Winding down the slopes of Murjāņi, Latvia, is a striking wooden structure torn between two states: part smooth and functional, part rotten and forgotten.
The former Murjani Sports School’s toboggan track is the main attraction at this site. Located downhill from the gym building and an oval track, it winds through spruce trees for several hundred meters before ending near the Loja River. Remnants of training equipment still dot the area, including both vertical and horizontal spin trainers as well as g-force trainers. Inside a nearby building, paperwork, posters, tools, and student bobsled licenses remain scattered on tables, shelves, and floors, all gathering dust.
Although the track only operated from 1977 until the opening of the modern Sigulda bobsleigh and toboggan track in 1987, the nearly four decades of disuse have left it in surprisingly good condition. Online research uncovers that the land is now privately owned and with the help of volunteers, the owners have begun restoring the track and surrounding area. New wooden planks found around the site hint at their progress.
