"Laukgaļi" house, writer Kārlis Skalbe's place of residence
Infrastructure

On November 7, 1944, a bright mood was brought to the Latvian refugee settlement on the Kurzeme coast by the commemorations of the poet Kārlis Skalbe’s 65th birthday in the “Laukgaļi” in Jūrkalne. Just four days later, Kārlis Skalbe set off by boat to Sweden as a refugee. It was the day when Kārlis Skalbe celebrated his birthday for the last time.

On 31 October 1944, the boat "Centība" left the Kurzeme coast. The departure of this boat was reconstructed by Valentīne Lasmane, the Convener of the Latvian Central Council, from the recollections of several fellow passengers

One of the important places of relocation was near the “Pāži” house, where a monument has now been erected - “Sail of Hope”. “The ships came regularly and the most people left from “Pāži”, says the memories of I. Freibergs.

Valdemārs Ģinters' name was the last hope for many Latvian refugees to escape to Sweden. Too much attention from the refugees was dangerous, and therefore Ģinters kept it a secret.

More than 70 years ago, Lithuanian coastguards were executed for helping their neighbours, Latvian boat refugees, to reach Sweden. When the German occupation authorities found out about this, they brutally