are Jumpraviezis rock, Katrīniezis rock, Gūdu cliffs and one of the country's rare sandstone canyons: Paparžu grava ("Fern Glen"), known for its

ferns A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes except th ...

. Līgatne has numerous caves in vertical sandstone banks, that were dug as cellars for paper mill workers during the time of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

Nearby places of interest

* Ferry across the Gauja River (closed in winter) * Līgatne, with peculiar 19th century wooden architecture (30 unique row dwelling houses for paper mill workers) * Līgatne paper mill, in operation 1816–2016, now available for industrial tourism * Zvārtes rock, forest trail and Witches' Meadow on the banks of the Amata River * Ķempji village church and water mill * Skaļupes nature trails * Vienkoči Park

References

External links

Gauja National Park website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ligatne Towns in Latvia Populated places established in 1993 Cēsis Municipality Vidzeme