Valmiera
| Valmiera ( German : Wolmar) | |||
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| Basic data | |||
| State : |
 Latvia
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| Landscape: | Livonia ( Latvian : Vidzeme ) | ||
| Administrative district : | Republic-city of Valmiera | ||
| Coordinates : | 57 ° 32 ' N , 25 ° 26' E | ||
| Residents : | 24,828 (Jul 1, 2018) | ||
| Area : | |||
| Population density : | |||
| Height : | 43 m | ||
| City law: | since 1323 | ||
| Website: | www.valmiera.lv | ||
| Post Code: | 4201, 4202, 4204 | ||
| ISO code: | |||
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Valmiera ( ), in German Wolmar , is a city in northern Latvia on both sides of the Gauja River about 100 km northeast of Riga and 50 km from the border with Estonia . Valmiera is one of the nine republic cities of Latvia. With almost 25,000 inhabitants (24,828 on July 1, 2018), it is the largest city in the Vidzeme region and its cultural center. The Gauja National Park is nearby .
history
Archaeologists found traces of settlement from around 7000 BC. In historical times Valmiera was settled by Latgals . In 1224 the area on the Gauja came under the control of the Crusaders, who built a castle here. The "City of Woldemars" was first mentioned in writing in 1323, although the place existed 40 years earlier when the Grand Master of the Livonian Order Wilhelm von Schauenburg had the "Wolmar" castle and a Catholic church built for St. Simeon on the banks of the Gauja. From the 14th to the 16th century, the emerging trading town was a member of the Hanseatic League .
In June 1525 a state parliament was held in Wolmar. a. a general land order was adopted. As part of the Duchy of Livonia , Valmiera belonged to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Poland-Lithuania from 1566 to 1622 . In 1622 northern Livonia was conquered by the Swedes. Valmiera was owned by Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna . Several wars and a plague epidemic followed. During the great northern war , Wolmar was destroyed and burned down in 1702.
As part of the Russian governorate of Livonia , a long period of peace followed. In 1738 Valmiera became the starting point for the Moravian community when a teachers' college was founded here. The district town got a wooden bridge in 1865 and a railroad connection in 1899. Industrialization began and new districts on the other side of the Gauja emerged. Before the First World War there was, among other things, a teachers 'college, a girls' boarding school and a business school.
After the First World War, Valmiera came to the newly established Republic of Latvia.
The historic center is named after the Second World War , in which a third of the city burnt down, except for the Gothic hardly been something left Simeon Church.
Attractions
- The Gothic Saint Simons Church in the old town was built in 1283 and houses an originally preserved Ladegast organ from 1886.
- The castle of the Livonian Order of Knights from the 13th century was destroyed in the Northern War in 1702 and is only preserved as a ruin.
- see also: Mojahn Castle
- The oldest pharmacy in Livonia, built in the 18th century as a wooden house on the ramparts of the castle ruins, is still in use today.
Others
- Valmiera is currently the cultural center of Livonia. It is the only city in the region with a professional theater , Valmieras drāmas teātris , which has existed since 1919 . In 1996, the Vidzeme Regional University ( Vidzemes augstskola ) was established, which also teaches sign language.
- Valmiera has developed into an important industrial location. The most important industries are the food industry ( dairy products , meat , grain ), wood processing and furniture industry , metal processing and the production of glass fibers .
- Valmiera was the first place of activity of the Lutheran messenger and later Anabaptist Melchior Hofmann in 1523 .
- Version 2.2 of QGIS was named in honor of Valmiera.
Partnerships
- The city has been twinning with Halle (Westphalia) in the Gütersloh district since 2011 . The cities were on friendly terms even before the partnership was officially established.
- Other partner cities are:
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- The district of Valmiera and the district of Gütersloh have maintained partnership relationships since 1994. After the Latvian administrative reform in 2009, the partnership with the six new administrative districts (novads) was renewed.
sons and daughters of the town
- Johann Eduard Erdmann (1805-1892), German professor of philosophy and writer
- Julius von Eckardt (1836–1908), journalist and historian
- Jāzeps Vītols (1863-1948), composer
- Else Morstatt (1880–?), German writer
- Herbert Girgensohn (1887–1963), theologian
- Siegfried von Vegesack (1888–1974), writer
- Jānis Daliņš (1904–1978), track and field athlete
- Visvaldis Lācis (1924–2020), publicist and politician
- Detlev Prößdorf (1930–2017), German politician
- Andris Piebalgs (* 1957), politician
- Māris Kučinskis (* 1961), politician
- Ainārs Ķiksis (* 1972), cyclist
- Māris Štrombergs (* 1987), BMX cyclist
- Oskars Melbārdis (* 1988), bobsledder
- Oskars Ķibermanis (* 1993), bobsleigh pilot
literature
- Hans Feldmann , Heinz von zur Mühlen (Hrsg.): Baltic historical local dictionary. Part 2: Latvia (South Livland and Courland). Böhlau, Cologne 1990, ISBN 3-412-06889-6 , pp. 713-714.
- Astrīda Iltnere (ed.): Latvijas Pagasti, Enciklopēdija. Preses Nams, Riga 2002, ISBN 9984-00-436-8 .
- [Julius Eckardt]: A Livonian country town about 75 years ago (1834–1848) . In: Friedrich Bienemann (Hrsg.): Old Livlandic memories . Reval 1911. pp. 270-300.
Web links
- Partnership Valmiera projects of the Gütersloh district. Detailed information on Valmiera and the municipalities of the former Valmiera district.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Latvijas iedzīvotāju skaits pašvaldībās (= population figures of the self-governing districts of Latvia), status: July 1, 2018 (Latvian), p. 1, accessed on January 5, 2019.
- ^ Jürgen E. Fischer: Announcing the release of QGIS 2.2 . OSGeo.org. Retrieved February 22, 2014.
- ↑ The city's website - International cooperation ( English ), accessed on July 5, 2018
- ↑ Jürgen Sudhölter: Secret Hanseaten triangle between Wiedenbrück, Oldenzaal and Valmiera . In: Heimat-Jahrbuch Kreis Gütersloh, Jg. 2007, pp. 44–51.