Ķemeri

Ķemeri resort is a part of Jūrmala in Latvia, 44 km from Riga. From 1928 till 1959 Ķemeri was a separate town, famous for the healing mud baths and luxurous hotel.

History

The name Ķemeri (Kemmern) first appears in written sources after founding of the Dukedom of Courland in 1561. Documentary evidence indicates that the springs at Ķemeri first became known for their curative properties in 1796, the first chemical analysis of the spring water being performed in 1818. The residents of the near-by town of Sloka began to build houses for the patients. In 1825, the first public building was built for spa quests. Bad Kemmern was founded as a resort in 1838, when the emperor Nicholas II of Russia gave this land for building the first bath-house with mineral water, from that time people started to come here for treatment.

The Ķemeri resort bacame rather popular one in the Russian Empire. In 1912 a direct railway link was created between Ķemeri and Moscow. The connection with the beach of Jaunķemeri was provided by electrical tram. Nerve disease, as well as diseases of joints, bones and muscles were treated in resort. Treatment with sulphuring water and mud baths also functioned. Annual number of people visiting resort reached 8300. During the World War I the battles between German and Russian forces lasted several years only few miles from Ķemeri. Resort was devastated and the train station destroyed.

Newly created Republic of Latvia tried to restore the previous glory of Ķemeri. In 1924 a special bathing facility was built for mud baths equipped with mechanical hot mud feed and the pumping of used mud back to the bog. In 1929 a 42 m tall water tower with sightseeing platform at the top was built near to bathing facility. The most impressive building was Hotel Ķemeri called "White Ship" with more than 100 rooms designed by famous Latvian architect Eižens Laube which was opened to guests in 1936.

External links

Cultural history and pictures of Ķemeri