Travel guide cover. The original measures 8 inches by 10 inches and contains fifteen pages.

Here is an official travel guide to Latvia—as indicated by its printer: Lettische Staatspapierdruckerei, Riga, L. Maskavas ielā 11., that is, the Latvian State Printers. It includes everything a visitor needs to know for an informed and care-free visit.

The guide does not indicate a year of publication; however, it proudly announces the new Ķemeri sulphur baths spa sanatorium building, just opened (1936) and featuring all the latest facilities and amenities. That the war was only few years away makes these memories of Latvia's first period of independence all the more poignant. Ķemeri's subsequent history has been a microcosm of Latvia's. The invading Nazis pillaged the facility. The returning Soviets refurbished the facility, at first dedicating it to the recuperation of Red Army veterans, then later to become the spa of choice reserved for the Communist Party leadership and apparatchiks. Even today, thirty-two years after the collapse of the USSR, Ķemeri continues to be a favorite destination of Russian clientele.

Did you know?

Historical sources first mention Ķemeri after the founding of the Dukedom of Courland in 1561. Its springs were already known for their curative properties in the late 1700's. The first public accommodations were built in 1825, and the Bad Kemmern resort spa founded in 1838 on land granted by czar Nicholas I to build a mineral water bath-house.

Treatment was offered for diseases of the nerves, joints, bones, and muscles. Balneotherapy featured sulfur-containing water and mud baths. Ķemeri became a popular resort, obtaining its own railway station in 1877, with direct Moscow service in 1912. Annual visitors exceeded 8,000.

The Latvian government rebuilt Ķemeri after Latvia's war of independence devastated the resort and destroyed the train station. A specialized mud-bathing facility was built in 1924, equipped with a mechanical hot mud feed, and pumping used mud back to the bog. 1929 brought with it a nearby 42-meter-tall water tower with a sightseeing platform. The opening of a 100-plus room hotel to guests in 1936 completed Ķemeri's restoration as a premier therapeutic destination.

"Lettland für Reisende" (Latvia for Travelers) is a publication of the Latvian government and therefore considered a work in the public domain. The version presented here qualifies as a protected derivative work under Latvian Copyright Law § 5. © 2017.
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