Travel Guide Āraiši

Around ten kilometers south of Cēsis, you can discover the way of life of the Latgal tribes before the arrival of the German settlers. The site is unique in that it is the only reconstruction of a fortified village from the 9th and 10th centuries in Europe. Around Lake Āraiši, this historical and archaeological park invites you to several reconstructions and events spanning a thousand years of protobaltic history, including a wooden village on an island in the middle of the lake. One of Āraiši's proudest features is its old Dutch-style windmill, built in 1852 and rebuilt many times; it's the only working windmill in the country.