Smeceres krogs
Smeceres krogs is one of the rare three-star hotels in the Vidzeme highlands and also a legendary place to meet for a drink or a meal.
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For groups (11+)
History and culture
In winter
Urban environment
The hotel's Smeceres krogs restaurant is open from Friday to Sunday and offers Latvian and international cuisine. A bar and a cafe with a full menu are available for guests.
Up to 150 guests can be accommodated. There are 44 beds available in the hotel. There is a free car park of a suitable size in the area.
Smecerīša krogs is marked on a 17th-century map on the road section between Bērzauni and Cesvaini, where the road crosses the Austrona river 22km from Riga. The Smeceres krogs belonged to the Lazdona manor, and it has been rebuilt several times. The inn was made of stone (at least in later times) with two stables. One was for farmers' carts and the other for gentlemen's carts. The stables could be entered directly from the road through a gate built into the sloping walls. The basic task of the inn was to provide rest and overnight accommodation for travellers. Riders from Riga, petty traders and other wayfarers parked their carts in the farmers’ stable. The farmers stopped at the west end of the inn. There was the so-called great inn room, where ordinary travellers stayed. On bargaining days, the owners hired the servants for the next working year here. The so-called German end was on the east side of the inn. There were several rooms including even a special billiards room.
Smeceres krogs was a gathering place for Latvians in the area also before the First World War. The inn came to the front line in 1915. Then various refugee families from Courland settled there for a temporary life, during the free state of Latvia, in the twenties. The Smeceres krogs was bought by the former tenant O. Grebstelis, who set up the so-called teahouse, where beer and boiled crayfish were also available. In particular, a lot of tea was made in the winter and spring months of the 1930s, because a train of skiers from Riga stopped nearby, and Riga residents also enjoyed a Sunday leisure meal in the Smeceres inn.
During the Second World War, all the buildings of the inn burned down and the roof of the inn was damaged. It was repaired later, but the building was no longer used after that, although it was considered an architectural monument of local importance.
Guests are offered double, triple and quadruple rooms. A sauna and an indoor pool are at guests' disposal. It is possible to stay with animals.
Smeceres krogs provides banquets, banquet service, catering for up to 150 people.
There is now a guest house in the pub building built in the 17th century, in the place where in the sixties the director Voldemārs Pūce filmed "Mērnieku laiki" based on the novel of the same name by Reinis and Matīss Kaudzīši.
The place is suitable for guests at any time of the year.
Working time
Restaurant and SPA area:
Fr, Sa, Su: 11am – 9pm
Services outside working hours are available with prior booking for a certain day and time.