Sigulda
| Sigulda ( German : Segewold) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 |
|
||
| Basic data | |||
| State : |
 Latvia
|
||
| Landscape: | Livonia ( Latvian : Vidzeme ) | ||
| Administrative district : | Siguldas novads | ||
| Coordinates : | 57 ° 9 ' N , 24 ° 51' E | ||
| Residents : | 11,650 (July 1, 2014) | ||
| Area : | 18.2 km² | ||
| Population density : | 640 inhabitants per km² | ||
| Height : | 98 m | ||
| City law: | since 1928 | ||
| Website: | www.sigulda.lv | ||
| Post Code: | LV-2150 | ||
| ISO code: | LV-091 | ||
 |
|||
(German:Segewold) is a city inLatvia, 53 km northeast ofRigaon the east bank of theGauja. The region is often referred to asLatvianSwitzerlandbecause of its charming landscape.
administration
The city consists of the three districts Sigulda (with the historic old town), Turaida and Krimulda . The latter two were separated from their rural parishes in 1953. In 2003, the Sigulda administrative district (Siguldas novads) was formed from the city, the rural municipality of Sigulda and the municipality of More . In 2009 the municipality of Allaži was added. On July 1, 2014, a total of 18,271 residents were registered in the administrative district. The district is partly located in the Gauja National Park .
history
The oldest archaeological finds in Sigulda's area date back to 200 BC. BC back. They come from settlers who were hunters and gatherers and who raised cattle. From 6th to 7th century. Chr. Settled here Semgallen how some grave mounds and the remains prove an authentic farmhouse. Excavations at Turaida Castle and Satesele Castle show that Livs lived in this area since the 11th century.
Turaida was the seat of a princely family from which the prince Kaupo descended. This is considered to be the first Christianized tribal prince and was viewed by his contemporaries as a traitor because he made pacts with the knights of the order. After varied battles in which Semgallians, Crusaders , Livs and Estonians were involved, the last free Livs were subjugated until 1212. As early as 1207 the area was divided up between the conquerors. Segewold Castle belonged to the Order of the Brothers of the Swords (later Livonian branch of the Teutonic Order), while the Krimulda and Turaida castles came to the Archbishopric of Riga . The small settlement of Segewold, whose inhabitants were mostly traders and craftsmen, arose near the order's fortress. The first mention by name can be found in the Livonian rhyming chronicle .
In 1561, during the Livonian War , Livonia came under the control of Poland-Lithuania . During this time Sigulda was developed into a regional center . A number of new manors were built in the area. The castle and settlement were destroyed in the Swedish-Polish War . The area came to Sweden, but was repeatedly exposed to the incursion of Russian armies. Sigulda was destroyed again in the Great Northern War and ravaged by the plague . The old settlement at the castle was not rebuilt. The castle remained in ruins. In 1721 Livonia became part of the Russian Empire . The New Castle was built near the castle ruins from 1878 to 1881 by order of the landowner Prince Kropotkin in neo-Gothic style and is surrounded by a castle park .
Sigulda experienced rapid growth after the Rīga – Valka railway line opened in 1889. The beautiful nature attracted the upper class of Riga to excursions and balls. Even the Russian Tsar occasionally chose Sigulda as a vacation home. The Hotel Segewold opened its doors not far from the new train station. At the end of the 19th century, Sigulda became a favorite destination for traders and tourists.
After Latvia's independence, the New Castle became the seat of the Latvian Press Agency. Part of the palace served as a conference venue for the Latvian Writers' Union, so the New Palace was also known as the “Writers Palace”. Extensive renovations took place. In 1928 Sigulda was granted city rights . During the Second World War , the Segewold position in September 1944 was a containment line for the parts of the German Wehrmacht flowing back from Estonia .
During the time of the Latvian SSR , Sigulda was a district town from 1949 to 1962, then part of the Riga district ( Rajon ). In 1973 the administration of the Gauja National Park moved to Sigulda. After Latvia regained its independence, in 1993 the city administration moved into the New Palace, which had previously been used as a sanatorium and has been the seat of the district administration since 2004.
Culture and sights
Castles and Palaces
Due to its eventful history, there are a number of castles and palaces in the Sigulda area, of which the restored Turaida Castle is the most important. It is located north of the city. On the outskirts you can visit the New Castle on the banks of the Gauja and the neighboring ruins of the Ordensburg and on the western bank the ruins of Krimulda Castle with Krimulda Castle.
