Mazbānītis Trail in Northern Kurzeme Trail

The Mazbānīte is the name given in Northern Kurzeme to a train that transported passengers and cargo along 600 mm wide narrow-gauge railway tracks between 1916 and 1963. It is a legacy of military history from the First World War, which once played a significant role in the cultural and economic prosperity of all of Northern Kurzeme, but especially of Livonian fishing villages, providing a connection between settlements and providing jobs.

The nature trail leads from Mazirbe to Sīkrag along the former Stende - Ventspils narrow-gauge railway track, or as the locals say – mazbānīša track. The construction of the railway began in 1916 and it served until 1963. The narrow-gauge railway line connected the port city of Ventspils with coastal fishing villages, Dundags and the large railway junction in Stende, thus contributing to the economic and cultural prosperity of the region between the First and Second World Wars.

During the Soviet Union, the coast was a "Closed Zone", so coastal villages were economically isolated and their population decreased. The presence of newly built secret military facilities also contributed to the fact that railway traffic was suspended in the 1960s.

The trail has a small loop of 15 km and a large loop of 19 km.

GPX map available here:

https://www.kurzemesregions.lv/projekti/turisms/unigreen/dabas-takas/mazbanisa-dabas-taka/