On Līgatne

This is the story of a town founded by the owners of a paper mill 200 years ago, who built a thriving community for their workers before profits. It is also about 333 caves dug by people, as well as a secret Soviet command centre bunker built underneath the town. And the most famous bear in Latvia. Welcome to Līgatne!

Thanks for listening!

Transcript

On Līgatne

Nestled in a valley where six ancient hills rise like sleeping giants, surrounded by golden sandstone cliffs and the rushing waters of Latvia's fastest river, lies a town that holds two centuries of extraordinary stories. It was a model industrial town centred around a paper mill, where the business owners looked after their workers, much like the Cadbury and Rowntree chocolate factories in England. Welcome to Līgatne, where industrial ambition, wartime secrets, and human ingenuity have carved their tales deep into the very rocks themselves.

Join me as we explore Līgatne’s past and present. We will take a historical walk and board a tour in an iconic RAF Latvija minibus.

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History

Our story begins on 13 November 1814, when two German merchants from Riga, Konrads Justus Storhs and Karls Kibers, signed a lease agreement. They had their eyes on something precious: the old Paltmale manor mill beside the rushing Līgatne River. This wasn't just any river – it was the fastest-flowing waterway in Latvia, perfect for the paper-making dreams they harboured.

Within a year, they had transformed that humble gristmill into something revolutionary. In 1815, Latvia's first paper mill was established, producing the first sheet of paper from rags. Fifteen workers toiled under the watchful eye of a single German master, making just over 17 tons of paper by hand that first year. 

A second mill, Anfabrik, was built in 1816. Its ruins still stand today as a silent witness to those ambitious beginnings.

This was no ordinary business venture. As the decades rolled on, the Līgatne Paper Mill became something extraordinary - a new third mill was built in 1830, which was known as the ‘Central Facility’. In 1849, the new mill owners installed Latvia's first paper-making machine, powered by a water turbine. The transformation was dramatic – what had once been painstaking handwork became industrial might. The mill's reputation spread across the vast Russian Empire, and in 1879, its premium paper earned a silver medal at the All-Russia Industrial Exhibition in St. Petersburg. A third paper machine was added following a major fire and reconstruction in 1894, with three machines working by 1895. The company thrived by producing fine paper featuring the double-headed eagle watermark of the Russian Empire until the outbreak of the First World War.

Here's where our story becomes truly remarkable. The mill's owners didn't just create a business – they created an entire town. Imagine the most progressive company town of the late 19th century, and you're envisioning Līgatne. They built not just a factory, the paper mill, but a community that was decades ahead of its time. In 1858, the Līgatne Paper Mill was incorporated as a joint-stock company by a group of Rīga merchants, including Joachim Alexander Matthias Mentzendorff. This company, known as the Rīga Writing Paper Joint Stock Company, spearheaded large-scale modernisation and expansion at Līgatne. It was during this late 19th-century period — especially under the influence of progress-minded owners and directors like Mentzendorff — that the famous Līgatne workers’ village was developed and expanded. Substantial investment went into purpose-built wooden workers’ houses, each with its own garden, often rent-free with complimentary utilities, making Līgatne a model industrial community. While not solely the work of a single person, this social project was characteristic of the era and ethos established by this new ownership and management style.

I am reminded of similar entrepreneurs in my home country of England. Much like the famous model villages of Bournville and New Earswick in England — initiated by Quaker chocolate-makers Cadbury and Rowntree to lift their workers out of slum conditions — the owners of the Līgatne Paper Mill in Latvia built an entire community for their staff. Both places offered high-quality housing, free or affordable utilities, education, healthcare, and green spaces. Driven by a vision that combined economic progress with genuine social welfare, these entrepreneurs left behind not just factories, but communities where people could thrive. Today, both Līgatne and Bournville stand as monuments to the idea that industry could, and sometimes did, create a brotherhood beyond the factory gates. In my opinion, we have lost sight of this social-industrial ideal today. It is not communism or socialism, but a social responsibility that business owners recognise that they have a significant part to play in society. That also extends to the planet as well as people.

By the early 1900s, nearly 800 workers called Līgatne home. Each family received their own apartment with a separate entrance, complete with a room, kitchen, pantry, and attic space. But that wasn't all – every home came with a flower garden surrounded by a wooden fence, a vegetable plot, and space for livestock. The rent? Nothing. The electricity? Free. Healthcare? Free. The firewood for heating? Also free. Toilets were outdoors, though.

