Mazsalaca
| Mazsalaca ( German : Salisburg) | |||
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| Basic data | |||
| State : |
 Latvia
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| Landscape: | Livonia ( Latvian : Vidzeme ) | ||
| Administrative district : | Mazsalacas novads | ||
| Coordinates : | 57 ° 52 ' N , 25 ° 3' E | ||
| Residents : | 1,244 (Jan 1, 2016) | ||
| Area : | 3 km² | ||
| Population density : | 415 inhabitants per km² | ||
| Height : | |||
| City law: | since 1928 | ||
| Website: | www.mazsalaca.lv | ||
| Post Code: | |||
| ISO code: | |||
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Mazsalaca ( German Salisburg ) is a city in northern Latvia on the right bank of the Salaca . The syllable Maz- means "small". In 2018 Mazsalaca had 1244 inhabitants.
history
The Germans settled the place in 1224. The part of the name "-burg" probably refers to an older hill fort opposite the later estate, on the left side of the Salis. Excavations there uncovered the floor plan of a Liven castle, 70 m long and 30–60 m wide.
The Salisburg estate has existed since the late Middle Ages. The first buildings in today's city of Mazsalaca were built in 1861, after the landlord Arnold von Vietinghoff provided local farmers with the first 42 building plots and a bridge was built over the Salaca. The market town was part of the Republic of Latvia from 1918 to 1940, had 1,100 inhabitants in 1918 and was granted city rights in 1928. In 1935 Mazsalaca consisted of 300 private properties (3 brick houses and 183 made of wood), a high school, elementary school, pharmacy and some other public buildings. Of the 1492 inhabitants at that time, 98% were of Latvian nationality. From 1935 the railway branch line Riga - Rūjiena was built, the Mazsalaca railway station was opened on October 9, 1937. 1940/1941 the place was occupied by the Red Army and from 1941 to 1944 by the German Wehrmacht. The railway line was destroyed in 1944 by the retreating Wehrmacht and only restored in 1977. After Latvia gained independence from the Soviet Union, the railway line was finally closed in 1996/1997 for reasons of profitability. In the Soviet period up to 1991, a textile factory, a dairy and a supplier of vehicle parts were the largest employers. Today a large forestry company is the most important employer.
The Lutheran Church
The medieval church was significantly rebuilt in 1669, 1692 and 1783. In 1890 a cross-shaped annex was added to serve as a community room, and a new tower was built in 1927. The baroque altar from the end of the 17th century and the altar painting “The Holy Communion” from 1760, which is one of the most beautiful Rococo paintings of sacred art in Livonia, are worth mentioning . The church was used throughout the Soviet era.
Good and lock
The manor house is mentioned for the first time in 1528, on the occasion of the lending of several pieces of land by the order master Wolter von Plettenberg to Vintzens von Stene. After this Rötger von Haaren became the owner of the estate and after 1547 the court judge of the order master Hermann von Brüggenney, Balzer Falckenberg. His son Heinrich, captain of Kirrumpäh, still owned it in 1601. King Gustav II Adolf of Sweden confirmed in 1631 to Conrad and Melchior Falckenberg their right to own this property. Hence the Latvian name "Valtenberg", which is still in use today for the manor house. Conrad's son, Chamberlain Gabriel Falckenberg, sold Salisburg in 1674 to Bartholomäus Schaum, whose nephew and heir, Benjamin Uckermark, left it to Field Marshal Christopher Horn in 1678. His heirs in turn sold it to the vice-president of the court, Russian envoy and district administrator, Baron Gustav Georg von Völkersahm . He was the builder of the large, still existing castle, which was built around 1780 according to the design of the Dresden architect Friedrich August Krubsacius in German classicism, and to which the old wooden mansion had to give way. The castle is a two-story building with then 62 rooms and a large mansard roof . Above the entrance, which was supported by two marble columns each, there was a balcony with a wrought iron railing. Based on the style elements, it is believed that the construction was planned around 1775 and completed by 1788 at the latest. The veranda ( winter garden ) at the back seems to have been renovated in the 19th century, as suggested by neo-Gothic motifs on the railing.
The daughter of Gustav Georg von Völkersahm, Juliane Marianne, married to Reinhold Johann Peter von Vietinghoff, remained hereditary mistress of Salisburg until her death in 1851. Shortly afterwards, their eldest childless son, magistrate Gustav Georg von Vietinghoff, handed over the property to his nephew Baron Arnold Julius von Vietinghoff while he was still alive. The last man in Salisburg was his son Oscar since 1904. His grandson Arved von Vietinghoff is still alive today. Well-known descendants from this line of the Vietinghoffs are Arnold Freiherr von Vietinghoff-Riesch , Egon von Vietinghoff and Joachim von Vietinghoff . Other descendants of the former owners are the Counts and Barons Falkenberg, who still live in Sweden today.
