The season of love at Abgunste, from June to August

As the wedding season begins at the manor and we create celebrations for people in love, we will scale back public events. This means that the gates of Abgunste Manor will often be closed, even as kisses and laughter fill the grounds inside. We encourage you to check the website for events that welcome visitors without an invitation :)

Each month this season, we will announce days when you are welcome to drop by, explore the manor and garden, order a coffee, and simply relax on the grounds. There will be two or three such days each month. See the "Visiting" section.

A wedding experience tasting day – a new tradition :) 

This April, we held our first wedding showcase, presenting the full range of options so couples could experience what a wedding at Abgunste is like, tastes like, and looks like! Visitors could explore the details and decorations, see the tableware, and sample the food available for their wedding celebrations, all in one place. Thank you to everyone who came, tasted, tried things out, and made their choices. This will become a beautiful, practical, and very useful day for every couple to visit with their wedding attendants or friends: a chance to look around, discuss, agree, and at the same time check, compare,  or decide.

11 guest workers at Abgunste

This season, 11 runner ducks are starting work and taking up permanent residence at the manor. One of their most important duties is to tackle the invasive Spanish slugs. Since the grounds are quite large and the slugs have not yet fully emerged after the early spring, the new workers are currently getting to know the place and settling into the rhythm of life at the manor. These workers will not be allowed to meet guests at weddings or social events.

The 2026 manor celebrations — 14 and 16 August

Abgunste announces its manor celebrations on 16 August, eagerly creating two wonderful events! This year, Abgunste will become a fairy-tale kingdom — from the magical Eastern tales of Scheherazade on the “eve” of the celebrations, 14 August, to a day of encounters with fantasy characters on Sunday, 16 August, in the colourful “Once Upon a Time in Wonderland”. Visit the Visits section for the programme and all ticket information.

A Georgian chef will be cooking at Abgunste this winter, too

So that guests can once again experience Georgian atmosphere, Caucasian flavours and “brotherly” hospitality at our Ēdamsvētki food festival this December, we have enticed our dear Gigišs, George Pachkoria, here from Tbilisi. Although he is an artist and ceramicist, he is also a true master of Georgian cuisine at heart.  We are delighted to announce a Georgian-themed Ēdamsvētki!

16 October 2025.

A first for Abgunste — Oktoberfest

October at Abgunste featured a proper Oktoberfest. We prepared not only delicious food and a party, but also our own “outfits”... and even received compliments from guests from Oktoberfest’s home country :)

13 October 2025.

Latin America, France and the Caucasus for your team parties

Guest feedback from the manor celebrations has inspired Abgunste to create themed event packages. Companies, teams and groups can escape the winter cold and find themselves in France, Latin America or the Caucasus, complete with performances, cuisine, decorations and the right atmosphere! Inspire your coworkers, colleagues and business partners to visit the warm destinations conjured up by Abgunste this Christmas or at your New Year’s celebration! To request a package, contact the manor at [email protected]. For a preview, visit the website section “Visits/Themed Corporate Events”.

Abgunste receives the Three Brothers Badge of Honour

On 12 September, the European Heritage Days were officially opened at Rundāle Palace Museum. At the event, the National Cultural Heritage Board presented the Three Brothers Badges of Honour and certificates of recognition for significant contributions to preserving cultural heritage. We received an award for our continuous work restoring the manor since 2016 and for introducing a new approach to preserving cultural heritage. We are also delighted for our neighbours in Svēte — Artūrs Blumfelds and Mārīte Bahromkina, the owners of Svēte Palace, who are bringing the historic building back into economic and cultural use, step by step.

We are also sincerely delighted for Valija Barkovska, Deputy Director for Vocational Education at Zaļenieki Commercial and Crafts Secondary School. She received an award for initiating the “Restoration” educational programme, which has been training young restorers for more than a decade and supporting the development of the crafts sector in Latvia.

“Around the World” in 10 Days

To celebrate the manor’s tenth anniversary, Abgunste Manor (in Jelgava Municipality) held a 10-day festival from 8 to 17 August. Each day was devoted to the atmosphere of a different part of the world, expressed through music, costumes and cuisine, to create an authentic sense of “arriving” in Latin America, France, the Wild West or the Caucasus. The guests’ genuine amazement at the manor hosts’ ability to transform the courtyard each day inspired the manor team to enthusiastically realise their original vision of a festival unique in Latvia.

During the celebrations, Abgunste created, for example, an impressive 33-metre-long banquet table laden with kilograms of pomegranates and grapes, candles and red roses. It wound through the orangeries, evoking the Caucasian tradition of dining with dancing, freshly prepared food and duduk music beneath strings of lights.

Across the manor grounds and gardens, Abgunste brought France to life with a Parisian carousel and living statues at the foot of the manor. Latin America followed with Brazilian dance shows, samba and tango lessons, and colourful decorations of feathers, cacti, bananas and pineapples. The very next day, the manor took on a Wild West atmosphere, with Native American performers, vintage cars, dancing horses and a true country, or Texas, feel. This gave way to the familiar sights of the Caucasus, with an abundance of grapes, pomegranates and roses. The following day brought a Laima Clock to the foot of the manor and a celebration of Latvian culture through folk dancing, games, making traditional straw ornaments and more, along with a concert by Labvēlīgais Tips. The 10-day festival ended on 17 August with an “Around the World” theme and Abgunste Manor’s customary festival finale: the lighting of a fire sculpture. This year, Rūdis Pētersons created a ceramic cat on the manor’s kiln hill.

Abgunste Manor’s hosts, Jānis and Asnāte Avotnieki, dressed in character to match each day’s theme. It proved to be a unique experience that has given the manor team even greater confidence in what they can offer anyone wishing to celebrate a spectacular occasion at Abgunste.