Auce (; lt, Aukė; german: Alt-Autz) is a town in southern

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

Dobele Municipality Dobele Municipality ( lv, Dobeles novads) is a municipality in the historical region of Zemgale, and the Zemgale Planning Region in Latvia. The municipality was formed in 2009 by merging Dobele town and the Annenieki, Auri, Bērze, Biksti, Dob ...

near the

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

n border.

History

Before 13th century the territory of Auce was a part of a Semigallian Spārnene county. After the partition of Semigallia in 1254 territory was granted to the

Archbishopric of Riga The Archbishopric of Riga ( la, Archiepiscopatus Rigensis, nds, Erzbisdom Riga) was an archbishopric in Terra Mariana, Medieval Livonia, a subject to the Holy See. It was established in 1186 as the bishopric of Livonia at Ikšķile, then after ...

. Auce is first mentioned in written sources in 1426 as Owcze. In 1616 Old Auce (german: Alt-Autz) manor is mentioned for the first time when there was held regional assembly (

landtag A Landtag (State Diet) is generally the legislative assembly or parliament of a federated state or other subnational self-governing entity in German-speaking nations. It is usually a unicameral assembly exercising legislative competence in non- ...

) of the

Duchy of Courland The Duchy of Courland and Semigallia ( la, Ducatus Curlandiæ et Semigalliæ; german: Herzogtum Kurland und Semgallen; lv, Kurzemes un Zemgales hercogiste; lt, Kuršo ir Žiemgalos kunigaikštystė; pl, Księstwo Kurlandii i Semigalii) was ...

. In 1667 the first

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

church was erected in Auce. From 1768 until the Latvian agrarian reforms in the 1920s, Old Auce manor was property of the

Baltic German Baltic Germans (german: Deutsch-Balten or , later ) were ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since their coerced resettlement in 1939, Baltic Germans have markedly declined ...

von

Medem The Medem is a river of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is a left tributary of the Elbe, into which it flows near Otterndorf. See also *List of rivers of Lower Saxony All rivers in the German state of Lower Saxony flow directly or indirectly into t ...

family. Auce village started rapid development after the construction of the Jelgava-Mažeikiai railway in 1889. During the

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Auce was occupied by the

Imperial German army The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (german: Deutsches Heer), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the l ...

. The Germans established an aviation school and airfield (Artillerie-Fliegerschule Ost I) nearby. After the

Latvian War of Independence The Latvian War of Independence ( lv, Latvijas Neatkarības karš), sometimes called Latvia's freedom battles () or the Latvian War of Liberation (), was a series of military conflicts in Latvia between 5 December 1918, after the newly proclaim ...

Auce became part of the Republic of Latvia. In 1920 Old Auce manor was nationalised and it became the property of the

University of Latvia University of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Universitāte, shortened ''LU'') is a state-run university located in Riga, Latvia established in 1919. The ''QS World University Rankings'' places the university between 801st and 1000th globally, seventh ...

, to be used as a teaching farm for students of

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

. In 1924 Auce received town rights. Was Auce has been the centre of the

Auce municipality Auce Municipality ( lv, Auces novads) was a municipality in Semigallia, Latvia. The municipality was formed in 2009 by merging Bēne parish, Lielauce parish, Ukri parish, Vītiņi parish, Īle parish and Auce town with its countryside terri ...

. But in 2021

Auce Municipality Auce Municipality ( lv, Auces novads) was a municipality in Semigallia, Latvia. The municipality was formed in 2009 by merging Bēne parish, Lielauce parish, Ukri parish, Vītiņi parish, Īle parish and Auce town with its countryside terri ...

was merged with the

. File:WWII cemetery in Auce.jpg, Cemetery of German soldiers killed during World War II in Auce.

References

External links

Towns in Latvia 1426 establishments in Europe Dobele Municipality Semigallia {{Zemgale-geo-stub