The total area of Saulkrasti Municipality is 277.8 km². The administrative territory of Saulkrasti Municipality is located along the coast of the Gulf of Riga, in the western part of Vidzeme region. It includes a coastal forest belt stretching from the Lilaste River and Lilaste lake in the south to Zvejniekciems in the north and extends eastward to the Loja and Gauja rivers.
The municipality borders Limbaži Municipality to the north, Sigulda Municipality to the east, and Ādaži Municipality to the south. The administrative center is located in the town of Saulkrasti.
The territory extends 17 kilometers along the coastline and 20 kilometers eastward to the Loja River. More than 10,000 residents are officially registered in the municipality. However, during the summer season, the population significantly increases due to tourism and the influx of seasonal residents in local gardening cooperatives.
Distances from the center of Saulkrasti:
Riga – 45 km
Limbaži – 47 km
Sigulda – 40 km
Salacgrīva – 58 km
The internationally significant VIA Baltica highway passes through the municipality.
Saulkrasti Municipality includes several settlements: Bātciems, Pabaži, Saulkrasti, Zvejniekciems, Loja, Sēja, Murjāņi, as well as multiple gardening cooperatives. The municipality is also home to six rivers: Inčupe, Pēterupe, Ķīsupe, Aģe, Loja and Gauja.
Education
Saulkrasti Municipality has 6 educational institutions under the administration of the Saulkrasti local municipality:
- Saulkrasti municipality Secondary School, operating in four buildings, offers education from grades 1 to 12.
- Sēja Primary School, offering education from grades 1 to 9.
- Kindergarten “Bitīte”, operating in two buildings in Sēja Parish – providing preschool education.
- Kindergarten “Rūķītis” in Saulkrasti – providing preschool education.
- Vidzeme Seaside Music and Art School.
- Sēja Music and Art School.
Additionally, Murjāņi Sports Gymnasium, located in Murjāņi, is the only state-funded specialized sports school with a dormitory in Latvia. It has several Olympic sports departments, and students can pursue both basic and secondary education alongside their athletic training.
Saulkrasti municipality Secondary School
The school was formed by merging the former Saulkrasti Secondary School and Zvejniekciems Secondary School.
Saulkrasti Secondary School originates from Pēterupe Parish School, which opened in 1776. In 1912, local cultural worker Olga Cīrule opened a 2-grade elementary school in the house of captain Reisons. In 1950 the school became a secondary school. In 1956 the school moved to new premises, where it is still located nowadays. In 2012, Saulkrasti Secondary School marked its 100 thanniversary.
There are several well-known people that attended Saulkrasti Secondary School: film director Alvis Lapiņš, singer Ingus Pētersons, pole vaulter Aleksandrs Obižajevs, as well as Olympic bobsledder Zintis Ekmanis.
The beginnings of Zvejniekciems Secondary School may be found 200 years ago in Skulte Parish, where a school was built in 1741. The name of the school was changed several times. In 1963 the fishing artel “Zvejnieks” built a school in Zvejniekciems according to the individual project of architect Marta Staņa, and it was renamed Zvejniekciems Secondary School by order of the Ministry of Education.
Website vidusskola.saulkrasti.lv.
The construction of Sēja School began in 1914 with funds donated by the people of Sēja Parish. The construction was completed in 1922. The school was formed by merging the Suliņu and Vēžu schools. The first and long-term teacher and principal of the school was Pauls Štāls. Since 1994 the school has been named Sēja Primary School.
During its existence, 212 teachers have worked at the school, and it has been led by 12 principals. Website sejasskola.lv
The Sēja Parish kindergarten “Bitīte” operates in two buildings: one in Loja village (for children aged 1.5 to 6 years) and another in Pabaži village, where two combined groups are housed in one building (children aged 1.5–3 years and children aged 4–7 years).
The Saulkrasti Pre-Primary School “Rūķītis” began operating in 1951, and it has been located in its current premises since 1983.
Vidzeme Seaside Music and Art School
In 1968 the dream of many locals came into being, as the children’s music school of Zvejniekciems– the first one on the seaside of Vidzeme– opened its doors in September. All of the teachers have been outstanding personalities– composer Pēteris Vasks, the greatest violinist of Latvia Zigurds Elsbergs and many others. The 90s turned a new page in the history book of the school. A possibility was found for children of Ādaži and Carnikava to also study music. The work of the school was expanded by opening an arts department.
It also has a music department and a visual-plastic arts department. The students of the school take part in national and international contests under the guidance of professional teachers, and achieve outstanding results.
Website www.vjmmskola.lv.
Sēja Music and Art School began its operations on December 1, 1995. The school offers both professional orientation programs and interest-based education programs. Offered professional orientation programs: piano, violin, viola, kokle, guitar, clarinet, saxophone, choir class, and visual-plastic arts specialization.
Website sejasmms.lv.
Culture
The cultural life of Saulkrasti Municipality is formed by the active work of local arts collectives, as well as traditional and reintroduced cultural events. They are organised and managed by the municipal agency “Culture and Sports Centre of Saulkrasti”.
It comprises 21collectives, making it possible for all residents of the municipality to find the most suitable way to spend their spare time, thus promoting cultural education.
Everyone– from children to adults– takes part in the cultural events.
