Kokmuiža Castle Park

and take a walk through the hundred-year-old alley of trees, as well as see Latvia’s first and only publically accessible spherical sundial.

Kokmuiža (Kokenhof in German) was first mentioned in historical texts in 1582. The foundations of the neo-Baroque building you can see today were laid back in 1880 when it was managed by the Baltic German Schröder family. The historic manor grounds also include a brewery, a brick kiln and, of course, the park that once competed with the most beautiful and colourful gardens and parks in Western Europe.

At the beginning of the 19th century, Nicolai Anders von Hartwiss (1793–1860), who later became the Head of the Imperial Nikitsky Botanical Garden in Crimea where he bred about 200 varieties of roses, began his career as a gardener here, in his father’s manor. Theodor Heinrich von Schröder (1834–1903), who owned the manor in the late 19th century, created the English landscape garden. Native tree species and single exotic ones were planted here, and ponds, gravel paths and seven alleys of different trees, including oaks and elms, were built here. The alleys stretched up to the sky – five of them still remain today.

In recent years, Kokmuiža Manor and its surroundings have been tidied up and restored, preserving and highlighting its historical and architectural value. In 2012, Kokmuiža Manor Park was reconstructed and a new parterre was created with the first publically accessible spherical sundial in Latvia in its centre. The park’s greenery is supplemented by magnificent ornamental plants that are also easy to maintain – daylilies, Siberian irises, peonies and others.

The Kokmuiža Manor complex can be viewed independently or in the company of a guide, which can be arranged prior to your visit. Every summer since 2015, the manor hosts the Kokmuiža Festival with a rich cultural programme.