Daugavgrīva (german: Dünamünde; pl, Dynemunt; russian: Усть-Двинск or ''Ust`-Dvinsk'') is a neighbourhood in North West Riga, Latvia on the left bank of the

Daugava river , be, Заходняя Дзвіна (), liv, Vēna, et, Väina, german: Düna , image = Fluss-lv-Düna.png , image_caption = The drainage basin of the Daugava , source1_location = Valdai Hills, Russia , mouth_location = Gulf of Riga, Baltic S ...

. In this neighbourhood there is a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

-built fortress on the

Daugava River , be, Заходняя Дзвіна (), liv, Vēna, et, Väina, german: Düna , image = Fluss-lv-Düna.png , image_caption = The drainage basin of the Daugava , source1_location = Valdai Hills, Russia , mouth_location = Gulf of Riga, Baltic S ...

's left bank, commanding its mouth.

Fortress

Vecdaugava Vecdaugava is a neighbourhood of Riga, the capital of 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, Leţ ...

, on the right or opposite side of the Daugava (German: ''Düna'') outside the borders of the contemporary neighborhood, was in 1208 Dünamünde castle built by the

Teutonic Knights The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians o ...

, which initially served as a monastery. The Swedish fortress of Neumünde on the right bank, designed in a

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

style by General Rothenburg in 1641, replaced the ruined Dünamünde Castle by 1680. Ustdvinsk

In 1695 the Commandant was captain Heinrich Nicolaus Rüdinger, forefather of future Patriarch Alexy II of Russia. Rüdinger was knighted by

Charles XI of Sweden Charles XI or Carl ( sv, Karl XI; ) was King of Sweden from 1660 until his death, in a period of Swedish history known as the Swedish Empire (1611–1721). He was the only son of King Charles X Gustav of Sweden and Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein- ...

. Joachim Cronman later became the Commandant and he died on March 5, 1703. After the fortress was seized by the Russians they reconstructed it. Regent

Anna Leopoldovna Anna Leopoldovna (russian: А́нна Леопо́льдовна; 18 December 1718 – 19 March 1746), born Elisabeth Katharina Christine von Mecklenburg-Schwerin and also known as Anna Carlovna (А́нна Ка́рловна), was regent of R ...

of Russia, her husband Anthony Ulrich, and her son Ivan VI were incarcerated in Dünamünde in 1742. A local

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

church was rebuilt into the

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...

Church of the Saviour's Transfiguration in 1775. The Russian government renamed the fortress, where only

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

soldiers were living, to Ust-Dvinsk in 1893. They had its fortifications completely reconstructed prior to

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 ...

. During the war Ust-Dvinsk was bombarded by the Schütte-Lanz

Airship An airship or dirigible balloon is a type of aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that can navigate through the air under its own power. Aerostats gain their lift from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air. In early ...

SL 7 of the German Army. After the fortress was taken by

Imperial Germany The German Empire (), Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditar ...

, it was inspected by Emperor

Wilhelm II , house = Hohenzollern , father = Frederick III, German Emperor , mother = Victoria, Princess Royal , religion = Lutheranism (Prussian United) , signature = Wilhelm II, German Emperor Signature-.svg Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor ...

in 1917. The

Latvian government 200px, Meeting room of the Government of Latvia in the Palace of Justice The Government of Latvia is the central government of the Republic of Latvia. The Constitution of Latvia ( lv, Satversme) outlines the nation as a parliamentary republic ...

, however, demolished much of the fortifications several years later. During the Cold War Ust-Dvinsk was a base for Soviet troops. The site is now known in Latvian as Daugavgrīva. There is a functional lighthouse at Daugavgrīva which was originally built in 1818. It was rebuilt in 1863, 1920, and after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. In March 1942 took place the so called "

Dünamünde Action The Dünamünde Action (Aktion Dünamünde) was an operation launched by the Nazi German occupying force and local collaborationists in Biķernieki forest, near Riga, Latvia. Its objective was to execute Jews who had recently been deported to ...

". The Nazis informed the Judenrat of the ghetto of Riga that the people would go to a supposed town called Dünamünde to work at fish processing. Instead the people were taken by motor transport to Biķernieki forest, where they were shot and buried in common unmarked graves.

References

External links

The fortress of Daugavgriva
(in Russian)

(in Russian with German maps)
Discussion and pictures at www.fortification.ru
(in Russian with pictures and German maps) {{DEFAULTSORT:Daugavgriva Neighbourhoods in Riga Holocaust locations in Latvia