The company built everything a community needed: a school, a hospital, a maternity unit, a cultural centre, and even guest houses. This wasn't just corporate generosity – it was revolutionary social engineering. The workers of Līgatne enjoyed some of the highest living standards in Europe at that time.

As the town grew, so did a remarkable parallel world beneath it. The six hills of Līgatne – Rigaskalns, Springukalns, Skolaskalns, Plucukalns, Kiberkalns, and Remdenkalns – were built on sandstone formed 350 million years ago. This golden, grey, and reddish stone proved perfect for something extraordinary. The residents began carving cellars directly into the hillsides. Not just a few, mind you, but 333 caves and cellars, creating what may be the most extensive network of artificial caves in Latvia. The oldest date back to 1770, but new ones were still being carved as late as the 1970s.

These weren't crude holes in the rock. The caves were carefully planned and engineered. Some featured gaņģi – long passages with cellars branching off both sides, like underground streets. The largest passage on Rigaskalns stretched 35 metres with 23 individual cellars – exactly matching the number of apartments in the wooden house above. People used the caves to store food products, such as potatoes, cucumbers, and canned goods, all of which were well-preserved in the cool, stable air temperature within the caves.

The paper mill weathered incredible storms. During World War I, all three paper machines were evacuated to Russia – only one partially returned. The Bolshevik Revolution, two world wars, and the collapse of empires – through it all, the paper mill and its town endured.

In the interwar period of Latvian independence, Līgatne reached new heights. The mill was modernised entirely and became one of Europe's most prominent fine paper producers. They manufactured around 100 different types of paper, from delicate cigarette paper to special stock for Russian military maps. Over half their production was exported worldwide.

Even during the Soviet era, when the mill primarily produced school exercise books distributed across the Soviet Union, the town maintained its unique character. The wooden houses, the cave networks, the industrial heritage – all survived the ideological storms of the 20th century.

But perhaps an extraordinary chapter in Līgatne's story remained hidden until 2003. In the 1980s, while visitors came and went from the local rehabilitation centre, something remarkable was being constructed nine meters beneath their feet: a massive 2,000-square-meter nuclear bunker.

This wasn't just any bunker – it was designed as the secret command centre for Latvia's Soviet elite in case of nuclear war. For over two decades, the bunker was prepared with everything needed for 250 people to survive for three months after a nuclear fallout: independent power generation, air purification systems, direct communication lines to the Kremlin, and even a canteen serving typical Soviet meals.

The irony is incredible. While Līgatne had always been about openness and community, with its worker housing and public amenities, it simultaneously harboured one of the Soviet Union's deepest secrets. The rehabilitation centre patients taking their therapeutic walks had no idea they were strolling above a facility that could have housed Latvia's shadow government.

In 2014, the paper mill ceased its operations and was declared bankrupt after nearly 200 years of operations.  One thousand workers were made redundant. Many people expected Līgatne to become another post-industrial ghost town. But this community, built on innovation and resilience, had other plans.

In 1993, this village that had grown around a paper mill officially became Latvia's newest town – remarkably, one of the country's smallest. Today, just over 1,000 people call it home, but the town pulses with new life.

The historic wooden houses that once sheltered paper workers now welcome tourists. The sandstone caves that once stored vegetables for generations have evolved into artisan workshops, selling local honey, cheese, and even fruit wines made from rhubarb and cloudberries.

Since 2022, the Līgatne Paper Mill has undergone a new lease of life with new ownership. They began producing high-quality watercolour artists’ paper on cotton through a secret process starting in June 2024. Rumour has it that the new owners bought the mill for 1 million Euros. A substantial sum for a redundant company, if true.

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Present day

What makes Līgatne extraordinary isn't just its history – it's how that history remains vibrantly alive. Walk through the town today and you're experiencing the only preserved workers' village of its kind in the Baltics. The wooden housing blocks, built in the late 19th century, still stand as a testament to a time when companies prioritised building communities over profits.

