A leading tourist attraction and site of national historical interest in Latvia’s Vidzeme region – an open-air reconstruction of a unique 8-10th century fortified residence – has a new visitor centre and protective infrastructure, thanks to ERDF funding. The reconstruction is the only one of its kind in Europe and was nominated as archaeological monument of Latvia 2020. Inside the multifunctional visitor centre is a permanent exhibition about the Āraiši lake fortress an
Āraiši Archaeological Park, Latvia, upgrades the visitor experience
- 30 October 2020
A leading tourist attraction and site of national historical interest in Latvia’s Vidzeme region – an open-air reconstruction of a unique 8-10th century fortified residence – has a new visitor centre and protective infrastructure, thanks to ERDF funding.
The reconstruction is the only one of its kind in Europe and was nominated as archaeological monument of Latvia 2020. Inside the multifunctional visitor centre is a permanent exhibition about the Āraiši lake fortress and its discoverer, archaeologist Jānis Apals, to attract more tourists to the site and help them appreciate it more fully.
To protect this valuable site, the project has added a wooden defensive structure around the fortress. This is a reconstruction of the defences that archaeologists believe were used by the fortress, using evidence from excavations. It restores south and west battle passages to the lake island on which the fortress was built, with platforms in front of the passages and a fence with a gate.
The protective structure alone cost almost EUR 790 000, with EUR 300 000 from EU funds. Total costs of the entire Āraiši Lake Fortress project are over EUR 12 million, with EU funding accounting for almost EUR 6 million.
Related links:
Source article on: https://www.cfla.gov.lv on 14/20/2020
Project: http://araisi.com/lv/ko-redzet-araisos/araisu-arheologiskais-parks/
Author: Central Finance and Contracting Agency of the Republic of Latvia
Photo: © iStock/Rocter