Padure manor house

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Padure Manor (Latvian: Padures muižas pils) is a manor house built in empire style located about 200 metres from a large pond formed by the waters of the Venta river, in Padure parish, Kuldīga municipality, Latvia. Used as a war hospital during the German occupation in the Second World War, it housed the Padure parish library until 2005.

History
The manor house was erected in the late 1830s to the early 1840s. The first owner was the Scottish merchant John Louis Balfour who acquired the property from the von Stempel family, who owned the Padure estate and Turkalne Manor. His eldest son, Alfon Balfour, managed the estate until the beginning of the 1920s. After the Latvian Agrarian Reform was instituted, from 1922 the manor was managed by the government of Latvia.

From 1 April 1923, a school was opened. During the German occupation the manor served as a war hospital and after 1945, the buildings of the estate began to be used as an agricultural experimental station. Until 2005, the manor housed the Padure parish library.
en.wikipedia.org

Padure manor with a park
Address: Padure
Phone: (+371) 29640028
info@paduremanor.com
www.paduremanor.com

Padures manor house is located in Kuldiga’s district, Padure.  It is about 5 km from Kuldiga, approximately 50 km from port city Ventspils and around 167 km from Latvia’s capital city, Riga. Around 200 meters away from the manor there’s a large pond. Nearby is the river Venta, which is the biggest river in whole Courland and has the widest waterfall (249 m) in Europe – the Venta waterfall. 

From history we’ve learned that in year 1837 manor-house was bought by John Lowis Balfour, but he ordered to build a new one. That’s why we assume that the real establishment year of this building is 1840. Also this date corresponds to the manor’s volume and composition of its building manner.

Padures manor house has never undergone major conversion, it has remained at its original design along with rich amount of initial components and large share of interior decorations. The building demonstrates unique 19th century’s second quarter’s national architectural samples. Interior decorations from second half of 19thcentury and beginning of 20th century enhances manor’s overall value.

The total area according to the inventory file is 960.7 square meters, but the usable area consists from 838.9 square meters. Land’s total size is 2.33 hectares.

In total the manor house has 3 floors. The bottom floor originally had twelve rooms - cellar, pantry, washer’s living room, maid’s room, housemaid’s room, menial room, housekeeper’s room, gardener’s room, laundrette, kitchen, wine cellar and one unoccupied room.

So-called lords or middle floor also had the same number of rooms as the bottom. Previously the lobby was dark gray with brown skin covering its floor. While walking to the left of the clockwise direction from the lobby, you can spot a formerly green guest room, where close Balfour's guests sometimes used to stay. Its entrance leading further to lady's writing room in which was painted in yellow tones and then corner room – lord’s bedroom. Behind the small menage stairs the next corner  room served as storeroom but adjacent room was a white painted dining room with shades of dark brown, wall, built-in buffet, which is still maintained. Previously further from the dining-room one could enter the hall, whose walls were a pale blue tone detailed with detailed gold ornaments. In addition to the two round furnaces in the corner niches of the hall as decorative elements this room also had two lighting fixtures - ceiling chandeliers. Dark wood furniture with silk joints was placed in the hall. Next room to the hall was fireplace room painted red at that time. The white tile fireplace from fireplace room, unfortunately, had been removed. From fireplace room one could proceed to the corner room - lords cabinet, colored in various brown tones. Behind the smaller ménage stairs which led to the basement was sofa room – corner room toned in several golden shades, but next to sofa room the flower room was placed with walls in colour of gray pigeon feathers. The flower room was followed by dark blue card room, from which the door once again led back into the lobby.

The third – top floor was where guests usually stayed.

Two hectares large manor park and orchard is located next to the building.
www.visit.kuldiga.lv