Pētījumi – Kuldīgas (Goldingen) UNESCO

To identify and substantiate the values of the unique cultural environment and nature complex of the old town, 32 studies of architecture, history, archaeology, geography, landscapes and other fields have been implemented. The municipality has also prepared 14 applications for awards and reports.

A full list of all studies, source: compilation of the preparers of the nomination, 2020.

Year	Subject of the study	Author
2000	Archaeological research at the site of Kuldīga Castle Discovery: The base of the outer protective wall of the castle, the building site, the kiln tiles.	Mārtiņš Lūsēns Mg.hist., Archeologist
2002	Geophysical study of Kuldīga’s castle ruins	SIA “Baltijas zemes resursi”
2008	Study “Kuldīga Contact Book”. A study of the history of Kuldīga’s historical houses, notable personalities and interesting events	Municipal specialists in cooperation with Kuldīga District Museum
2008	Archaeological research at the site of Kuldīga Castle Discovery: The base of the outer protective wall of the castle, the place of the building, the drainage device of the castle, the sewer outlet, the castle well, fragments of the kiln tiles, and household items.	Mārtiņš Lūsēns Mg.hist., Archaeologist
2010 – 2020	Nature protection plan for the nature reserve “Venta Valley”	Municipal specialists
2012	Exhibition – exposition “Kuldīga on the way to UNESCO. 2004 – 2011” Regarding achievements in improving the urban environment, preserving and promoting heritage in the old town of Kuldīga	Municipal specialists
2013	Study “Maintenance of wooden construction carpentry parts in Kuldīga old town”	Restoration specialist Jānis Mertens
2013	Study “Landscape plan for lamprey fishing in the Venta River in Kuldīga.”	Dr. phil. Māra Urtāne
2014	Book / scientific study “Kuldīga. Architecture and Urbanism”	Scientific editor: Jānis Krastiņš Dr. habil. arch., Researchers: Jana Jākobsone Dr. arch., Jānis Asaris Mg. hist., Mārtiņš Lūsēns Mg. hist., Andris Biedriņš vēsturnieks. Jānis Zilgalvis Dr. arch., Ilmārs Dirveiks Dr. arch., Agate Eniņa Mg. arch, Daina Antoniška Mg. art., Ojārs Spārītis Dr. habil. art., Inga Bērziņa Mg. geogr. Mayor of Kuldīga Municipality
2014	The digital material site OLD TOWN has been created on the website of Kuldīga Municipality kuldiga.lv Aim: to find access to materials for any inhabitant of the old town, designer and other interested parties. Updating the preservation of the material heritage of Kuldīga old town	Municipal specialists
2015	Study, publication “The Curonian Kings and other free men in Western Latvia”	Scientific editor: Mg. hist. Agris Dzenis
2015	Study, publication “Kuldīga Castle – the heart of ancient Courland”	Scientific editor Agris Dzenis
2015	Study “Historical town landscape approach to cultural heritage preservation in Kuldīga”	Inta Jansone Architect
2015	Study “Kuldīga landscapes in postcards.” And “Landscape manors adjacent to the Kuldīga townscape”	Dipl. ing. Landscape Architect Guntis Kalniņš
2015	Archaeological exploration in Veckuldīga castle mound. Discovery: Vikings also lived in the Veckuldīga castle mound, close to the Couronians.	Mārtiņš Lūsēns Mg.hist., Archaeologist
2016	Study “Development of Crafts and Traditions in Kuldīga”	Mg.art. Daina Antoniška
