Durbe is the smallest town in Latvia with a distinguished history, as well as the smallest city in the country in terms of population (some 500 residents). Durbe was first mentioned in a Courlandian document. In 1260, there was a legendary battle at Durbe between the joint forces of the Livonian Order and the German Order and local tribes, including Courlandians who left the German forces to join the tribes. One of Latvia’s first professional gardeners, Sīmanis Klevers (1834-1922) lived and worked in Durbe, and it is thanks to him that the local gardens feature many rare types of apple trees. The herald of Durbe, which was approved in 1925 features a silver apple tree. Several local farms have fruit orchards, and there are many active gardeners. An apple festival is held each September in Durbe.
The local museum has a collection that features the heritage of Klevers, and some of the garden in the town centre (some 25 trees) is open to the public. The garden at Kalna Street 4 in particular offers a great look at an old countryside farm garden (planted in 1933, 3.5 ha) with many traditional and several rare varieties. Durbes Veltes is a small company which offers products that are made from local fruits, vegetables and mushrooms.
