Jurmala

a city in the Latvian SSR, under republic jurisdiction; one of the largest climatic health resorts in the USSR. Located on the southern bank of the Gulf of Riga, west of the city of Riga. Area, 89 sq km. Population, 59,000 (1977).

Jūrmala lies in a narrow belt (average width, about 2.5 km) extending 33 km between the Gulf of Riga and the Lielupé River. It was formed in 1959 from the towns of Kemeri, Sloka, and the Jūrmala section of Riga. It includes a number of railroad stations and the settlements of Lielupé, Bulduri, Dzintari, Majori, Dubulty (the administrative center of Jūrmala), Jaundubulti, Pumpuri, Melluzi, Asari, and Vaivari. Electric railroads and the Riga-Tukums highway run through Jürmala, and the Lielupé River provides a link with Riga and Jelgava.

Summers are moderately warm, with an average July temperature of 17°C, and winters are mild, with an average January temperature of – 5°C. The main curative measures are climato-therapy and sea bathing from mid-June to late August. The wide sandy beach is bordered by pine-covered dunes. Ķemeri has mineral waters and therapeutic muds. Disorders of the cardiopulmonary and central and peripheral nervous systems, nontubercular disorders of the respiratory organs, and children’s rheumatism are treated. There are sanatoriums for adults and children, houses of rest, hostels, and resort polyclinics. The resort is open year round.

Enterprises in the Jūrmala area include the Sloka Pulp and Paper Mill, the Tekhnoinform Factory, a factory producing decorative knitted articles and clothing accessories, a sportscraft plant, a ground-dolomite shop of the Riga Cement and Slate Plant, and a sawmill. Jūrmala has the Scientific Research Laboratory of Health-resort Science. Educational and cultural enterprises include the Bulduri Sovkhoz Technicum, a concert hall, museums of history and art, and the dacha-museum of the outstanding Latvian poet J. Rainis. The Rainis Writers’ Retreat (1970, architect G. S. Mints) and the Jūrmala Hotel (1973, architect R. S. Kuznetsov) are located in the city.