Svēte Floodplain Meadow Boardwalks
Discover a new corner of nature in Jelgava city: the flood-land meadows of the River Svēte. The wooden boardwalks have been built in the territory between Sniega Street, Vītolu Road, Būriņu Road and Miezītes Road.
The total length of boardwalks is approximately 1.6 kilometres, and they are connected to the three gravel paths. In order to ensure possibility to use the boardwalks during the flooding season as well, the boardwalks are built 1.5 m high, and the width of the boardwalks is 1.8 m. The wooden boardwalks are equipped with railing with a special screen to provide for the safety of pedestrians. For the purposes of promoting the diversity of plantlife, meanders or wetlands have been formed in the area of 1.2 hectares of the flood-lands.
Two informative stands have been placed on the platforms of the boardwalks to provide information on flood-lands of the Svēte, its plants and animal life, peculiarities of the spring flood, construction works implemented for the project „Creation of the Green Infrastructure in the Adjacent Territories of Sniega Street, Jelgava”, and the constructed boardwalks.
Cars may be parked on the side of Miezītes Road opposite to the pond, on the side of Būriņu Road, or in the square of the Vītolu Road by the culvert.
www.visit.jelgava.lv/en
The boardwalks are connected by three gravel paths, and there is no special walking route here. You can walk in different directions, and it is possible to climb the footbridges anywhere where there is water. There are eight in total. At the Sniega Street parking lot, three wooden environmental objects will attract attention - "Jelgava 755", a wooden bench and a sculpture with wooden lovers. They were created during the Forest Days event "Forest enters Jelgava 2020".
In 14 places on the paths, special platforms have been created - five larger, nine smaller, so that you can exchange with other pedestrians or simply stop while observing nature. You need to spend some time at the information stands, where you can get information about the meadows of the Svete floodplain, their plants and living creatures, and learn about the spring flood season of Svete.
The wooden footbridges were built as part of the construction works within the project "Creation of green infrastructure in the adjacent areas of Sniega Street in Jelgava". The story began with the Svētes river, which has the largest water flow compared to the other small rivers of Jelgava. The water level of Svete is influenced by both the level of Lielupe and the amount of precipitation. In times of floods, when Svēte was raging, the waters that came out of its banks threatened the areas near the meadows. Unfortunately, as is known, man cannot influence the natural processes on which flood levels in river floodplains depend, but he can at least partially protect them. Therefore, at the beginning of 2020, large-scale construction works were completed in Jelgava, the aim of which was to reduce the risk of flooding in the city. Along with the anti-flood measures, wooden boardwalks were also built in the set, which have already become a popular sight for tourists and a place of rest for Jelgava residents.
Officially, the footbridge location is designated as the area between Sniega street, Vītola road, Būriņu road and Miezīte road. For those who are not from Jelgava, it should be more clearly stated that they are located behind the hospital "Gintermuiža".
www.celvezi.lv
The footbridges are divided into two parts that are not connected to each other. In the longest section (1103 m), the wooden footbridges are created as a labyrinth of footbridges over the floodplain meadows, and it is a very exclusive walking place in the spring when the meadows are flooded. This section is located at Sniega Street. The second shortest (562 m), but the most picturesque trail has been created around the Miezites pond. Go to it from the side of Miezīte road.
www.lindamiezane.wixsite.com
