Campsite “Pērlīte” is located on the shore of Viesite Lake 9 km from Viesite, 29 km from Jekabpils and 130 km from Riga. The Lake is 232.2 ha wide, 7.5 km long and 0.5 km wide. It is a long, stretched lake, with the waters of Lake Vasarājs flowing in. Viesite River, which is a creek of Mēmele River, flows from it.
The campsite offers options for active recreation. It offers to stay in unheated houses, tents, campers. There are fireplaces, showers, WC, an outhouse with a garden fireplace, boats, catamaran and bike rental, sauna, basketball, volleyball courts, open-air stage. You can get heated up in the sauna, treat yourself with fresh birch brooms and cool down in the Lake both in summer and winter. For celebrations, conferences and cooperative events we offer a banquet hall with seats for up to 150 guests. For celebrations with a smaller number of people we offer two guest houses with a fireplace hall and bedrooms. In the guest house “Little Pearl” there is a sauna with a pool, one bedroom, a spacious terrace with a picturesque view of Lake Viesite. In the guest house “Winter House” there is a kitchen, two bedrooms, a balcony.
The vineyard is one of Latvia's largest and most rich vineyards in gardens located in the north. Ēvalds Pūpols (1928-2015) was involved in growing and breeding grapes for more than 40 years. His daughter has now taken over the vineyard and is happy to share her experience with grape growing traditions and advice. In addition to that, there is a beautiful view of the vineyard, and this garden has the largest number of varieties of grapes – about 80 grape varieties in total.
From the vineyard at Rudzīši family house you can see the Sperjāņi Hill – the second highest place behind Ormaņkalns, located about 3 km away. Its height is 133 meters above sea level. There are plenty of stories about it, and it used to be an ancient cult place. There is a story that there used to be a castle on the Hill, where a vicious lord ruled, who made his servants work even on Sundays. On a Sunday, during a bad weather, his servants, while working, started to curse the lord and his castle. Suddenly lightning struck, thunder rumbled and the castle together with the lord sunk into the ground.
The vineyard is one of Latvia's largest and most rich vineyards in gardens located in the north. Ēvalds Pūpols (1928-2015) was involved in growing and breeding grapes for more than 40 years. His daughter has now taken over the vineyard and is happy to share her experience with grape growing traditions and advice. In addition to that, there is a beautiful view of the vineyard, and this garden has the largest number of varieties of grapes – about 80 grape varieties in total.
From the vineyard at Rudzīši family house you can see the Sperjāņi Hill – the second highest place behind Ormaņkalns, located about 3 km away. Its height is 133 meters above sea level. There are plenty of stories about it, and it used to be an ancient cult place. There is a story that there used to be a castle on the Hill, where a vicious lord ruled, who made his servants work even on Sundays. On a Sunday, during a bad weather, his servants, while working, started to curse the lord and his castle. Suddenly lightning struck, thunder rumbled and the castle together with the lord sunk into the ground.
The Trail of the Alphabet Book was established in the spring of 2014 to celebrate the 300th anniversary of Old Stender. The Trail of the Alphabet Book introduces letters of the Picture Alphabet Book. It is about 300 meters long and leads to the former pastor's manor. The Alphabet Book is the foundation of a child's world and is one of the most philosophical books of all time. Everyone can find a plaque with the first letter of their name, and read what Old Stender was teaching, and try to compose their own two-line poem.
In Varnava, 12 km from Viesite, you can get to know the Stender family, from which 15 Latvian church pastors, as well as doctors, lawyers, servicemen, pharmacists and businessman came. The best known of all is Gotthard Friedrich Stender (Old Stender) – a German pastor, enlightenment philosopher, pioneer of Latvian secular fiction, the most outstanding 18th-century Latvian poet, linguist and inventor. The Stender family graveyard is located on a hillside behind Sunākste Church. Five generations of the Stender family rest in the graveyard. The grave of Old Stender is covered with a Daugava dolomite grave plaque with the inscription: “Here lies G.F.Stender, LATVIAN, born 1714, died 1796, with his wife”.
Behind the graveyard, Angela von Baer, the daughter of Wahrenbrock Manor's Baron, is buried, who killed herself due to unfortunate love. There is a White Angel placed on the grave.
Near the graveyard of the Stender family, there is the beautiful Sunākste Church. The first Sunākste Lutheran Church was built around 1570 by the order of Duke Gotthard von Kettler of Courland, it was made of wood and was located on the same hill where the white stone church stands now. The present Sunākste Church (the fourth in total) was built between 1827 and 1829. The Church owns an altarpiece by the renowned Baltic German painter Johann Lebrecht Eggink (1784–1867) called “The Ascension of Jesus” (1844). There is a memorial plaque in the Church in memory of those killed during World War I and deported to Siberia. Next to the Church there is a memorial stone for Old Stender installed in 1989. The Church is characterised by Empire style architecture, it has a three-story tower with accented corners. The Church's altar is made in Neo-Gothic style and stands out for its richness of Gothic elements.
Approximately 3 km away, near the houses of Sērpiņi and Pilszemnieki, there is the Sērpiņi Hillfort. The Sērpiņi Hillfort is located on a stand-alone 36 m high hill with a levelled plateau. There are two terraces on the eastern and southern slopes, where the Hillfort is less steep. A cultural layer in the plateau of the Hillfort, especially in the southern part, the terraces and slopes, while at the foot of the eastern and northern part – a large settlement with fortifications have been found. Items found in the Hillfort and settlement allow to date the use of Sērpiņi Hillfort to the first millennium of our era. In 1998, the flag of the European Cultural Heritage Days was raised on the Hillfort.