2016	Report of the study “Kuldīga’s Street Stories”	Dr.sc.soc. Ritma Rungule
2016	Study “Analysis of the urban planning situation in Kuldīga from the historical point of view, evaluation of the causal relations of the town development process and fractures”	Dr. arch. Jana Jākobsone
2016	Analysis and evaluation of Kuldīga’s spatial plans in the context of heritage paradigm	Dr.arch. Jānis Lejnieks
2016	Study “Kuldīga’s population and its determining factors”	Mg. geogr. Kaspars Rasa
2017	Book / scientific research “Kuldīga. Time, Humans, Landscape”. In cooperation with the publishing house “ZINĀTNE”, about the impact of Kuldīga cultural landscape and the activities of many generations on it.	Scientific editor of the study, author: Aija Melluma Dr. habil. geogr., Researchers: Jana Jākobsone Dr. arch., Daina Antoniška Mg. art., Ritma Rungule Dr. sc. soc., Kaspars Rasa Mg.geogr., Inta Jansone architect, Guntis Kalniņš Mg. geogr., Gunta Grundmane Mg.sc.soc.
2017	Inventory of household buildings of Kuldīga’s historical building zone	Photos of residential buildings, development of an inventory questionnaire sample and its transcript. Compilation of publicly available archive materials. The work has been done by: Restorer Consultant Jānis Mertens
2017	“Medieval and Modern Kuldīga: Archeology and History”	Author: Latvian historian and archaeologist. Doctor of History and Assistant Professor of UL Andris Šnē
2017	“List of citizens of Kuldiga from 1569 to 1889” Summary of materials and data in the edition.	Mg.art. Daina Antoniška
2017	Old Town Preservation and Development Program. Improvement of the project of the UNESCO Tentative List of Latvia nomination “Kuldīga Old Town in the Venta Ancient Valley”.	SIA “Reģionālie projekti”
2018	Study “Needle history in the world, in Latvia, in Kuldiga”	Mg. hist. Agris Dzenis
2018	Research and proposals for the development of a local plan for the old town of Kuldīga in the ancient Venta River valley” Aim: to prepare a set of existing materials of Kuldīga Municipality for the development of a local plan for the old town of Kuldīga in the ancient Venta River valley which amends the spatial plan of Kuldīga Municipality.	SIA “Metrum”
2019	Historical study “Kuldīga During the times of the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia (1562 – 1795)”	Dr. hist Mārīte Jakovļeva
2019	Study based on archaeological research, the cultural layer of the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia in the 17th -18th centuries, based upon previous archaeological explorations 2000 – 2019; putting results on the cadastral map of Kuldīga.	Mārtiņš Lūsēns Mg.hist., Archaeologist
2019	Study – Mapping of Attributes “Attribution of 17th-18th Century Evidence in the Territory of the 1797 Town Plan”. Objective: Development of an initial list of attributes based on a project of justification for an Outstanding Universal Value. Submission of attribute mapping documentation.	SIA “AIG”
2019	Context study – Comparative analysis of the UNESCO World Heritage nomination Kuldīga / Goldingen in Courland	Group of experts together with Dr. Britta Rudolff, Jana Jākobsone Dr. arch., Consultants: Aija Melluma Dr. habil. geogr., Mārtiņš Lūsēns Mg. hist., Ojārs Spārītis Dr. habil. art., prof.

