Īģe (Graudiņi) Devil’s Cave

Halfway from Mazsalaca to Staicele, the highway crosses the Īģe River. About a kilometer further, the Īģe River joins into the Salaca River, flowing mainly along the red sandstone river banks, in which the water has eroded several caves. The largest of the caves is called Graudiņu Velnala (the Graudiņu Devil’s Cave), because it is located right at the Graudiņi homestead. The people have preserved the following tale about this Devil’s Cave: the Devil had chosen the biggest cave on the Īģe River banks at the Graudiņi homestead as his dwelling place. They say the Devil was very thirsty and, to insure sufficient water supply, he obstructed the Īģe river downwards the Cave. At night, the water had raised and deluged the Cave. The Devil was scared, took his heels and never came back. The water washed away the obstruction; only during the flood it reaches the bottom of the cave. On the banks of the Īģe river, at its lower part, there are many picturesque sites. V-ers 1929: 2.

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On the other side of the Īģe river, in Skaņkalne area, there is the Rūjupe homestead, where the tale about the Devil’s Road was recorded. It is possible that both sites are mythologically related.

Archive of the “Cult Identity” project

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  Apšukalns Hill
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  Graudiņi Jāņkalns Hill