The estate originally covered 16,813 hectares , which included two mills. After the peasant liberation in the 19th century , 10,856 hectares of farmland and 25 hectares of farmland were sold. During the first Russian Revolution , the castle was set on fire in January 1906 and was a burned-out ruin as a result. In 1911 a provisional roof was erected and the windows nailed up in order to preserve the fabric of the building. Baron Oscar von Vietinghoff and his father lived in Riga and, in the summer, in Bilderlingshof on Riga Beach, from where they regularly drove to Salisburg to manage the property. In 1919 the rule was expropriated and nationalized. In 1919, Baron Oscar waived the small portion that had been awarded to him (so-called residual goods ) and then lived in Berlin .
Plans to rebuild it as a school were tackled in 1925, central heating was installed in 1932/1934 and a water tank was installed on the roof. Later (1957) the attic floor was expanded with 17 windows to accommodate more school classes. From 1932 to 1976 the former manor house served as a grammar school, after which it became a primary school and the upper school moved into a new building, which is still a little to the right of the primary school. The house was almost blown up by the Germans along with the bridge on September 24, 1944, when the Wehrmacht withdrew from the Red Army . But fishermen discovered the fuse during the night while hauling in a net and cut the connection. The castle (primary school) was thoroughly renovated from 2000 to 2003 on the initiative of the headmistress and the mayor, also with the support of the twin town of Harsewinkel . In the also renovated outbuilding to the left, social workers now work under the patronage of the Red Cross.
Skaņaiskalns Park
The former manor house is still surrounded by a large park today. The Salis, which flows through the park, rises in the Burtnieker See and flows into the Baltic Sea after 95 km at Salacgrīva (German: Salismünde) . It eats its way through the red sandstone in such a way that in several places in the park walls up to 300 m long and 20 m high with washed-out caves emerged. The most famous spot is called "Klangberg" (formerly also "Echo"), where the echo of speech or song from someone standing up to 90 meters away from the wall is thrown back so that the listener on the bank thinks the sound is coming from the wall itself. This very unusual phenomenon is the main tourist attraction of Mazsalaca. On the way there, partly through the forest and partly along the river, there are rest and picnic areas, small natural wonders such as the werewolf pine, the angel and the devil's cave, the devil's pulpit, the clove rock and other natural features such as a bathing place and a source.
natural reserve
The two river banks are now a nature reserve up to the mouth, which is home to beavers and otters , among other things . There is a specific biotope with rare flowers. The area is a popular destination for day trippers, cyclists and canoeists . The 3 km long way from the manor house, today's school, to the "Echo" is decorated with many wooden sculptures by Latvian artists. The heroes and mythical creatures depicted refer to the rich Latvian sagas and myths.
Others
- Harsewinkel (Germany) and Mazsalaca maintain a city partnership.
people
- Konstantīns Pēkšēns (1859–1928), architect
- Augusts Kirhenšteins (1872–1963), microbiologist and politician
Mazsalacas novads
Since an administrative reform in 2009, the Mazsalaca district consists of the city and four surrounding rural communities. In 2010, 3953 inhabitants were registered. (See also: Administrative division of Latvia )
gallery
Valtenberģu muiža school, formerly Salisburg Castle
Signpost in front of a building
View of the town
Typical wooden house
The Salis from the bridge at the entrance to the village
The Angel's Cave in the sandstone bank of the Salis.
_in_Mazsalaca.jpg)
literature
- Baltic states. Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia . In: Karl Baedeker Verlag (Hrsg.): Allianz Travel Guide Baedeker . Baltic states. Karl Baedeker, Ostfildern 2005, ISBN 3-8297-1052-6 , Rūijena, p. 322-323 .
- Jochen Könnecke, Vladislav Rubzov: Latvia . In: DuMont art travel guide . DuMont Reiseverlag, Ostfildern 2005, ISBN 3-7701-6386-9 , coastal region north of Riga, p. 184 .
- Hans Feldmann , Heinz von zur Mühlen (Hrsg.): Baltic historical local dictionary, part 2: Latvia (southern Livland and Courland). Böhlau, Cologne 1990, ISBN 3-412-06889-6 , p. 540.
- Astrīda Iltnere (ed.): Latvijas Pagasti, Enciklopēdija. Preses Nams, Riga 2002, ISBN 9984-00-436-8 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Latvijas iedzīvotāju skaits pašvaldībās (= population figures of the self-governing districts of Latvia), as of July 1, 2018 (Latvian).