A full list of applications and reports, source: compilation
of the preparers of the nomination, 2020

Year	Subject of the application or report
Granted in 2008	Application for the European Heritage Label. An application has been prepared for the heritage site “Kuldīga Historical Centre”
From 2010 until today, each year	Application for the nomination “Blue Flag Beach” for the swimming area in Kuldīga on Martiņsala Island, by the Venta River
2010 – 2011	Application “Kuldīga Old Town in the Venta Ancient Valley” to the Latvian National List of UNESCO World Heritage Sites In accordance with the regulations of the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List of Latvia, the Outstanding Universal Value of the Old Town of Kuldīga and the Venta Valley complex were substantiated in a new quality.
2013	Application for the list of state cultural monuments. To expand the territory of the urban construction monument “The Historical Centre of Kuldīga”. At state level the territory of the urban construction monument of state significance “The Historical Center of Kuldīga” (state protection No. 7435) substantiated by Kuldīga Municipality has been supported.
2014	Application for the Council of Europe competition “European Landscape Award” – “Kuldīga in the Venta Valley – preservation of the historical landscape for future generations”. Kuldīga’s application was put forward in a competition organized by the General Secretariat of the Council of Europe to represent Latvia
2015	Application for the list of state cultural monuments of historical “Kuldīga bridges of the river Alekšupīte research”. The list of cultural monuments protected by the Latvian state includes six bridges over the Alekšupīte River, which are located in the historical center of Kuldīga – Raiņa Street, Mucenieku Street, Pasta Street, Skolas Street, near Kalna Street and Baznīcas Street. The bridges were built in the 17th century, late 19th century and 20th century
2015	Application for the “Latvian Construction Year Award”. An application has been submitted for the evaluation of an international jury “Restoration of the Kuldīga District Museum”
2015	Application for the “Latvian Construction Year Award”. An application for the evaluation of the international jury “Establishment of Alekšupīte promenade. 1st stage of Alekšupīte promenade construction and reconstruction of related streets”
2015	Report on the state and management of the preservation of the nomination “Kuldīga Old Town in the Venta Ancient Valley” included in the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List of Latvia. According to the decision of the Assembly of the Latvian National Commission for UNESCO: Kuldīga Municipality has implemented a management system in order to preserve the Outstanding Universal Value of the place in the period from the inscription of the nomination into the list until the submission of the respective report. Latvian National Commission for UNESCO recommends an expert and recommends starting the process of submitting a nomination to the UNESCO World Heritage List
2016	Draft law of Kuldīga historic centre. In project development since 2016
2017	Application for the UNESCO World Network of Creative Cities. Objective: to promote international cooperation between cities that have recognized creativity as a tool in the process of sustainable urban development
2018	Application for the inclusion of the historical “Swedish Chest” in the list of national cultural monuments. Aim: to pass on to future generations a unique historical “Swedish Chest” built in the 1760s-1770s, built into the lobby of the building, at 17 Baznīcas Street
2018	Application in the competition “Latvian Construction Annual Award”. An application for the evaluation of the international jury “Kuldīga Swimming Pool”
2018	Report on the state and management of the preservation of the nomination “Kuldīga Old Town in the Ancient Venta Valley” included in the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List of Latvia. Latvian National Commission for UNESCO approves the results and gives an expert recommendation of the Ministry of Culture for cooperation with prof. Dr. Britta Rudolff, Head of the Institute for Heritage Management of the Technical University of Brandenburg
2019-2020	Study – Sustainable conservation of the landscape under the Urban Links 2 Landscape project. The study was developed by Kuldīga Municipality in cooperation with SIA “Grupa93”, involving geology and hydrogeology experts and experts in sustainable rainwater management.

Form and date of most recent records of inventory of property Comprehensive Inventories of the Values of Kuldīga

In order to perform qualitative management of cultural heritage, Kuldīga Municipality pays great attention to inventorisation of the historical, architectural and artistic values of Kuldīga. Several comprehensive inventories have been elaborated to record the technical and visual state of the heritage.

List of Comprehensive Inventories, source: compilation of the preparers of the nomination, 2020

Year	The subject of inventory	Elaborator
2008	Database “Kuldīga Old Town Buildings”. The database consists of digitally compiled information on the old town buildings, including historical photos, publications, reconstructions and current condition of buildings, valuable details fixed in photos. The database is publicly available on the internet http://www.ekas.kuldiga.lv/	Municipal specialists
2009	Building inventory of the historical centre of Kuldīga. The inventory contains comprehensive research materials and detailed information about the territory and 185 buildings located within the territory of the urban construction monument “The Historic Centre of Kuldīga”. The inventory is publicly available on the internet https://kuldiga.lv/kuldiga/kuldigas-vecpilseta/normativi-izpetes-datu-bazes/izpetes	SIA “AIG” (a firm of architects specialized in investigation of heritage properties)
2019-2020	Attribute mapping of 17th-18th century evidence in the territory of the 1797 town plan. The inventory contains comprehensive research materials regarding attributes of the 16^th – 18^th century – buildings, streets, squares, landscape elements and water bodies. The inventory is publicly available on the Internet https://kuldiga.lv/kuldiga/kuldigas-vecpilseta/normativi-izpetes-datu-bazes/izpetes	SIA “AIG” (a firm of architects specialized in investigation of heritage properties)

According to the regulatory enactments of the Republic of Latvia, the construction projects of a cultural monument (including buildings within the urban construction monument) must have a section – Architectonic – artistic inventory or research. These requirements are set by the National Heritage Board and Kuldīga Municipality Building Authority. The architectonic – artistic inventory is implemented by certified architects, restoration specialists and art scientists. These data are stored in the archive of the municipal Building Authority and the National Heritage Board and constitute a broad inventory overview. Development and composition of the architectonic – artistic inventory is defined in the “Guidelines for the Cultural and Historical Inventory of Architectural Objects” and is available online: https://www.nkmp.gov.lv/lv/padomi/rekomendacijas_vadlinijas_web1.pdf/rekomendacijas_vadlinijas_web1.pdf.

