Spāre Manor Writers’ Park

The Spāre Manor Writers’ Park dates back to the early 20th century, but has since been restored. It is a unique masterpiece of nature and culture that retains the influence and memory of the well-known Latvian writers who created it.

The Writers’ Park was created on 4 May 1930, when the head teachers of the elementary school that was then housed in Spāre Manor, Kārlis and Alvīne Skalbergs, invited the writers of the so-called Trauksminieku grupa (roughly translated as Turbulent Group) to the manor – Aleksandrs Čaks, Arvīds Grigulis, Jānis Grots, Jānis Plaudis, Emīls Skujenieks, Austra Skujiņa, Jānis Trimda, Ādolfs Talcis, Valdis Lukss, Arvīds Borincs, Pāvils Vīlips, and actress Elvīra Bramberga. After their visit each of them planted a tree. In honour of this event, an anthem and a chart of the trees they planted were created and can still be seen today.

Arvīds Grigulis continued this tradition 30 years later by planting another tree, and poets Valdis Lukss, Laimonis Vāczemnieks and Jānis Plotnieks followed his example.

At the initiative of Mārīte Rukmane, a teacher at Spāre Boarding School, a restoration of the Writers’ Park was started on 1 September 2014, adding new trees and plants. The first tree that was planted was a linden tree to commemorate renowned local resident Melānija Vanaga. The avenue of linden trees leading to the park was restored and name plates with the names of the trees and a board bearing the original chart of the park drawn by the writers and the anthem have been installed. New trees planted by well-known poets and writers such as Knuts Skujenieks, Jānis Rokpelnis, Edvīns Raups, Inga Ābele, Roalds Dobrovenskis, Velta Kaltiņa, Arnolds Auziņš, Māra Cielēna, Lija Brīdaka, Māra Svīre, Valdis Rūmnieks, Valdis Atāls and others, now join the leafy oak tree once planted by Aleksandrs Čaks. Among the varieties of trees you can see in the park are yews, weeping willows, beeches, black pines, bird cherry trees and northern red oaks.

Literary and recreational events take place in the Writers’ Park and creative people come here for inspiration.