The town sits within the Gauja National Park, surrounded by nature trails. The Līgatne ferry crossing the Gauja River is the only current-powered cable ferry of its kind still operating in the Baltic States. Its story began after World War II, when all three bridges in Līgatne were destroyed—leaving local workers and schoolchildren stranded on the opposite bank. The paper mill established the cable ferry as a practical solution, using an ingenious design: the ferry consists of two steel boats joined by a wooden deck, and a cable spanning the river keeps the platform from drifting downstream. The power of the Gauja’s natural current propels the ferry from shore to shore — no motors or engines are involved. For decades, the Līgatne ferry served as a vital means of transportation for everyday workers commuting to the paper factory, children heading to school, and farmers reaching their fields or markets. In winter and during periods of ice or drought, service is suspended. Otherwise, the ferry operates daily, carrying both pedestrians and vehicles, with a capacity of up to six tonnes per crossing. The Līgatne and Pārgauja municipalities now jointly manage the ferry, preserving it not only as a transportation link but also as a living cultural heritage site. Today, the ferry is a rare survivor of a tradition that once saw many such rope ferries crossing Latvia’s rivers, and is a cherished part of local identity as well as a tourist attraction. For those crossing, it’s an experience of connecting with the past—stepping onto a platform that is gently, and entirely, moved by the Gauja itself. Pay your five Euros for a car and seven for a van (our vehicle), and it's a fun experience to be on the old wooden platform, powered by the currents and guided by ropes (and a friendly operator), to the other bank. 

Līgatne now boasts a Michelin Green Star for Sustainability restaurant, Pavāru māja, a locally famous wine cellar, a trendy outdoor restaurant cum activity centre on top of one of the hills called ZEIT, a delightful nature trail cum zoo, a bicycle museum, and a Soviet bunker. During the summer, they hold Saturday night concerts in the town. Basically, it has transformed into a tourist destination, albeit one that is unknown to many foreign visitors to Latvia. When we were last there at the end of September, the many car parks were full and lots of mostly Latvian tourists were enjoying a day out. Oh, a bit of fun. The Prime Ministers of the three Baltic States met in Līgatne in July for a ‘bake off’. The Great British Bake Off is a British television phenomenon that has been widely copied around the world. The Prime Ministers were baking bread and learning about the Līgatne Paper Mill. No details were provided on who baked the best bread, as Paul Hollywood was not present to shake hands. You probably need to be British to understand that little joke!

In Līgatne, every hill has a story, every cave holds memories, and every wooden house whispers of lives lived in pursuit of something better. It's a town that proves the most powerful stories aren't just told – they're lived.

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Walking tour

Start the walking tour at the Tourist Information Centre on Spriņğu iela, right in the heart of town by the lake. There, you can pick up a tourist map with the walking route marked on it. The walk takes about one hour, and there are information boards in different languages at each stop. 

The Tourist Information Centre building used to be the paper mill’s guardhouse, which was constructed in 1889 to register incoming and outgoing cargo. At that time, the factory was not enclosed by a fence, allowing horse-drawn carriages, pedestrians, and later cars to move freely through its grounds. The Paper Mill once had a narrow-gauge railway, operational from 1894 until the 1990s, that connected the main buildings of the mill. 

Cross the road from the Tourist Centre and begin walking along Spriņğu iela. The building you are walking alongside is the first paper mill, originally constructed as a gristmill around the 1770s. Historical records refer to it as the Paltmale Manor watermill. The building has been remarkably well-preserved and currently houses several shops, a restaurant, and a bicycle museum.

Just after the mill is a wooden platform that offers a fine view of the caves carved into the cliffs above the Līgatne River. A little further along the street, and you can venture inside the caves. The first cellars in the sandstone outcrops were created here around 1770 and are locally called Lustūzis. They were excavated for the gristmill and private use by its workers.

The next building is the former pharmacy, now the Līgatne Winery, constructed in 1895. It was the first public building built by the executives of the Līgatne Paper Mill. In 1944, the German Army dropped bombs on Līgatne, setting the pharmacy's roof on fire. The community came together to save the pharmacy by passing water in buckets from the pond opposite in a human chain. Their collective efforts paid off, and the pharmacy was not destroyed.