This section contains a list of architectonic – artistic inventories that have been elaborated since 1991 when the Republic of Latvia regained its independence. There have been several more extensive architectonic – artistic inventories that were done during the Soviet period and are still available in the archive of the Building Authority and digitally, and are being used whenever appropriate and necessary.

Architectural – artistic inventory of individual buildings or premises, source: compilation of the preparers of the nomination, 2020.

Year	The subject of architectural and artistic research and inventory	Address	Location in the property / buffer zone	Author
1993	Architectural and artistic research of the interior of the 1st and 2nd floors of the new Town Hall	1 Baznīcas Street	Property	SIA “LDU” research and design office “KROKS”
1996 -1997	Architectural and artistic research of the hall of the 2nd floor of the New Town Hall	1 Baznīcas Street	Property	SIA “AIG”
1997	Dwelling house	5 Policijas Street	Property	State Inspection for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of the Republic of Latvia
1998	Dwelling house	38 Liepājas Street	Buffer zone	SIA “AIG”
1998	Architectural and artistic inspection	2/4 Baznīcas Street	Property	SIA “AIG”
1999	Architectural and artistic inspection	19 Street of 1905	Property	SIA “AIG”
1999	Architectural and artistic inspection	6 Liepājas Street, 2 Raiņa Street	Property	SIA “AIG”
1999	Architectural and artistic inspection	10 Street of 1905, 6 Kalna Street	Property	SIA “AIG”
1999	Architectural and artistic inspection	19 Raiņa Street	Property	SIA “AIG”
2001	Supreme Court House	34 Baznīcas Street	Property	Kristīne Veinberga
2001	Study of the initial decorative wall and ceiling painting of the exhibition hall	6 Street of 1905	Property	SIA “RERE04” Dagmāra Mišķe Kristīne Gulbe
2001	Exhibition hall wall polychrome painting system fragment restoration report	6 Street of 1905	Property	SIA “RERE04” Iveta Muižniece
2001	Reconstruction of the decorative painting of walls and ceilings of the second period of the exhibition hall	6 Street of 1905	Property	SIA “RERE04” Dagmāra Mišķe Kristīne Gulbe, Agnese Gulbe, Ineta Liepa
2002	Architectural and artistic inspection	5 Dzirnavu Street	Property	Ilmārs Dirveiks
2003	Architectural and artistic research	2 Skolas Street	Property	SIA “Brīnišķīgo projektu birojs”
2003	Architectural and artistic inventory	33/2 Liepājas Street	Buffer zone	SIA “AIG”
2003	Architectural and artistic inventory	33 Liepājas Street	Buffer zone	SIA “AIG”
2003	Architectural and artistic inventory	31 Liepājas Street	Buffer zone	SIA “AIG”
2003	Architectural and artistic inventory	5 Pils Street	Property	SIA “AIG”
2003	Repair restoration recommendations	1A Pētera Street	Property	SIA “AIG”
2004	Architectural and artistic inspection of the room, recommendations	17 – 2 Liepājas Street	Property	Kristīne Veinberga
2004	Restoration of the main building of the Kuldīga District Museum and construction of the foundation building	5 Pils Street	Property
2004	Kuldīga District Museum	5 Pils Street	Property	Liesma Markova
2004	Kuldīga St. Catherine’s Church	33 Baznīcas Street	Property	SIA “AIG”
2004	Construction expertise conclusion	11 Baznīcas Street	Property	Raimonds Ozoliņš
2005	Architectural and artistic inventory	6 Liepājas Street	Property	SIA “AIG”
2005	Property report	37 Liepājas Street, 20 Baznīcas Street	Buffer zone Property	SIA “Anno”
2005	Architectural and artistic inventory of staircase	17 Baznīcas Street	Property	SIA “AIG”
2005	Architectural and artistic conclusion, geotechnical research, technical inspection of reconstruction	1 Kalpaka Street	Buffer zone	SIA “AIG”, SIA “Ūdenslīnija”, Vilhelms Bricis
2006	Architectural and artistic inventory	17 Baznīcas Street	Property	SIA “AIG”
2006	Conclusion of visual inspection	17 Baznīcas Street	Property	SIA “AIG”
2007	Architectural and artistic inventory of part of historic wall	12 Jelgavas Street	Property	SIA “AIG”
2007	Architectural and artistic inventory	5 Pils Street	Property	SIA “AIG”
2007	Architectural and artistic inventory	7A Baznīcas Street	Property	Kristīne Veinberga, Juris Zviedrāns
2007	Architectural and artistic inventory	11A Baznīcas Street	Property	Kristīne Veinberga, Juris Zviedrāns
2007	Part of historic wall at 12 Jelgavas Street , Kuldīga	12 Jelgavas Street	Property	Baiba Eglāja, Daiga Lēvalde
2008	Architectural and artistic research	Skolas iela 2	Property	Rūdolfs Bubinduss, Inese Bikše
2008	Architectural and artistic inventory	36 Baznīcas Street	Property	Kristīne Veinberga, Juris Zviedrāns
2008	Transforming the complex of Synagogue buildings into Kuldīga Main Library (Architectonic artistic research)	6 Street of 1905	Property	SIA “Ozola&Bula, arhitektu birojs”, Ingrīda Gaile
