In the heart of Ainaži, a small town with a quintessentially Latvian feel, stands the old witness to Latvia’s maritime glory – Ainaži Nautical School Museum. When entering the old schoolhouse of Ainaži, now turned into a museum, you cannot help but bow your head, not only because the low doorframes command it, but also as a sign of respect for the accomplishments of Latvian and Estonian mariners.

In the classroom, museum guests are received by the old schoolmaster, standing at the blackboard – it is Captain Christian Dahl, a man of Swedish descent, perfectly represented in a wax figure. Across the exhibition panels, rows of distinguished-looking men are gazing out from the old photographs – those are the brave Latvian and Estonian mariners. Here you can learn how residents of the coastal fishing hamlets built and launched old-time sail ships, and how our sailors went to the world’s distant seas and oceans aboard these vessels. A special story unfolds before those who open the old sea chest, full to the brim with curios. A bottle of rum, the only cure-all available on a ship at sea, a walking stick made of fish backbone, a captain’s collar box, a pipe, a naval dirk, which only the officers in the rank of a captain’s mate were allowed to carry, and countless other paraphernalia. That special feeling, which overcomes everyone who leaves this small, hospitable museum, is pride in the illustrious maritime past of the Latvian nation and its strong and brave mariners.

After visiting the museum, you can rest in the shadows of hundred-year-old oaks, examine the collection of old anchors and then pause at the bust of Krišjānis Valdemārs and pay your respects to the old “sea-wolves” of Ainaži – Brothers Veide and Jānis Miķelsons, founders of Ainaži Naval School.