Ventspils

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Ventspils ( German : Windau)
Ventspils coat of arms
Ventspils (Latvia)
Red pog.svg
Basic data
State : LatviaLatvia Latvia
Landscape: Courland ( Latvian : Kurzeme )
Administrative district : Republic-city of Ventspils
Coordinates : 57 ° 23 '  N , 21 ° 34'  E Coordinates: 57 ° 23 '26 "  N , 21 ° 34' 24"  E
Residents : 38,386 (Jul 1, 2018)
Area : 55.4 km²
Population density : 693 inhabitants per km²
Height : 10  m
City law: since 1378
Website: www.ventspils.lv
Post Code: 3601-3621
ISO code:
Ventspils, Latvia.jpg
Castle of the Teutonic Order

Ventspils ( German  Windau ) is a port city in western Latvia at the confluence of the Venta River (German also Windau ) into the Baltic Sea . It is one of the nine cities of the Republic of Latvia and with 38,386 inhabitants (as of July 1, 2018) the sixth largest city in the country.

history

At the mouth of the Venta there was a settlement called Sagare, which was mentioned in writing in the 1253 treaty for the division of the Northern Courland area. In 1290 the castle "Winda" of the Livonian Order was completed as the center of the Coming Windau . The port city temporarily belonged to the Hanseatic League . In 1378 Ventspils received town charter.

As part of the Duchy of Courland , Ventspils developed into a center of shipbuilding, especially in the time of Jakob Kettler from 1642. 44 warships and 79 merchant ships were built; a fleet started from Ventspils to colonize Gambia and Tobago. Metal, amber and wood processing companies promoted urban development.

Ventspils was destroyed during the Great Northern War . Most of the remaining inhabitants fell victim to epidemics in 1711. In 1795 Courland came under Russian rule in the course of the Third Partition of Poland . Shipbuilding and trade only became important again in 1850; the port was modernized in 1890 and connected to Moscow by rail. It developed into one of the most profitable ports in Russia with a revenue of 130 million rubles in 1913. The population grew steadily and in 1913 was 29,000.

During the First World War , many residents were forcibly evacuated to the interior of Russia. From the spring of 1915, Ventspils was under German occupation. Since 1918 the city belonged to the Republic of Latvia .

As a result of the German-Soviet non-aggression pact , Latvia was forced by the Soviet Union to agree to a protocol on October 5, 1939, according to which the Red Army etc. a. took over the "protection" of the coasts of independent Latvia. In the same month the Red Army installed a base in Ventspils.

From 1941 to 1945 the city was occupied by the German Wehrmacht . In July 1941 at least 120 Jewish men between the ages of 16 and 60 were murdered by “self-protection people” or by members of a task force of the security police and the SD . On September 6, 1941, 183 Jewish women and children were murdered by a "Latvian commando". The fortress and local commander Eric Schlubach had been instructed not to "interfere in the hustle and bustle of these elements."

Under Soviet rule, an oil pipeline was built to Ventspils, and the city became one of the main ports for the USSR's crude oil exports.

Thanks to the income from the port, Ventspils is now one of the most prosperous cities in Latvia.

economy

Port exit
Harbor promenade

The city has an ice-free port . The port of Ventspils ranks second among the Latvian ports (after Riga) in terms of cargo handling. In 2016, 30% of Latvian imports and exports were handled by sea in Ventspils. The port of Ventspils is the most important transshipment point for Russian oil and coal on the Baltic Sea.

With the support of the European Union, the Ventspils Business Incubator was established in the city , a technology and innovation center for the regional promotion of start-ups in the high-tech sector.

traffic

The shipping company Stena Line operates a ferry connection to Nynäshamn (S). The summer connection to the Estonian island of Saaremaa was suspended for 2009 .

Ventspils is connected to Riga and other Latvian cities by long-distance bus routes. The rail connection between Riga and Ventspils was completely closed on February 15, 2010.

Ventspils International Airport, opened in 1975, is one of the three most famous airports in Latvia (alongside those of Riga and Liepaja).

Education

The Ventspils University of Applied Sciences ( Ventspils Augstskola ), founded in 1997, has faculties for economics, IT and translation with around 900 students in the 2017/2018 academic year. The university has been participating in the Europe-wide Erasmus exchange program since 2007. The closest contacts exist with German, Norwegian and Danish universities.

politics

Mayor of Ventspils has been Aivars Lembergs since 1988 . Lembergs reduced unemployment by introducing locally subsidized jobs. During his tenure, the city's ecological and economic situation improved significantly. However, investigations into corruption, money laundering and abuse of office have been ongoing since 2006, leading to temporary detention in 2007.

Worth seeing

Nicholas Church
Ventspils Baptist Church
Former synagogue in Ventspils

The well-restored old town and the Baltic Sea beach are well worth seeing.