Continue walking along Spriņğu iela to the Culture House on your right. In 1897, the Mentzendorff family constructed the Līgatne Paper Mill Society House for the recreation of paper mill workers. It had a large hall with a stage where concerts were held. On the top floor, there was a billiard room and a well-stocked library with books, newspapers, and magazines in Latvian and German. The building also had a room for playing skittles on the lower ground floor, which was possibly the first bowling alley in Latvia. In September 1944, the Society House was partly bombed. Under the leadership of the director of the Līgatne Paper Mill, the residents restored the building, and in November 1950, it reopened as a culture centre. The interior of the building reflects the architectural trend of the 1950s in Latvia, characterised by a distinct regional national style. This historic building continues to host cultural and social events in Līgatne.

Continue walking along the road and look down a small track towards a desolate building. This is called Anfabrik or ‘Auxiliary Facility’ and was the second paper mill in Līgatne. Built in 1816 and used as a paper mill until 1871, then turned into apartments and a school. It is now in a state of ruin.

Continue uphill. On your right is the morgue caves. Over the course of two hundred years, the residents of Līgatne have carved around 330 cellar caves into the sandstone outcrops for their own use. These artificial caves have also found a purpose as wintering sites for bats. In Līgatne, these nocturnal animals, which are active during dusk and dawn, are often seen silhouetted against the sky. All eight species of bats that hibernate in underground shelters in Latvia can be found in the Līgatne caves. Intentional disturbance of hibernating bats between October and May is prohibited by law.

 At the top of the hill, take the first minor road to your left, then left again towards the wooden mill workers’ houses. Out of around 30 wooden row houses built for paper mill workers in Līgatne in the late 19th century and early 20th century, most have survived to this day. Each row house was divided into apartments, with around 100 in total. There is also a separate utility house for doing the laundry. Seven utility houses were built by the mill owners, one for each of the housing blocks that mostly sit on top of Līgatne’s hills.

Head downhill and turn left to walk along Pilsonu iela. You will come to the former maternity hospital built by Wilhelm Mentzendorff, one of the directors of the Līgatne Paper Mill, using his personal funds in 1901. It was initially called Wilhelma, and a plaque still hangs above the entrance door. A flagpole outside the building conveyed the news to families: a blue flag indicated the birth of a boy, a pink flag signified a girl, while a white flag signalled the presence of a mother-to-be. At that time, expectant mothers did not have maternity leave; they continued working until they went into labour. Shortly after childbirth, both mother and baby were taken home in a horse-drawn carriage used in the paper mill. The mother returned to work soon after, while a senior woman who did not work took care of the baby. The former maternity hospital is now the restaurant Pavāru māja.

Continue walking down the track to the main paper mill factory. The Central Mill was constructed in the 1830s and grew as the business prospered. A fire in 1884 destroyed the mill, and it was rebuilt with three paper machines in operation. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, the paper mill was recognised as one of the most modern manufacturing facilities of its time, producing 100 different varieties of paper. Although the factory was modernised in 1970, another fire, in 1993, partially destroyed the mill. It was again rebuilt. However, due to outdated machinery and rising electricity costs, manufacturing became unviable and the mill went bankrupt in 2014. It is again being renovated, and since 2024, it has resumed small-scale manufacturing.

Follow Brīvības iela past the pretty block of paper mill workers’ homes and back to the Tourist Information Centre.

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Latvija minibus tour

The RAF Latvija tour departs from the car park on Spriņğu iela opposite the cultural centre, from May to October. You can’t miss the yellow minibus. The driver, guide and owner of Retro Tour is an interesting man. He was born in Rīga, but his wife is from Līgatne, and her grandmother was an accountant at the paper mill for decades. When she retired, she began promoting Līgatne as a tourism destination. But she is now old and has handed over to her grandson-in-law. Our driver guide. His tour is full of history and lots of stories and anecdotes about the buildings you see. Tours are in Latvian or in English, one or the other. We just turned up and joined a Latvian language tour. The ferry operator on our way to Līgatne across the Gauja river had already told us that he had seen the yellow Latvija on a tour that morning. After our hour-and-a-half tour, I spotted the yellow Latvija taking some other visitors around. Busy! The tour costs €10 per person, which I think is good value for the guided insight into the town, especially in a retro Soviet minibus for added attraction.

Do listen to my podcast episode ‘On the Latvija minibus’ for stories about this iconic van. 

