Tukums Town Park

For over 150 years, the old Tukums Town Park with its abundance of trees has been a favourite place of recreation for residents of Tukums. It is currently being reanimated and supplemented with new trees and plants.

The park was established in 1869 by the street Lielā Iela on the advice of the Governor of Kurzeme. Baron von der Recke, the owner of Durbe and Šlokenbeka Manors at the time, was passionate about growing trees and he created the park and donated it to the city. It stood out with its impressive diversity of trees. Initially there were only walking paths through the park, but an open-air stage and a dance floor were constructed as early as the end of the 19th century. In the first half of the 20th century a small restaurant decorated with wood-carvings was built, and became a beloved place for Tukums residents to socialise. Since then, the park has witnessed countless celebrations and romantic evenings. In the early 20th century, an orchestra would play in the park pavilion during the summers, and there were carousels here during the Soviet era.

The resplendent park was neglected for a long time, but is now being restored and opened to the public again in summer 2016. Among the newly planted trees in the park are the Manchurian walnut (Juglans mandshurica), the English or Persian walnut (Juglans regia), the Japanese walnut (Juglans cordiformis), the copper beech (Fagus sylvatica ‘Purpurea Latifolia’), which is a variety of European beech, the Amur maple (Acer ginnala), the Japanese maple (Acer palmatum), the dawn redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides), the yellow catalpa (Catalpa ovata), the northern catalpa (Catalpa speciosa), the Japanese cork tree (Phellodendron japonicum) and the dragon’s claw willow (Salix matsudana ‘Tortuosa’), which is a variety of the Chinese willow.

Visitors now have access to one of the oldest parts of the park that has spacious playgrounds for children of all ages, as well as walking trails and benches. The park also has a summer café called Kates krepes (Kate’s Crepes), where you can enjoy refreshing drinks and delicious pancakes.

In the winter, a spruce forest takes over Tukums Town Park and Christmas elves build a village that Father Christmas visits each Sunday during Advent. During Easter, however, it is Easter Bunnies that make themselves at home in the park. In the summers, the town’s largest festivities are celebrated in the adjacent Pauzers Meadows – the Rose Festival and Precību spēles (Marriage Games).

In the future, the oldest parts of the park will be restored and improved for nature lovers to enjoy, and a new part of the park will be developed to attract active leisure enthusiasts.