The castle of the Livonian Order, first mentioned in 1290, was built in the second half of the 13th century and is the oldest existing structure in Ventspils today. After its restoration, it has housed the Ventspils Museum since September 2001, which was opened elsewhere in 1928. The facility also includes an open-air museum on the Baltic coast, which is dedicated to depicting all aspects of the life of Latvian and Liv fishermen and farmers.

The Ventspils International Radio Astronomy Center (VIRAC) is located 30 km to the northeast .

Sports

With the Olympic Center, Ventspils owns a nationally important sports center, which has included a modern ice rink since 2004, which has become the center of the Latvian short track . In January 2008 the European Short Track Championships took place here.

The football club FK Ventspils is one of the top Latvian clubs and regularly makes it into European competitions. The club, founded in 1997, won the Latvian championship for the first time in the 2006 season. The basketball club BK Ventspils , which has already won nine Latvian championships and regularly takes part in competitions on a European level such as the ULEB Cup, is even more successful .

Twin cities

sons and daughters of the town

Climate table

Ventspils
Climate diagram
J F. M. A. M. J J A. S. O N D.
 
 
56
 
-1
-5
 
 
38
 
-1
-6
 
 
38
 
2
-3
 
 
37
 
7th
1
 
 
42
 
13
6th
 
 
47
 
17th
10
 
 
64
 
20th
13
 
 
77
 
20th
13
 
 
77
 
16
10
 
 
74
 
11
5
 
 
75
 
5
1
 
 
66
 
2
-3
Temperature in ° C ,  precipitation in mm
Source: Latvian, Environment, Geology and Meteorology Agency
Average monthly temperatures and rainfall for Ventspils
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Max. Temperature ( ° C ) −0.6 −0.7 2.2 7.4 13.2 16.9 19.8 19.7 15.8 10.7 5.4 1.9 O 9.4
Min. Temperature (° C) −5.4 −5.5 −3.1 1.1 5.6 10.0 13.2 12.7 9.6 5.4 1.1 −2.5 O 3.6
Precipitation ( mm ) 56 38 38 37 42 47 64 77 77 74 75 66 Σ 691
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
−0.6
−5.4
−0.7
−5.5
2.2
−3.1
7.4
1.1
13.2
5.6
16.9
10.0
19.8
13.2
19.7
12.7
15.8
9.6
10.7
5.4
5.4
1.1
1.9
−2.5
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
N
i
e
d
e
r
s
c
h
l
a
g 		56
38
38
37
42
47
64
77
77
74
75
66
  Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

literature

  • Hans Feldmann , Heinz von zur Mühlen (Hrsg.): Baltic historical local dictionary , Vol. 2: Latvia (South Livland and Courland) . Böhlau, Cologne 1990, ISBN 3-412-06889-6 , pp. 703-705.
  • Valda Kvaskova: Everyday life in a country town - Windau in the 18th century . In: Jürgen Heyde (ed.): Life in the countryside in the Baltic States . Carl-Schirren-Gesellschaft, Lüneburg 2012, ISBN 978-3-923149-57-5 , pp. 173-212.
  • Sigurds Rusmanis, Ivars Vīks: Kurzeme . Izdevniecība Latvijas Enciklopēdija, Riga 1993, ISBN 5-89960-030-6 , pp. 44–55 (city history and explanations of numerous sights, Latvian).
  • Sigurds Rusmanis, Ingrīda Štrumfa: Ventspils. Pilsētas vēsture, ekskursiju maršruti, pilsētas map, krāsaini attēli . Izdevniecība Latvijas Enciklopēdija, Riga 1996, ISBN 5-89960-071-3 (Latvian).
  • Kerstin Siegler: The rise and fall of the Windau trading center in the 17th century . In: Erwin Oberländer : The Duchy of Courland, 1561–1795. Constitution, economy, society . Nordostdeutsches Kulturwerk, Lüneburg 2001, ISBN 3-932267-33-8 , Vol. 2, pp. 197-238.

Web links

Commons : Ventspils  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ 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.
  2. ↑ Georg von Rauch : History of the Baltic States . dtv, Munich, 2nd, reviewed edition 1977, ISBN 3-423-04297-4 , p. 201.
  3. ↑ a b Hoppe (2011), p. 557 with note 20 and document VEJ 7/26 of July 15, 1941
  4. ^ BGH judgment of June 11, 1974 , Jurion.de, accessed September 27, 2015.
  5. ↑ Latvian Business Guide , 2018 edition, p. 33.
  6. ↑ Saaremaa-Ventspils shipping line will go on a break in the 2009 season ( Memento of the original from May 16, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English). @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.slkferries.ee
  7. ↑ Ventspils Augstskola (Latvian), accessed on May 19, 2018.