Kuldiga - Latvia

 I haven't received any cards from Latvia since 2021!! 

A few weeks ago I saw Olga offering cards from Kuldiga and I contacted her. I didn't know much about the town but I knew it was a UNESCO site still missing in my collection. She was at the post office when she read my message and immediately sent the card with a special postmark. 

 

The old town of Kuldiga and the red-brick bridge across the Venta River were included in the UNESCO World Heritage list in September 2023.

Kuldiga is considered one of the most beautiful cities in Latvia. It was founded in 1242 and developed from a small medieval hamlet into an important administrative centre of the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia between the 16th and 18th centuries. The town structure of Kuldīga has largely retained the street layout of that period, and includes traditional log architecture as well as foreign-influenced styles that illustrate the rich exchange between local and travelling craftspeople from around the Baltic Sea. The architectural influences and craftsmanship traditions introduced during the period of the Duchy endured well into the 19th century. - in: https://whc.unesco.org 

The historic buildings of the town and its nature create a unique, harmonious ensemble incomparable to anything found in Latvia or elsewhere in Europe.  

One of the widest brick bridges in Europe has always attracted visitors to Kuldiga. The 164-metre-long bridge was built in 1874 over the Venta River. It is the longest road bridge of this kind in Europe. The bridge, with seven spans of brick arches and boulder abutments, was not only the largest and most ornate on the territory of Latvia but also one of the most modern of its time in the whole of Europe. It was built according to Russian Tsarist road standards: 11 metres wide, allowing two carriages to pass each other on it. The bridge was renovated in 2008. - in: https://thesanetravel.com