Holiday apartment in Sējas Municipality – among bogs, mills and culture

Sējas Municipality combines impressive nature with vivid traces of its cultural history. The municipality’s character is shaped by Dzelves-Kroņa Bog, the Loja River, historic buildings and museums.

History and culture

Sēja School tells part of the community’s history: its construction began in 1914 and was financed through donations from the residents of Sēja Municipality. The building was completed in 1922 and inaugurated on 26 November 1922. The Sēja School Museum was established in 1992 to preserve the history of the school and Sējas Municipality for future generations.

Sējas Manor also takes visitors back into the past. The building dates from around the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries and was remodelled between 1883 and 1885 with Neo-Gothic decorations. The park contains a water tower built in 1903, considered the oldest functioning water tower in Latvia. The Brankšu Mills are another historical trace: construction began in 1890, and they were powered by a single undershot water wheel. At the time, the mills were said to have produced the best pearl barley in Latvia.

A special part of Sējas’ natural and cultural history is the Sējas Great Oak. It is a symbol of Sējas Municipality and has protected natural monument status in Latvia. The tree is several hundred years old and is considered a significant and highly popular tourist attraction. During the Second World War, the Great Oak was also used as a good observation point.

Nature and landscape

Dzelves-Kroņa Bog is home to great ornithological and biological diversity and serves as a breeding ground for many rare bird species. After the breeding season and during migration, the small lake complexes in the bog accommodate numerous geese and cranes. Thus, it is not only the bog landscape itself that takes centre stage here, but also a clearly identifiable habitat for birds.

The Loja River is 26 kilometres long. Its lower course forms a deep gorge near Murjāņi. A hike along the Loja River near Murjāņi offers views of several sandstone cliffs and caves. The mill lake of Brankšu Mills was also approximately 6 hectares in size and had an elevation difference of 4 metres.

Activity and exercise

The Sēja disc golf park has 18 holes. The Sēja Sports Centre is located approximately 6 kilometres from Murjāņi on the road between Murjāņi and Saulkrasti. It includes a sports hall with regulation courts for handball, minifootball, tennis, basketball and volleyball.

Museums and local traditions

The Pirts Museum is a private open-air museum with an exhibition comprising six historic saunas and one newly built sauna. Individuals and groups can use the black sauna there; groups may comprise up to 20 people. The museum also offers a workshop on binding sauna whisks using the plants traditionally used for this purpose.

The offerings also include tastings of honey and homemade products. Advance registration with the hosts is requested for visits to the Pirts Museum and guided tours.

Another colourful stop is the Auguste Inspiration Garden. It features a hydrangea landscape with more than 2,000 hydrangeas and a representative colonnaded gazebo.

For the overarching travel overview: Sēja Municipality.