Jaunlubāna: Paddling Route and Manor House History

Jaunlubāna can be explored through two specific themes: the Aiviekste, with a seasonal paddling route, and the history of the manor house and former flax factory. The Aiviekste flows past the “Kodoli” farmstead; its scenic banks are among the sights along the route from Lake Lubāns to Kodoli. If you’re looking for a hotel in Jaunlubāna, these different themes can help you plan your stay around the river landscape, paddling, or local history.

The Aiviekste and the Paddling Route

The paddling route starts at the Abaines upīte Canal on Lake Lubāns and leads to “Kodoli”; it is 32.6 kilometers long in total. It is only possible during the high-water season. For your planning, this means choosing your travel dates with this seasonal limitation in mind and checking that the route is currently passable before setting out. The stated distance and clearly named endpoints give the trip a concrete framework; the scenic banks of the Aiviekste also provide a landscape landmark along the route.

Paddling and Overnight Stays

Kodoli is also relevant to paddlers as a place to stay overnight: they can stay at the “Kodoli” farmstead. Ask about availability for your travel dates in advance. Kodoli is also considered a very suitable location for a boat base for trips on rivers in the Aiviekste basin and on Lake Lubāns. Since the route leads to Kodoli, you can combine the destination with the overnight accommodation available to paddlers.

The Manor House, Art, and the History of Flax

Rūdolfs Pinnis, a painter and a prominent figure in Soviet Latvian art, was born in 1902 at Jaunlubāna Manor House in Madona Municipality, Latvia. This biographical connection gives the manor house history a specific person and an exact year. The ruins of the manor house’s old buildings are near the “Kodoli” farm in Jaunlubāna. A painter’s biography and the ruins as architectural witnesses to the manor house thus stand side by side.

The area’s history also has an industrial side. The flax factory of the Lubānas-Meirānu linkopju savienība was established in the former center of the Jaunlubāna manor estate, which had previously been a wool-processing factory. The transition from wool processing to a flax factory makes the site’s former use clear. In the second half of the 1920s, workers from the Jaunlubāna flax factory brought flax to the retting ponds. They included Pēteris Liepiņš and his sons Rihards and Māris. The workers’ names make the factory’s history a story of specific people and their work, too.

Winter Competitions Remembered

Local recollections also tell of lively cross-country skiing competitions along the banks of the Aiviekste in Jaunlubāna. The river therefore has two distinct connections: it is part of the paddling route’s landscape and was also the setting for competitions remembered by locals. High water is a seasonal requirement for the trip; the competitions, by contrast, are part of the area’s history.

Discover more destinations: Sarkaņi, Prauliena, Tīrumskanuļi, Dzelzava, Kalsnava, Lautere, Stalīdzāni, Ozoli.

For the broader travel overview: Madonas Novads.