Alūksne () is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

on the shores of Lake Alūksne in the

Vidzeme Vidzeme (; Old Latvian orthography: ''Widda-semme'', ) is one of the Historical Latvian Lands. The capital of Latvia, Riga, is situated in the southwestern part of the region. Literally meaning "the Middle Land", it is situated in north-centra ...

region of

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

near the borders with

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

and

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. It is the seat of the Alūksne municipality. Alūksne is the highest elevated Latvian city, located in East Vidzeme Upland at 217 m above sea level. The high elevation of the city affects the social and physical arrangement of the place.

History

The region around Lake Alūksne was originally settled by Finnic-speaking tribes, and from the 8th-12th centuries by

Latgalians Latgalians (, , modern ; variant translations also include Latgallians, Lettigalls or Lettigallians) were an ancient Baltic tribe. They likely spoke a variant of Latvian language, which probably became the ''lingua franca'' in present-day Latvia ...

. The date of settlement at the current location of the town, then known as ''Olysta'', ''Alyst'', and ''Volyst'', is given in the

chronicle A chronicle (, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and local events ...

s of

Pskov Pskov ( rus, Псков, a=Ru-Псков.oga, p=psˈkof; see also Names of Pskov in different languages, names in other languages) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in northwestern Russia and the administrative center of Pskov O ...

as 1284. The later name "Alūksne" comes from the Latgalian word ''olūksna'', meaning a spring in the forest. The Latgalian inhabitants of the settlement were conquered by the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

crusade The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding t ...

rs of the

Livonian Order The Livonian Order was an autonomous branch of the Teutonic Order, formed in 1237. From 1435 to 1561 it was a member of the Livonian Confederation. History The order was formed from the remnants of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword after thei ...

in 1224. In 1284, they built a wooden

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

named Marienburg (after

Mary, the mother of Jesus Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

) on a nearby island, which served to protect trade routes from

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

to Pskov. The town, which developed near the castle also became known as Marienburg. In 1342, a new castle from stone was built on the largest isle of Lake Alūksne. Marienburg was captured by the troops of

Ivan IV of Russia Ivan IV Vasilyevich (; – ), commonly known as Ivan the Terrible,; ; monastic name: Jonah. was Grand Prince of Moscow and all Russia from 1533 to 1547, and the first Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia from 1547 until his death in 1584. ...

in 1560 during the

Livonian War The Livonian War (1558–1583) concerned control of Terra Mariana, Old Livonia (in the territory of present-day Estonia and Latvia). The Tsardom of Russia faced a varying coalition of the Denmark–Norway, Dano-Norwegian Realm, the Kingdom ...

. It was incorporated into the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

in 1582. The town became part of the

Swedish Empire The Swedish Empire or the Great Power era () was the period in Swedish history spanning much of the 17th and early 18th centuries during which Sweden became a European great power that exercised territorial control over much of the Baltic regi ...

in 1629. Ernst Glück, a

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

clergyman and the first translator of the Bible into Latvian, founded the first Latvian language schools in

in 1683. It is now known as the Ernst Glück Bible Museum. The Russian army led by Sheremetyev captured the town during the

Great Northern War In the Great Northern War (1700–1721) a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern Europe, Northern, Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the ant ...

in 1702, doing great damage to the area and deporting all the inhabitants, including Glück and his foster daughter, Marta Skavronska, who later became Empress

Catherine I of Russia Catherine I Alekseyevna Mikhailova (born Marta Samuilovna Skavronskaya; – ) was the second wife and Empress consort of Peter the Great, whom she succeeded as Empress of Russia, ruling from 1725 until her death in 1727. Life as a servant Onl ...

. After 1721, Alūksne became part of the Livonia Governorate, but for many decades, it was a devastated and minor settlement. Alūksne started development in the 19th century, when it became a major trading centre. Further development was stimulated with the opening of the

narrow gauge railway A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with Minimum railw ...

line Stukmaņi- Gulbene-Alūksne- Valka in 1903. During the

Latvian War of Independence The Latvian War of Independence (), 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 proclaimed Republic of Latvia was invade ...

, Alūksne was one of the first major settlements in

which was liberated by Latvian Army in May 1919. In 1920, Alūksne was granted town rights. Since 2009, it is an administrative center of the Alūksne municipality. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Alūksne was under

occupation from 5 July 1941 until 19 August 1944. The town's island is known as ''Pils salas'' (Castle Island) and Maria Island. Alūksne Castle is now used as an open-air

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communi ...

Nature

Alūksne lake

Alūksne is located on the shore of Lake Alūksne, which is the eleventh largest lake in Latvia. There are four islands in the lake - Cepurītes or Love Island, Long Island, Tīklu Island and Castle Island. The average depth of the lake is about 7 meters. The deepest place reaches up to 20 meters.

Climate

Alūksne has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''Dfb'').

Demographics

Within existing limits, according to CSB data.

Notable people

* Rozālija Purgale (1904-1984), judge * Dainis Dukurs (born 1957), skeleton coach *

Kristaps Lībietis Kristaps Lībietis (born in Alūksne on ) is a retired Latvian biathlete. He competed in the 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympics for Latvia. His best performance is 19th, in 2010 as part of the Latvian relay team. His best individual performance is 5 ...

(born 1982), biathlete * Edgars Bertuks (born 1985), orienteering competitor * Ilona Marhele (born 1986), long distance runner * Andrejs Rastorgujevs (born 1988), biathlete * Andris Vosekalns (born 1992), cyclist

Sister cities

* Joniškis, Lithuania

Railway services

Gallery

Soldiers of the Latvian National Armed Forces in Alūksne in the 1930s.jpg, Soldiers of the Latvian National Armed Forces in Alūksne in the 1930s Алуксне 180811.jpg, Lutheran church in Alūksne TU2-273 Alūksne (1).JPG, Narrow gauge railway in Alūksne Lielā Ezera iela 4 (Alūksne), 2013.jpg, Alūksne town centre Bible Museum in Aluksne.jpg, Ernst Glück Bible Museum The New Castle of Alūksne, 2013, 1.jpg, Alūksne New Castle Alūksne õigeusu kirik.JPG, Alūksne orthodox church Alūksne kunstikool 02.JPG, Alūksne Art School Alūksne cemetery, 2013, 2.jpg, Alūksne cemetery Alūksne Linnuse varemed 11.JPG, Alūksne Castle ruins

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aluksne Cities and towns in Vidzeme 1920 establishments in Latvia Valka county Populated places in Alūksne Municipality