Walk (city)

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Location of Valga in Estonia.
Location of Valka in Latvia

Walk is the German name used until 1920 for a city in the historical Livonia landscape in the Baltic States . Today the state border between Estonia and Latvia runs through the urban area. The Estonian part is called Valga , the smaller Latvian Valka .

history

Prehistoric times

River Pedele or Pedeli

In prehistoric times, goods from the Gauja River to the Pedele River were handled here. The Embach and thus the Wirzsee can be reached by pedele . In historical times the Gauja was the settlement border between Latgallic and Finno-Ugric tribes.

Livonian Confederation

In 1286, today's place (as a pedele) was first mentioned in writing in the debt register of the city of Riga . Due to its location on the road to Dorpat , the village of Walk developed.

The Livonian Confederation was divided into the ecclesiastical areas of the bishops and the commanderies of the Livonian Order . Legal disputes arising from this structure were settled at the annual state parliament in Walk from 1419 onwards .

Poland-Lithuania and Sweden

With the conclusion of the Union of Vilnius in 1561, Walk was awarded to the Duchy of Livonia Poland-Lithuania and received city rights in 1584. During the Polish-Swedish War , the city became Swedish in 1627. However, only a few residents were still alive due to the war. The time up to incorporation into the Russian Empire in 1721 brought economic upswing but also severe devastation, especially in the Great Northern War .

Russian Empire

Walk Town Hall (built 1865)
Train station in Valga

As part of the Livonia Governorate , Walk became a county seat in 1783. Latvians now increasingly settled in the city. The peaceful times brought economic growth. After 1886, Walk station was a railway junction where the Riga - Pleskau line branched off to Dorpat . From 1896 a narrow-gauge line to Pernau was added.

In addition to its economic importance, the city also gained national importance. Jānis Cimze's teacher training college was located here, and in 1901 an Estonian became mayor for the first time , when the Baltic-German parliamentary group was defeated in the elections by an alliance of Latvians and Estonians. Walk was a center of the 1905 revolution .

Latvian city of birth

After the February Revolution in Russia in 1917, the founding congress of the Latvian Farmers' Union took place in Walk . On November 30, 1917, after the October Revolution in Russia, a provisional Latvian National Council meeting in Walk declared Latvia 's independence. However, most of the national territory was under German control and on February 12, 1918, Walk was also occupied by the German army .

After the end of the First World War , the Latvian Farmers' Union meeting here decided on November 15 to found the Republic of Latvia , which was proclaimed on November 18, 1918 in Riga. After the invasion of the Bolsheviks along the railway line, Pēteris Stučka entered Latvian territory a month later at Walk and in turn proclaimed the Latvian Socialist Soviet Republic (December 17, 1918).

Estonian War of Independence

After the Battle of Paju , the Estonian army captured Walk and the station on January 31, 1919. This interrupted this important Bolshevik supply line. 107 dead victims of terrorism were found in mass graves around the city .

By July 1919, the Estonian army had control of all of Northern Latvia.

division

In 1897 there were 4,453 Latvians and 3,594 Estonians living in the city . The town of Walk was claimed by both nations in 1919. The dispute threatened to escalate into an armed conflict following an Estonian ultimatum on December 24, 1919. A commission led by British Colonel Stephen Tallents finally reached an arbitration award on July 1, 1920, according to which Walk was divided between the two states. Estonia received the lion's share of the built-up area with the city center and the train station, while only one district with 80 wooden houses in the west of the city came to Latvia. According to an Estonian-Latvian agreement, 2,500 Latvians moved from the Estonian part to the Latvian part. (See article: Valga and Valka ).

1945 to 2007

When Latvia and Estonia belonged to the Soviet Union, the division did not play a role, it was in fact a city with a mixed-language population. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union and the regaining of independence of the Baltic States, there was again a state border between the western and eastern parts of the city with three border crossing points and customs controls. However, the control posts were abolished with the accession to the Schengen Agreement in 2007.

Personalities

literature

  • Klaus Grimm: Years of German decision in the Baltic States. Essen Publishing House, Essen 1939.
  • Inta Pētersone (ed.): Latvijas Brīvības cīņas 1918–1920. Enciklopēdja. Preses nams, Riga 1999, ISBN 9984-00-395-7 .
  • Igors Vārpa: Latviešu karavīrs zem Krievijas impērijas, Padomju Krievijas and PSRS karogiem. Latviešu strēlnieki triju vēstures laikmetu griežos. Nordik, Riga 2006, ISBN 9984-792-11-0 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Stephen Tallents: Man and Boy, London 1943, pp. 371ff

Coordinates: 57 ° 46 '  N , 26 ° 1'  E