Madona (; german: Modohn) is a
town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
with
town rights
Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...
in the
Vidzeme
Vidzeme (; Old Latvian orthography: ''Widda-semme'', liv, Vidūmō) 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 n ...
region 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, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
and is the center of the
Madona municipality
Madona Municipality ( lv, Madonas novads) is a municipality in Vidzeme, Latvia. The administrative center is Madona.
The total area of the municipality is , and the population in January 2013 was 26,953.Madona municipality Population Register Of ...
.
History
The surrounding area of Madona had been populated in earlier times, which is confirmed by discoveries of old burial grounds in the city's vicinity. Madona is first mentioned in writing in 1461, when Archbishop Sylvester began renting the lands of Birži Manor. However, the Swedish government placed the land under state control. After the
Great Northern War
The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedi ...
, Madona became property of the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
. Empress
Elizabeth
Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to:
People
* Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name)
* Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist
Ships
* HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships
* ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...
presented
Birži Manor along with other of
Vidzeme
Vidzeme (; Old Latvian orthography: ''Widda-semme'', liv, Vidūmō) 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 n ...
's manors to Count
Alexander Buturlin
Count Aleksander Borisovich Buturlin (Russian language, Russian, in full: граф Александр Борисович Бутурлин; 1694 – 1767) was a Russian general and courtier whose career was much furthered by his good looks and pers ...
.
Empress
Catherine II
, en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes
, house =
, father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst
, mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp
, birth_date =
, birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anha ...
bought the lands back as a present to the
Serbian-born General
Maxim Zorić. From the 19th to the beginning of the 20th century, the location of Madona was the fields of Birži Manor.
According to one version, the name of Madona stems from the adjacent
Madona Lake
Madona (; german: Modohn) is a town with town rights in the Vidzeme region of Latvia and is the center of the Madona municipality.
History
The surrounding area of Madona had been populated in earlier times, which is confirmed by discoveries ...
. According to another version, Madona got its name from Birži Manor, which
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
exonym
An endonym (from Greek: , 'inner' + , 'name'; also known as autonym) is a common, ''native'' name for a geographical place, group of people, individual person, language or dialect, meaning that it is used inside that particular place, group, ...
is ''Madohn'' or ''Modohn''. For this reason, the railway station situated at the Pļaviņas - Valka
narrow gauge railway
A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and .
Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structur ...
line was named Madona as well. The populated place that slowly emerged around the station also got this name after the erection of the Madona railway station in 1903.
Village privileges was given to Madona 1 July 1921, and
town privileges
Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...
7 June 1926. Since 1 April 1925 Madona was the center of the newly founded County of Madona (
Madonas apriņķis
Madona (; german: Modohn) is a town with town rights in the Vidzeme region of Latvia and is the center of the Madona municipality.
History
The surrounding area of Madona had been populated in earlier times, which is confirmed by discoveries ...
). Madona had 1,357 inhabitants at the time.
During
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 opposin ...
, Madona was under
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
occupation from 2 July 1941 until 13 August 1944. It was administered as a part of the
Generalbezirk Lettland
Generalbezirk Lettland (General District Latvia) was one of the four administrative subdivisions of '' Reichskommissariat Ostland'', the civilian occupation regime established by Nazi Germany for the administration of the Baltic States (Estonia, ...
of
Reichskommissariat Ostland
The Reichskommissariat Ostland (RKO) was established by Nazi Germany in 1941 during World War II. It became the civilian occupation regime in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and the western part of Byelorussian SSR. German planning documents initia ...
.
Population
The Latvian Central Statistics Department reported 9,242 citizens as of 1 January 2007, with 888 people per square kilometre (0.37 square miles).
When it comes to age distribution of the Madona inhabitants, the majority group consisting of 5,925 people are registered as "labour-capable" ( lv, darbaspējīgie); 1,339 are under the age of "labour-capability" and 1867 are over. As of 21 December 2003, there are 211 (3.5%) unemployed citizens of the
labour force
The workforce or labour force is a concept referring to the pool of human beings either in employment or in unemployment. It is generally used to describe those working for a single company or industry, but can also apply to a geographic regio ...
.
