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Ventspils, located on the eastern coast of Baltic sea, in the north-west of Latvia some 189 kilometres from Riga, is an up-to-date, modern European city with a wide range of available entertainment and tourist sights.
This city of 44,000 inhabitants lays at mouth of the Venta River that flows into the Baltic Sea, only 60 km from Stockholm (if you take ferry into account - Ventspils has regular ferry traffic with Sweden: Ventspils – Nineshamn ferry line, opened on August 30, 2002). Ventspils celebrated its 700th anniversary some ten years ago.

Ventspils is proud of the cleanest streets and smoothest driving surfaces in the country, and I can only confirm this – I have never seen such a clean and tidy town, with port where the daily work proceeds at a calm and quiet speed. It is known as the brightest city in Latvia, with not a single unlit street or square after dark. During the summer months, attractive water fountains and flower arrangements abound in the city to please the eye and uplift the soul.

Ventspils' sweeping environmental cleanup program has been one of the city's most notable success stories. In close co-operation with local enterprises and environmental experts from the Netherlands, Ventspils has managed to transform itself from an ecological disaster area to well-kept and environmentally conscious city. In 1999, Ventspils' beach became the first in the country to receive the Blue Flag, signifying its environmental soundness, and the refurbished Venta River Promenade is now a popular spot for quiet strolls and city festivals.

The world's largest cargo and tanker ships can now dock year-round at Ventspils' ice free port, whose shipping canal was deepened in 1998. Ventspils is especially proud of its award-winning success in renovating existing buildings and constructing new ones. The once –decrepit castle of the German Knights of the Livonian Order now houses one of Latvia's most modern digital museums. Several new cultural monuments have also become popular city landmarks, including the Sea Stone sculpture, the Sun Boats water fountain, and statue of Krisjanis Valdemars (maybe I´ll show in some of the next photos).