Culture
- An international opera music festival takes place in Sigulda in the second week of July , the venue is the open-air stage within the Sigulda castle ruins.
- The Turaida Museum Reserve operates as a local and history museum . It is located in the Turaida district.
Sports and leisure facilities
Sports
Sigulda is known as a winter sports area in which toboggan and bobsleigh world championship runs have already been held. The bobsleigh run is only a few hundred meters from the train station on the western outskirts of the city. From there it is not far to the Sigulda ski jumps , which are three smaller ski jumping hills whose expansion and expansion is planned.
leisure
The city's most popular attractions include an amusement park with a Ferris wheel and a cable car over the Gauja River. This enables bungee jumping over the river by appointment . Are popular hot air balloon rides and boat tours in the national park.
Parks and natural monuments
In Sigulda there is a visitor center of the nearby Gauja National Park and provides information in changing exhibitions about the flora and fauna of the area as well as about tourist offers.
The banks of the Gauja are lined with small caves and grottos, which can be found in the red sandstone rock walls up to 85 meters high. The most famous caves are the Teufelshöhle and Gutmannshöhle . The light forests along the shore are the habitat of rare animal species and plants, for example the black stork can be observed here.
An avenue of maples leads to a hill called Kirchberg (Latvian: Baznīckalns) in the south of the city. There you will find the wooden church of Turaida (translated God's garden ) and the cemetery , which was renovated around 1750 . The place is famous for the tomb of the Rose of Turaida - it is located by an ancient linden tree and is reminiscent of a tragic love story from the 17th century.
The Folk Song Mountain (Latvian: Dainu kalns) is a park that was created in 1985 and is reminiscent of Krišjānis Barons , the collector of the Latvian Dainas folk songs. With the song garden (Latvian: Dziesmu dārzs) the park has a collection of natural stone sculptures by the sculptor Indulis Ranka and was entered in 1996 in a register of sculpture gardens around the world.
traffic
Sigulda has a train station on the Riga – Valka railway line .
Others
- In 2003, the Latvian Post selected a bridge over the Gauja Valley near Siguldas as its brand image. Another stamp, released in 2002, shows the city coat of arms of Sigulda.
Twin cities
Sigulda maintains town twinning with Angus (Scotland), Birštonas (Lithuania), Falköping (Sweden), Keila (Estonia), Løgstør (Denmark) and Stuhr (Germany).
Sigulda is also a member of the European city association Douzelage .
Sons and daughters of the place
- Heinrich Siemens (* 1964), German Germanist and Plautdietsch researcher
- Juris Šics (* 1984), luge rider
- Andris Šics (* 1985), luge rider
- Jānis Strenga (* 1986), bobsledder
- Lelde Gasūna (* 1990), ski racer
- Elīza Tīruma (* 1990), luge athlete
- Toms Skujiņš (* 1991), racing cyclist
- Lelde Priedulēna (* 1993), skeleton pilot
literature
- Jochen Könnecke, Vladislav Rubzov: Latvia . In: DuMont art travel guide . DuMont Reiseverlag, Ostfildern 2005, ISBN 3-7701-6386-9 , coastal region north of Riga, the Gauja National Park, p. 185-193 .
- Marianne Mehling (Ed.): Knaur's cultural guide in color . Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania. Droemer Knaur, Munich 1993, ISBN 3-426-26608-3 , Latvia, Sigulda, p. 164 .
Web links
- Website of the Turaida Museum (multilingual, also German)
- National park website (also in German and English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ ISO 3166-2 NEWSLETTER Date: 2011-12-13 correct ed 2011-12-15 No II-3 , accessed on May 14, 2017
- ↑ Population statistics (pdf) from July 1, 2014 on www.pmlp.gov.lv/
- ↑ Jānis Jaunsudrabiņš : I tell my wife about the flight from Latvia and the exile in Westphalia ( Es stāstu savai sievai , translated by Ojārs Jānis Rozītis). Waxmann Verlag, Münster 2006. ISBN 978-3-8309-1748-9 , p. 83.
- ^ Turaida Museum and Cultural Reserve. (No longer available online.) In: Turaida Museum Reserve website. Archived from the original on July 28, 2007 ; Retrieved September 3, 2010 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
