Preiļi: Park Trails, Culture and Crafts

Preiļi combines trails through the park with a diverse range of museums and crafts. When planning your trip, you can follow your interests: explore meadows, bodies of water and forests outdoors, discover collections and architectural history, or get creative yourself. The city also offers a public beach and activity area.

Park trail among trees and historic buildings

The Preiļu Park trail of remarkable trees covers 41 hectares, crossing a meadow, following bodies of water and passing through a forest. Along the way, it passes historic buildings, their ruins and Preiļu pils. The route is about 2.5 kilometres long and passes 16 remarkable trees.

The app for the Preiļu Park trail offers information in Latvian, English, German, Russian, Polish and Lithuanian. This lets you choose the explanations in the language that suits you best.

Museum, chapel and Preiļu pils

The Preiļi Museum of History and Applied Arts brings together different perspectives on art and regional culture. Its main collections include ceramics by Polikarps Čerņavskis, works by Preiļi ceramists, visual art, textiles, ethnographic objects, photographs and documents. They are complemented by paintings and prints by artists from Latgale. The museum offers art exhibitions and guided tours of the Preiļi manor chapel and sculpture garden.

Preiļu pils was built between 1860 and 1865. Another historic stop in the park is the chapel, built at the expense of Count Josef Heinrich von der Borch and consecrated on 20 September 1817. The counts' graves are beneath the chapel.

Crafts are also explored at Preiļu pils: its 5D cinema presents twelve stories about the development of handicraft skills from antiquity to the present day. The west tower of Preiļu pils houses a 5D video exhibition about craftspeople in Preiļi Municipality and Latgale.

Creative activities and special collections

At the P. Cernavskis Ceramics House, you can work at the potter's wheel and make your own ceramic piece, which will then be sent to your home by post. The “Jašas podi” pottery workshop offers master classes for visitors with different levels of experience. Handicraft workshops with Inta Reca include soap making, dreamcatchers, straw himmeli, mandalas and Latvian incense sticks.

The Nester Custom Metal Design Art Gallery displays interior pieces and sculptures made from used car and motorcycle parts, and offers master classes. The Miniature Realm and Doll Gallery offers a different experience: there, you can see original dolls, put on costumes from a royal court and take photos. The “Cat Farm” displays a collection of cat figurines and offers creative master classes.

Beach and activity area

The city of Preiļi's beach and activity area includes a public beach, volleyball and football fields, tennis and table tennis courts, and a BMX track. Facilities also include equipment for outdoor and water-based exercise, active tourism gear, a beach wheelchair and a children's playground.

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