The Cows of Ventspils

Scattered around the centre of Ventspils, on street corners and roundabouts and in front of public buildings, are dozens of life-sized fibreglass cows painted in vivid and often eccentric themes — a leftover of the CowParade global art event the city hosted in 2002. The municipality kept the originals and has added new commissions over the years.

There is now a self-guided "cow trail" through the city, with around 30 cows to find. Maps are available at the tourist information centre on the harbour. It is the kind of cheerful civic art project that lots of cities try and very few pull off.

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When Ventspils hosted the international CowParade public art exhibition in 2002, the city bought up many of the painted fibreglass cows at the closing auction. The herd has since multiplied with local commissions — each cow themed (sailor cow, hippie cow, cosmic cow, gold cow) — and become an unofficial civic emblem.

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