The village is home to a Neo-Gothic manor house; there are also two cemeteries in and near Šengeida, each with a different memorial significance. Cycling Route No. 787, “Silenes dabas parks,” passes the manor house. Architectural history, cemetery design and cycling thus offer different themes to consider when choosing a destination.

Manor House and Cycling Route

The manor house of the Šēnheida estate, also known as the Šengeida manor house, is located in Šengeida in Skrudalienas parish, Augšdaugava Municipality. It was built in 1870 in the Neo-Gothic style. The year of construction and the stylistic designation offer two distinct points of reference: a specific date and a precise architectural classification. Both names refer to the same manor house. If you choose destinations based on historic buildings, it is a clearly identifiable architectural landmark.

Cycling Route No. 787, “Silenes dabas parks,” passes the manor house and is about 25 km long. This length refers to the entire route, not to a section in Šengeida. This makes it possible to distinguish the route’s connection to the manor house from the length of the full cycling tour. If you would like to combine architecture and cycling, you can take both details into account when planning your trip.

The Engelhardt Family Cemetery

The graves in the Engelhardt family cemetery lie on a wooded hill. At its centre stands a four-metre-high oak cross bearing the inscription “Be strong in your faith”. A plaque with a poem in German is located at the gate; a linden avenue was also planted in the cemetery. The English inscription on the cross and the German poem at the gate are two distinct linguistic details of the site. Baron Sigvard von Engelhart, the old baron’s grandson, had the cemetery restored and cleaned in 1996–1997. The landscape, texts and historic restoration each give the family cemetery its own significance.

The Nearby Military Cemetery

The cemetery of Soviet Army soldiers is one kilometre from Šengeida, on the right-hand side of the V690 Skrudaliena–Kumbuļi–Silene state highway. It is dated to the period from 1941 to 1944. A total of 91 burials are recorded there for 1980 and 1984; 84 soldiers are identified by name and marked. The nearby military cemetery is thus notable both for its historical period and for the burial figures recorded across those two years.

The years mentioned refer to different things: 1870 dates the construction of the manor house; 1941 to 1944 is the period associated with the military cemetery; 1980 and 1984 are the years of the recorded burials; and 1996–1997 marks the restoration and cleaning of the family cemetery. Together, they show different historical layers—building history, the cemetery’s period, burials and later restoration—rather than a single continuous sequence of events.

Discover more destinations: Višķi, Medumi, Mīšteļi, Vabole, Svente, Laucesa, Saliena, Silene

For the broader travel overview: Daugavpils Municipality.