Durbe Manor

Durbe Manor (Durbes pils) is a seventeenth-century manor house located in Tukums, in the historical region of Zemgale, in Latvia. One of the most interesting classical manor houses in Latvia. Today it houses part of the Tukums Museum collection.

History
Durbe as was first mentioned in written sources as Šlokenbeka manor in 1475. Built in 1671, the manor was reconstructed in classical form between 1820 and 1823 according to the project of architect Johann Gottfried Adam Berlitz who rebuilt the façade with a wedding-cake portico and Ionic columns in the 1820s.

From 1789 to 1808, Ernst Karl Philip von Groth used the property as a summerhouse. From 1818 to 1838 the estate belonged to Count J. von Medem, while it later belonged to the Count of Jaunpils von der Recke. The family of Baron von der Recke owned the manor from the 1848 to 1920, when the agrarian reform began.

In 1923 Durbe manor was presented to famous Latvian writer and playwright Rainis who owned it until his death in 1929. However Rainis used to live there only short periods and mostly used manor as vacation house for teachers and their families. Later manor was used as sanatorium for tubercular patients and hospital. Since 1991 Durbe manor is a part of Tukums city museum exhibition.