The Rockery at Pūre

Pūre Alpinarium is a rock garden that has been organically integrated into the landscape. It is abundant with conifers and deciduous trees, ornamental shrubs, perennial plants, flower bulbs and summer flowers.

The alpinarium lies on the banks of the Abava River in Pūre Manor Park. It was created here in the 1960s by gardeners from the Pūre Horticultural Research Station that was housed in the manor at the time. The gardeners planted over 160 different plants inherent to alpine meadows that were available in the Baltic region – ivy and yews from the Dundaga Blue Hills, lyme grass from the Curonian Spit, rolling hen-and-chick succulents from Estonia, wild lilies and carnations, anemones, hyacinths and other flower bulbs. The rockery was neglected for many years, but it is now being maintained and restored again.

The ancient Pūre Manor Park that surrounds the rock garden is thought to have been built in the 19th century when major renovations were made to the manor. The park was once graced by a beautiful Renaissance terrace on the side of the Abava River ravine. An alley led into the park and ended with a round display courtyard. The manor park was formed around native varieties of deciduous trees – maples, birches, linden and elm trees – as well as around 100 different introduced tree and shrub varieties, many of which can still be seen today. Among them is the Amur cork tree (Phellodendron amurense), one of the largest of its kind in Latvia, a hybrid walnut variety (Juglans x sinensis) that has a circumference of 2.3m, the Tatar maple (Acer tataricum), white walnut (Juglans cinerea), English walnut (Juglans regia), the common quince (Cydonia oblonga), which is rare in Latvia, a sweet-smelling philadelphus hybrid (Philadelphus lemoinei) and others. Each variety is marked by a plant label.

The park is designed as a landscaped composition that leads up to the castle and the chapel.

The alpinarium and the manor park open up to a magnificent view of the Abava valley.