On August 4, 1935, the Farmers Festival was widely celebrated in Nīca, and the Prime Minister Kārlis Ulmanis and the Minister of Agriculture Jānis Birznieks were present. They also visited the fishers of Jūrmalciems. Seeing their efforts in collecting wracks to fertilize sandy seaside fields, they promised to allocate funds for the construction of piers. And the promised was implemented.
“Valgums” – a place on the seashore where fishers place boats, anchors, buoys, dry nets. They get the name of the closest village, house, or property.
Over time, the fishers began to use the breakwater for tying boats and during the Soviet times they call it “pričals”. The breakwater in Jūrmalciemsr is the only one in Latvia on the coast of Kurzeme that is still in use.
It is still used today by local fishermen, and several brigades of fishermen regularly go to sea. Every July there is Fishermen’s Festival in Jūrmalciems.
You can learn about fishing traditions and the history of Jūrmalciems in the Net House “Piestātne”.
Contacts: +371 26114601.