The youngest locals dance in the pre-school children’s dance group of Zvejniekciems and in the children’s dance group “Rūķītis”, while their artistic skills are improved in the visual arts group and their singing skills– in the vocal studio.
The younger generation has the possibility to experience the joy of folk dancing in the dance group “Krustu šķērsu”, whereas the middle generation dances in the dance group “Jūrdancis” and seniors dance in the dance group “Saulgrieži”.
If one wants to try out something non-traditional, it may be done in the dance groups “Fractus” and “Fractus seniores”. Moreover, seniors of the municipality learn modern dances in the European dance senior collective “Draiskais solis”. Lovers of country-style dances are welcomed at the line dancing group “Sunbeach”.
Those who like to sing have a possibility to improve their singing skills in the mixed choirs “Anima” and “Bangotne”, as well as in the senior vocal ensemble “Dzīle”. The Saulkrasti folk group “Dvīga” provides the opportunity to get to know the fundamentals of Latvian folk wisdom and reinvigorate ancient traditions in modern times.
Saulkrasti Festival and other large events are unimaginable without the brass ensemble “Neibāde” and the kokle player ensemble “Saule”.
Latvian folk wisdom may be found by improving one’s skills in handicrafts and other fields in applied arts. Saulkrasti has active weavers who have all united in the weaver group “Kodaļa”, as well as needle-workers who make the most beautiful socks and scarves, and there are also very distinctive handicraft opportunities, for example, felting and rake-knitting!
If you wish to master the basics of acting and feel the allure of the stage, then you must join the amateur theatre “Vīri ģērbjas” or the youth theatre studio, as their repertoire includes études, as well as serious stagings.
Employees of the municipal agency “Culture and Sports Centre of Saulkrasti” are always ready for new ideas and events. It is not for nothing that events such as the Organ Music Days of Saulkrasti, Chamber Music Festival “Jaunie Latvijas kamermūziķi Saulkrastiem”, Museum Night, “Ieripo Saulkrastu vasarā”, Midsummer’s Day events at Sun Square, Saulkrasti Festival, as well as Latvian national celebrations and remembrance days have all become annual events and are the most awaited ones in the cultural life of the locals. It has also become traditional for the locals to celebrate annual customs festivities.
Sports
The most popular and traditional sports in Saulkrasti are basketball, volleyball, football and orienteering. Praise has also been earned by judo, karate, darts and floorball. Representatives of these sports take part in national and international competitions.
In order to promote the sports life of Saulkrasti Municipality, various sports events and competitions are organised. The event with the most history is the Saulkrasti Run, which took place for the first time in1994. The same age has been reached by the beach volleyball show “Saulkrastu kokteilis”. Athletes and fans also enjoy the basketball and volleyball championships of Saulkrasti, which are taken part in not only by locals, but also teams from Riga and nearby places. The local championships in football, beach volleyball, indoor football, football and hockey also gather quite a large audience.
Certain individual sports– zole, novuss, table tennis and fishing – have local championships that are split into several stages, with the darts championship having as many as 12stages. A lot of participants gather annually for the sports events taking place during Saulkrasti Festival. The Open-Air Fitness Day has become a traditional event and a lot of attention has also been gained by the competition “Vieglatlētika vieno visus”, which had more than 500participants in2016.
During the first half of the day, Saulkrasti Sports Centre hosts physical education classes of Saulkrasti Secondary School, whereas in the afternoon the residents of the municipality have the possibility to do various sports. Training in basketball, volleyball, orienteering and judo for children and youths, as well as sports for pre-school age children, is paid for by the municipality. Our team FBKSĀC plays in the first tier of the Latvian Floorball Championship, whereas the Saulkrasti basketball team competes in the third tier of the Latvian Basketball League.
Tourism
Saulkrasti has a unique bicycle museum that offers its visitors the possibility to see the only ancient bicycle collection in Latvia. The exhibition includes various items that are related to the use of bicycles, cycling sports and associations, as well as the production of bicycles. It is possible to view the largest collection of cycling brand logos in Eastern Europe.
The centre of Saulkrasti has a well-equipped bathing place “Centrs”, which has been granted the Blue Flag– the most popular tourism eco-certification in the world. This means that all of the requirements of the international eco-programme regarding water quality, environmental management, environmental information and education, including amenities and organisation of services, have been met.
Saulkrasti Municipality offers more than 15different accommodation places– hotels, guest houses, camping grounds, recreational complexes and campsites.
The recreational offer comprises recreation on water, horse riding, rental of bicycles, quad bikes and sports equipment, mini golf, paintball, skating, tennis and bathhouses.
There are also cycling and Nordic walking routes, as well skiing routes for the winter, thus ensuring recreation possibilities throughout the whole year. Tourism information: http://www.visitsaulkrasti.lv/
Zvejniekciems and its rocky beach is the favourite part of the Saulkrasti seashore among artists and photographers. Next to it is the first port of Vidzeme– Skulte Port, which is the largest of the minor ports of Latvia, exporting timber products and handling renewables. It marked its 70th anniversary in2009.
Saulkrasti has cooperation partners in the sister cities of Gnesta (Sweden), Odolanów (Poland), Neringa (Lithuania) and Radashkovichy (Belarus).