This book on the churches of the former Saldus and Tukums Districts is the tenth volume in the series published by Neputns under the general title "The Heritage of Religious Architecture and Art". The territory of the former Saldus and Tukums Districts, covered in this book, nowadays corresponds to the municipalities of Tukums, Kandava, Jaunpils, Engure, Saldus and Brocēni.
The oldest heritage of religious architecture in the territory of the former Tukums and Saldus Districts relates to the Lutheran churches built in the Duchy of Courland in the late 16th and the 17th century. Mannerist religious art in the Tukums and Saldus areas is represented by a number of notable examples of woodcarving, which, in spite of terrible damage in the Second World War and the second half of the 20th cen- tury, have been preserved in the churches or saved in museums. Even richer is the heritage of Baroque sculpture, which is connected mainly with the work of the masters of the Ventspils woodcarving workshop, Nicolaus Söffrens the Younger (1662–1710) and Johann Märtens (1690– 1737). A major collection of Baroque painting, significant in the history of Latvian art, is preserved in Gaiķi Lutheran Church. No less significant is the collection of paintings from Vāne Church, preserved in Rundāle Palace Museum.
This volume includes descriptions of 35 churches. In terms of religious denominations, there are 31 Lutheran churches and only two Catholic and two Orthodox churches.
