Sabile (; german: Zabeln) is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than city, cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares ...

in Talsi Municipality,

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

. Sabile was first mentioned in chronicles in 1253. From the 14th century to the 16th century, it was a site of a castle of the

Livonian Order The Livonian Order was an autonomous branch of the Teutonic Order, formed in 1237. From 1435 to 1561 it was a member of the Livonian Confederation. History The order was formed from the remnants of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword after t ...

and a village near the castle. Sabile became a town in 1917. The Sabile Wine hill ('' Sabiles Vīna Kalns'') used to be the most northern open-air vineyard in the world, registered in the

Guinness Book of Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

. The winemaking tradition in Sabile dates back to the 16th century. For the first time, wine production was created here during Livonia (14th century), and the hill was completely restored in 1936 during by the mayor Osvalds Rezebergs. The Sabile Castle Mound, which was the center of the district from the 10th century to the 13th century, overlooks Sabile and the valley of the

Abava River The Abava is a river in Latvia and the largest tributary of the Venta. It flows through Tukums, Talsi and Kuldiga districts. Fifty percent of the basin is covered by forests. Its valley was submitted for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritag ...

. File:SabileBaznica.JPG, Sabile Lutheran church File:Sabile weinberg.jpg, Sabile wineyard File:SabileTalsuiela.JPG, Talsu street in Sabile File:Sabiles sinagoga 2005 06.jpg, Former synagogue in Sabile. Today ''Centre of contemporary art''

References

Latvian wine Towns in Latvia 1917 establishments in Latvia Populated places established in 1917 Talsi Municipality {{Courland-geo-stub

See also

References