Lielirbe

The village is situated on both banks (“jūrspuse” or “seaside” and “zemspuse” or “landside” in the dialect of the Western part of Latvia) of the Irbe River (also called Dižirve, Īra) extending for 6 km around where the river flows into the sea. In 1939, there were around 300 inhabitants and more than 70 houses in the village. A little narrow gauge train used to run through the village, connecting it with the center of the district, Ventspils, and Dundaga, Stende and further on to Riga. At the estuary of the Irbe River, there used to be a port of the ancient Livonian seafarers. This seacoast that is now so quiet with only 10 houses used to be an active timber trade and transport center at the end of the 19th century.