South Kurzeme.

Section 91. Aizpute – Snēpele.

Kazdanga Park by area (196 ha) is one of the largest and dendrologically richest manor parks in Latvia, with more than 200 different species of trees and shrubs. 127 species plants have been brought from other lands and reared here. The park around Kazdanga palace was established in the early 19th century as a landscape park. There are many ponds in the park, as Kazdanga was the first place in all of tsarist Russia, where pond farming was started around 1870. This was thanks to baron Karl Wilhelm von Manteuffel, who was very fascinated by the ideas of liberalism and carried out democratic reorganizations of the manor's property. The baron gladly supported the artists, in the summers the Latvian painters Jānis Valters and Vilhelms Purvītis, as well as the Lithuanian painter Petrs Kalpakas lived in the palace and enjoyed his hospitality. A 9 km long network of pedestrian routes has been created in the park. The park with its surroundings is a good place to watch birds and get to know trees, shrubs, etc.