Gulbene Municipality
Last operational narrow-gauge railway in the Baltics (750mm, 1903). Originally 202 km; now 33 km. National monument since 1998. Two daily trains.
Gulbene is "narrow-gauge railroad land"—the last operational 750mm railway in the Baltic states. The line opened in 1903, running 202 km from Stukmaņi to Valga. By 1973, only 33 km survived between Gulbene and Alūksne. That remnant became a national monument in 1998.
The Vidzeme Branch Line Company built the railway at the turn of the 20th century to connect rural northeastern Latvia to the broader network. Cold War-era diesel locomotives now haul heritage coaches past forests and farmland—two daily trips in each direction. The railway defines regional identity so completely that official tourist guides name the entire area after it.
Gulbene itself became a junction when broad-gauge lines were constructed during World War I. The town received village rights in 1920. It straddles the Vidzeme-Latgale border, drawing character from both regions: Vidzeme's agricultural tradition and Latgale's cultural distinctiveness.
By 2026, the railway's future depends on heritage tourism economics. The consortium of local authorities and railway enthusiasts that has operated it since 2002 must prove that nostalgia generates enough revenue to maintain century-old infrastructure.