The tour follows much of the walking tour, plus a visit to the ferry, and on the way, passes another wooden workers' housing settlement on a hilltop, as well as the former Directors’ Residence. This Swiss-style building was constructed in 1914 for the Mentzendorff family. It was not a secret that none of the elected executives of the Rīga Writing Paper Factory Company lived permanently in Līgatne; the factory was managed by the economic and technical directors, who did reside in Līgatne. Since 1940, the building has been a kindergarten.

With the Latvija Retro Tour, you get a real guide rather than signboards and QR codes to an audio guide, if you prefer that.

For me personally, I got to ride again - after 40 years - in the iconic RAF Latvija minibus!

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Nature trail

The Līgatne Nature Trails — sometimes referred to as the nature park or zoo located on the outskirts of Līgatne — were established in 1975 to educate visitors about Latvian wildlife. Set deep in the forests of the Gauja National Park, this 5-kilometre trail winds through wooded ravines, meadows, and ancient river valleys, designed to immerse visitors in an environment as close to true wilderness as possible. Unlike a traditional zoo, Līgatne Nature Trails function mainly as a sanctuary and rehabilitation centre. The animals here — red deer, roe deer, elk, wild boar, bears, lynx, foxes, wolves, raccoon dogs, badgers, squirrels, hedgehogs, and various birds of prey — had all been injured, orphaned as cubs, or rescued from situations where they could not survive in the wild. Many arrive as abandoned or tame babies that have lost their fear of humans and, therefore, cannot be released back into the wild.

A particularly beloved resident is the bear Ilzīte, famously hand-reared by the caretaker Velga Vītola. A modern bear enclosure was built for her and her companions in 2012, underscoring the park’s ongoing commitment to animal welfare. Ilzīte is still alive, and you can find her at the park. She tends not to hibernate for long periods, so you may be lucky to catch her at any time of year.

The Nature Conservation Agency manages the park. There is an entrance fee, and you can expect to spend some three hours walking the trails. They are hilly, so good footwear is recommended, although the trail is well-surfaced. We enjoyed the trail a lot. The vistas constantly change. The enclosures for the animals are massive, so it takes some time to spot the animals within them. It is an excellent destination for young and slightly older folk!

I didn’t visit the Soviet bunker underneath the rehabilitation centre. Looking online, it looked too commercialised for me. Guided tours only. Expensive per person, you also need to order a Soviet style meal with most tours, and if there aren’t ten people in your group, the charge is 170 Euros. Not for me! The Latvija bus tour is far better value.

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Getting there

To reach Līgatne from Rīga, there are three main options: car, train, and bus — each offering a different balance of speed, convenience, and scenery.

By car, the drive from central Rīga to Līgatne is about 70 km and typically takes just over an hour. Follow the E77/A2 (Vidzeme Highway) to Augšlīgatne, then turn left to take the V283 road, which is clearly signposted to Līgatne. There are lots of parking places in Līgatne.

Trains depart every four hours from Rīga Central Station to Līgatne Station. The journey takes roughly one hour. Beware that Līgatne Station is actually 6 km away from the town in Augšlīgatne, so a local, infrequent bus from the station to Līgatne is the best option (unless you brought a cycle with you on the train). It's best to check the schedule using a phone app like Google Maps.

Regular buses run from Rīga’s central bus station to Augšlīgatne on the main A2 highway, with departures every 20–30 minutes. The journey takes about 1 hour and 30 minutes. From Augšlīgatne, you will need to take one of the infrequent local buses. If you have time to spare before the bus departs, I can recommend the Burgers 66 restaurant at the road junction.

Whichever route you choose, the journey takes you through the rolling forests and sandstone cliffs of Gauja National Park. Whether it’s a leisurely drive, a classic train ride, or a bus winding through country roads, the trip sets the tone for discovering Līgatne’s blending of nature and heritage.

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This is Līgatne's most remarkable story: how a community built around paper and water, carved from stone and sustained by human ingenuity, refused to become a part of history. Instead, it became something rarer – a place where the past and present exist in harmony, where visitors can touch the walls of 18th-century caves, explore Cold War bunkers, and witness the rebirth of industrial heritage into something new. It is a wonderful example of how past entrepreneurs prioritised their workers' well-being over their own profits. It is also a lovely place to visit.

[Illustration by An Englishman in Latvia. Music by Leigh Robinson from Pixabay]