Beverīnas pilskalna Stirnu buks

Latvian Ethnographic Open-Air Museum rural exhibition "Vēveri" in Vecpiebalga

The Vēveri homestead in Piebalga has a history of at least 400 years. Vēveri was first mentioned in Swedish audit documents in 1601 as a single farm. By the end of the 18th century, it was marked on maps. The population increased during the long period of peace following the Great Northern War. In the "Surveyor Times" of 1878, when the people of Piebalga bought the land from the manor as hereditary property, there were already eight homesteads in Vēveri. This established the current layout and building arrangement seen today. In the 1928 agricultural census, there were around 40 various types of buildings across the 8 homesteads.

To preserve the historically formed cultural landscape with its ancient homesteads, buildings, roads, and tree plantations, as well as to maintain the buildings – monuments to the work and life of Piebalga farmers – in situ, in the environment and location where they originated, the Rural Exhibition of the Latvian Ethnographic Open-Air Museum was established in Vēveri since the 1980s. Six of the old homesteads are managed by the museum, while Lejasvēveri and Jaunvēveri remain private properties of the heirs. The Vēveri ethnographic building complex has been granted the status of a cultural monument of national importance.
In Piebalga and Vēveri, the land could not sustain large families. To make a living, people traditionally mastered local crafts—weaving linen fabric and spinning wheels (turning) for both local and distant markets. The exhibition showcases weavers' tools, from spool frames to looms, various fabrics, tools of spinning wheel makers and farmers, and household items and objects unfamiliar to modern people.

At the highest point of Vēveru Hill (226 meters above sea level), Kalna Vēveri's owner, Ansis Vientiesis, built a mill in 1875. In 2008, with the participation of the local construction company Balga, it was restored to its former glory. From the mill's gallery and upper floor, there is an excellent view of the overall Vēveri landscape and the distant views of Piebalga. One can spot the nearby Slieķis Lake with a large beaver lodge and a dugout canoe.
Whether it's winter or summer, you are welcome at Vēveri! Contact phone: 29181219 (Edgars Žīgurs, historian).
The museum is open to visitors every day—during the summer from 10:00 to 17:00 and in winter from 10:00 to 16:00. Admission is free.
Museum website.