A Place Where Jūrmala Begins

Jūrmala, a resort city of Latvia where also the Sea Library lives, thrives on a peninsula (a bit of land on the opposite coast of the river belong to Jūrmala too). But it wasn’t always like that. Jūrmala stretches between the Gulf of Riga, a pocket of the Baltic Sea, and Lielupe River which flows past our house. Once upon a time Lielupe River flowed into the Daugava River in Rīga. Until in 1755. the river broke its way to the sea and turned this stretch of land into a peninsula. I try to imagine what a storm it was! What flood it was!

On the Holy Saturday we visited this place. On the left of the picture you can see the final stretch of Lielupe River, on the right – there’s the sea, but over there where the pine covered dunes are, Jūrmala starts, a city with 24 km long beach.