Poetry Days retrace young Rainis's ten-kilometer childhood walk to school
As part of Latvia's Poetry Days, participants can walk the roughly ten-kilometer route that future poet Rainis took as a boy between his home in Berķenele and his school in Daugavpils. The path passes several historical and cultural landmarks.
This year's Poetry Days program includes a special walking route that retraces the path young Jānis Pliekšāns — later known as the poet Rainis — walked as a child. The route stretches roughly ten kilometers from his family home in Berķenele to his school in Daugavpils and back.
A historic route
Walking this path today, participants pass by locations tied to several historical and cultural landmarks. The route is also said to carry echoes of the Romeo and Juliet love story, creating an unusual link between Rainis's childhood journeys and a classic of world literature.
Part of Poetry Days
The walk is organized as part of Poetry Days, Latvia's annual celebration of poetry and literature. This year, organizers chose to highlight Rainis specifically, giving participants the chance to physically experience the walk the poet made as a child on his way to and from school.