2009	Restoration of main building of Kuldīga District Museum and reconstruction of the auxiliary building	5 Pils Street	Property	SIA “Ozola&Bula, arhitektu birojs”, Ingrīda Gaile
2010	Castle guard’s house of Kuldīga	4 Pils Street	Property	NGO “Watchman’s house”
2010	Pre-restoration research, prepared passports for wooden building components for buildings	4 Alunāna Street; 12 Street of 1905; 14 Street of 1905; 16 Jelgavas Street; 14 Baznīcas Street; 23 Baznīcas Street, 25 Liepājas Street; 3 Pētera Street	Property Property Property Property Property Property Buffer zone Property	Restoration specialist Jānis Mertens
2010	Reconstruction of Sports school	6 Kalna Street	Property	Diāna Zalāne
2011	Architectonic artistic research of surrounding area and streets to be reconstructed around bridges of the Alekšupīte River of Kuldīga Historic Centre	Old town of Kuldīga	Property	Kristīne Veinberga, Juris Zviedrāns
2011	The main lobby, apartment on the 2nd floor, mansard apartment	1 Jelgavas Street	Property	SIA “AIG”
2011	Architectonic artistic research of painting of building facades, technical inspection of facades of the building	12 Street of 1905	Property	Kristīne Veinberga
2012	Pre-restoration research, prepared passports for wooden building components	36 Baznīcas Street; 27 Jelgavas Street; 16 Liepājas Street; 6A Raiņa Street; 10 Skrundas Street; 21 Baznīcas Street	Property Buffer zone Property Property Property Property	Restoration specialist Jānis Mertens
2012	Reconstruction of Kuldīga District Museum and restoration of interior	5 Pils Street	Property	SIA “AIG”
2012	Reconstruction of Kuldīga Culture House	21 Raiņa Street	Property
2012	Architectonic measurements of the building, architectural and artistic inventory	6 Skrundas Street	Property
2012	Building of kindergarten “Ābelīte”. Architectural and artistic inventory of the building and research	15 Ziedu Street	Buffer zone	Kristīne Veinberga, Juris Zviedrāns
2012	Storage building of kindergarten “Ābelīte”. Architectural and artistic inventory of the building and research	15 Ziedu Street	Buffer zone	Kristīne Veinberga, Juris Zviedrāns
2012	Elementary School of Kuldīga	16 Ventspils Street	Property	SIA “Belss”
2012	Reconstruction of building of Kuldīga School of Art and Humanitarian Sciences	5 Pētera Street	Buffer zone	SIA “Belss”
2012	Architectural and artistic inventory of the building	6 Torņa Street	Property	Kristīne Veinberga
2012	Architectural and artistic inventory of the building	7 Baznīcas Street	Property	Kristīne Veinberga, Juris Zviedrāns
2013	Dwelling house at 3A Liepājas Street , Kuldīga. Photographing of the building	3A Liepājas Street	Property	Kristīne Veinberga, Juris Zviedrāns
2013	Pre-restoration research, prepared passports for wooden building components	10 Skrundas Street; 36 Baznīcas Street; 16 Liepājas Street; Holy Trinity Catholic Church; St. Anne’s church	Property Property Property Property Buffer zone	Restoration specialist Jānis Mertens
2013	Historical, architectural, artistic and technical research of the territory, photos, survey drawings and landscape analysis	Section of L. Paegles Street from Dzirnavu to Raiņa Street; section of Mucenieku Street from Dzirnavu to Jelgavas Street: Skrundas Street intersection with Jelgavas Street; section of Jelgavas Street from Mucenieku to Ganību street; section of Skrundas Street	Property/buffer zone Property Property Property/ buffer zone Property/ buffer zone	SIA “Belss”
2014	Pre-restoration research for shutters and passports for door sets	10 Baznīcas Street; 12 Liepājas Street; 13 Rumbas Street; 12 Skrundas Street; 14 Skrundas Street; 1 Tirgus Street	Property Property Property Property Property Property	Restoration specialist Jānis Mertens
2014	Architectural and artistic research of the building	5 Baznīcas Street	Property	Kristīne Veinberga, Juris Zviedrāns
2014	Architectural and artistic research and inventory of the building historic research and photo fixation	4 Kalpaka Street	Buffer zone	Kristīne Veinberga, Juris Zviedrāns
2015	Architectural and artistic inventory of interior of the building, research, photo fixation	5 Baznīcas Street	Property	Kristīne Veinberga, Juris Zviedrāns
2015	Kuldīga Children’s and Youth Centre. Architectural and artistic research of the building	10 Street of 1905	Property	Kristīne Veinberga, Juris Zviedrāns
2016	Architectural and artistic inventory of the building historic research and photo fixation	4 Kalpaka Street, 2 Kalpaka Street	Buffer zone	SIA “AIG”
2018	Tower (former hospital building)	37 Liepājas Street	Buffer zone	Kristīne Veinberga, Juris Zviedrāns
2018	Garage	14 Liepājas Street	Property	Kristīne Veinberga, Juris Zviedrāns
2019	Architectural and artistic inventory of the building – inspection and photo fixation	6 Kaļķu Street	Property	K. Veinberga, Juris Zviedrāns

