Hiking tour Jersika-Vanagi "In the Footsteps of National Partisan Legends

A hard-to-find natural object. Hike length: approximately 22 km, can be completed in approximately 6 hours.

Hike length: approximately 22 km, can be completed in 6 hours.

Difficulty level: medium fitness hike.

Starting point: Jersika Elementary School (can be reached by train, bus).

End point: Vanagu Church (public transport does not run on weekends).

Note: The route includes a swimming break (during the summer season), fishing opportunities, a picnic area, and one public toilet. The route is also suitable for school-age children who already have experience in hiking of this length.

Go on a hike from Jersika to Vanagi, allowing yourself to be challenged in endurance, as the hike leads through forests, swamps, moors, meadows and country paths, and in the historical knowledge of the most prominent figures of the national partisan movement, their activities, see the most significant places about which local legends and written memories of fellow citizens are told. The path begins at the Jersika elementary school and leads to a memorial stone under an old oak tree, further along the way including the Jersika railway station. The inscription on the stone reads “LTS(p)A – For the fighters of the Latvian Fatherland Partisan Association. LTS(p)A united the national partisans of six Latvian districts in the fight against the communist occupation regime in 1945-1955”.

The walk continues along the railway tracks and winds along Lake Jersika, where the forest presents natural treasures: spring-flowering primroses and common sedge. The smell of primroses indicates that you are approaching the bog, but in spring it is especially surprising to see them blooming. A lazy walk is not possible, several ditches must be overcome, crossing the bog provides a tempering - water remains in the moss at every step, cranberry berries shine in the bushes. The bog is replaced by a forest and evidence of the former settlement of these places in homesteads - stately oaks, ruins of buildings, the site of a national partisan bunker surrounded by young growth. The path continues to the place mentioned in the testimonies as the place of founding of the Fatherland Guards (partisans) association. The forest massif also hides the memorial site “Avotnīca” (“Olūtneica”), where a campfire has been set up. The diversity of the forest is surprising, as is the width of the ditches. The destination of the hike is Vanagi Church, where priest A. Juhņevičs served, and about whom the film “Segvārds Vientulis” (directed by N. Pucis) tells the story.

The memorial stone is located near the Jersika railway station. It is engraved with the inscription: “LTS(p)A – Latvijas Tēvzemes sargu (partizānu) apvienības cīnītājiem” (For the Fighters of the Latvian Union of the Guardians of the Fatherland (Partisans)). The Union of Partisans united national partisans of six Latvian districts in the struggle against the communist occupation regime in 1945–1955. The memorial stone is the first stop on the hike “Jersika-Vanagi. Nacionālo partizānu leģendām pa pēdām.” (Jersika-Vanagi. On the Trail of the National Partisan Legends.) The route starts at Jersika station and offers an insight into the history of the national partisan movement, its most prominent figures and their activities. Further on the trail: the site of the national partisan bunker hidden in the forest; the place of the founding of the Fatherland Guards (Partisans) Association as mentioned in the testimonies; and the memorial place “Avotnīca” (in Latgalian “Olūtneica”) in the forest, where a bonfire has been set up. The destination of the hike is Vanagi Church, where the priest Antons Juhņevičs served. The film “Segvārds Vientulis” (Alias Hermit) was made here (producer Normunds Pucis). The film tells the story of a priest, who was involved in the national partisan struggle in post-war Latgale. The route also bears evidence of former farmsteads: stately oaks and ruins of buildings.

It passes through forests, swamps, fens, meadows, and country roads. The total length of the hike is approximately 22 km and it can be completed in 6 hours.