Know Before You Go
Cross the Abava River in Sabile, and follow the signs.
Abava parish, Latvia
Pedvale Open Air Art Museum
Surreal works of unreal stone and metal dot the landscape of this Latvian art park.
Attempting to capture the feel of an entire local culture in art is not an easy feat, but this open air Latvian art park has managed to bring the culture of the Abava River valley to life in over 100 surreal works of art that have been recognized by UNESCO for their efforts.
Opened in 1991 by sculptor Ojars Arvids Feldbergs, the Pedvale Open Air Art Museum holds in its permanent collection, over 150 works of sculpture from artists in the surrounding area. The museum also welcomes and incorporates works by foreign artists, but the main edict of the exhibition is that the artworks incorporate or fit in with their natural surroundings. To this end, a number of the works take on a more organic form, be it with the use of natural rock or through the shape of their piece.
In addition to the bucolic fields and imaginative works of art, the museum grounds are said to have their very own ghost. Called the White Princess, the specter is said to come out to see some of the artworks from time to time. her signature move is to make people feel like they should stay at the park longer, which is a pretty PR savvy thing for a ghost to do.
The Pedvale Park is more popular among art hounds than ghost hunters, but that doesn’t make the sculptural flights of fancy found on the grounds any less haunting.
