The Gaising or Gaiziņkalns (German: Mesenberg), at 312 m (1,024 feet) above sea level, is the highest point in

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

. It is situated in the Vidzeme Upland, a short distance to the west of the town of Madona, central

Vidzeme Vidzeme (; Old Latvian orthography: ''Widda-semme'', ) is one of the Historical Latvian Lands. The capital of Latvia, Riga, is situated in the southwestern part of the region. Literally meaning "the Middle Land", it is situated in north-centra ...

. Although only relatively high, Gaiziņkalns has been developed into a skiing area with three slopes and several guesthouses. In order to rival Suur Munamägi - the highest point of neighbouring

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

at 318 metres - a tower was built which exceeds the latter in height. Although the construction work was not finished, the tower became a popular tourist attraction, which led to its closure due to the serious risk to safety. The tower was demolished in December 2012, and the rubble was removed. There is a nearby multilingual sign marking the high point, but nothing at the natural summit itself. Gaizinkalan_DA_nogaze

References

External links

Gaiziņkalns on Latvian Tourism Portal

Highest points of countries Madona Municipality {{Vidzeme-geo-stub

See also

References

External links