General Inventory

Every year, Kuldīga Municipality, in cooperation with the National Cultural Heritage Board and in accordance with the Law “On inventory,” carries out a general inventory regarding all the monuments of state and local importance that are listed in the State Register of Monuments. The last inventory took place on January 31, 2020 regarding the situation on December 31, 2019.

As a result of the general inventory owners of the
properties receive instructions for both short-term and long-term maintenance
of the monument and a finding on the state of the monument.

Addresses where inventory, records and archives are held

The Comprehensive Inventories of the Values of Kuldīga are kept in printed format at the archive of Kuldīga Municipality Building Authority (1 Baznīcas Street, Kuldīga, Kuldīgas novads, LV 3301, Latvia).
These inventories are also available online at http://www.ekas.kuldiga.lv/; https://kuldiga.lv/kuldiga/kuldigas-vecpilseta/normativi-izpetes-datu-bazes/izpetes ; https://kuldiga.lv/kuldiga/kuldigas-vecpilseta/normativi-izpetes-datu-bazes/izpetes

The architectural and artistic inventory of individual buildings or premises are kept in printed format at the archive of Kuldīga Municipality Building Authority (1 Baznīcas Street, Kuldīga, Kuldīgas novads, LV 3301, Latvia).

Data of the general inventory are kept in printed format at the archive of Kuldīga Municipality (1 Baznīcas Street, Kuldīga, Kuldīgas novads, LV 3301, Latvia)