Geography
The town of Madona lies in
Vidzeme Upland. The hilly surroundings descend in a northwestern-southeastern direction. Several minor rivers and
stream
A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream ...
s flows through the town, such as:
Lisa River Lisa or LISA may refer to:
People
People with the mononym
* Lisa Lisa (born 1967), American actress and lead singer of the Cult Jam
* Lisa (Japanese musician, born 1974), stylized "LISA", Japanese singer and producer
* Lisa Komine (born 1978), ...
,
Leivārīte,
Ridzīte,
Mucenieki River,
Rieba River and
Madona River — which flows can be seen in beautiful
glen
A glen is a valley, typically one that is long and bounded by gently sloped concave sides, unlike a ravine, which is deep and bounded by steep slopes. Whittow defines it as a "Scottish term for a deep valley in the Highlands" that is "narrower ...
s, like: ''The Love Glen'', ''The Wedding Glen'' and ''The Divorce Glen''. In ''The Love Glen'' is a park, in which the manmade water reservoir has one of the highest
fountain
A fountain, from the Latin "fons" (genitive "fontis"), meaning source or Spring (hydrology), spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. ...
s in Latvia.
Notable locations and objects
* Madona City Museum — founded in 1944, the museum owns more than 107,000 historical items, it is located in historical Birži Manor.
* ''The Love Glen'' ( lv, Mīlestības grava). Through ''The Love Glen'' flows the
Madona River, along which shores slings park footpaths. At the entrance a pond with a fountain can be found.
* Madona Second High School — first three-storey building in Madona, built 1924–26.
* Former hotel building — among the oldest buildings in town, built 1901 of boulders and bricks.
* Lazdona Lutheran Church — built 1802–05, inaugurated 1806.
* Lazdona Holy Trinity Orthodox Church — built 1863–66.
* Madona Catholic Church — built 1931–34.
Tourism
Madona is 170 km east from Latvian capital Riga.
Most popular tourism objects in Madona and surrounding are:
* Gaizinkalns hill. Gaizinkalns is the highest point of Latvia. It is 311.94 m above sea level. Visitors can take a walk for the 2 km long walking trail with beautiful views. Hill surrounding has evolved winter sports offer - comfortable skiing centers and accommodation.
*
Teiči and
Krustkalni nature reserves. The aim of these reserves is to provide ecosystems protection and natural development. There is an opportunity for tourists with a guide to see these protected nature territories and use birds watchtower. The total area of the Teiči reserve is 19,779 ha.
*
Kalsnava Arboretum
Kalsnava Arboretum ( lv, Kalsnavas arborētums) is an arboretum in Kalsnava Parish, Madona Municipality, Latvia.
History
The arboretum was founded in 1975 with the purpose "to conduct scientific research in dendrology and forestry and plant f ...
- largest collection of decorative trees and bushes in eastern part of Latvia, with total area of 130,37 ha.
*
Lake Lubāns
Lake Lubāns is the largest lake in Latvia (in Latvian: ''Lubāns'', ''Lubānas ezers'' or ''Lubāna ezers'').
The lake lies in the center of the Eastern Latvian Lowland. It is a shallow drainage lake, fed by the Rēzekne, Malta, Malmuta and L ...
- the part of largest lake in Latvia is in Madona district. Allowed activities next to the lake are fishing, swimming, using bird-watching tower, renting a telescope and a bike.
* Interesting farms for tourists - 13 farms are open: rabbits and goats farm "Sveki", goat farm "Līvi", "Kucuru mill", farm "Ataugas".
* Winter sports and recreation centers: sport center "Smeceres sils", located next to Madona. There were organized some international biathlon and cross-country skiing competitions (Scandinavian Cup 2013 and World-cup Ski-Orienteering Competition 2013). Also, there are: recreation center "Gaizins", skiing center "Viešūra kalns", and recreation complex "Rēķu kalns" - alpine skiing, snowboarding, cross-country skiing, the tube-slope.
* Madona local history and art museum, with more than 20 artistic and thematic exhibitions every year.
* Different workshops (arts and crafts) and cultural events.
* Much accommodation.
Twin towns — sister cities
Madona is
twinned with:
*
Anykščiai
Anykščiai (; see other names) is a ski resort town in Lithuania, west of Utena. The Roman Catholic Church of St. Matthias in Anykščiai is the tallest church in Lithuania, with spires measuring in height. Anykščiai has a resort status i ...
, Lithuania
*
Borjomi
Borjomi ( ka, ბორჯომი) is a resort town in south-central Georgia, 160 km from Tbilisi, with a population of 11,122 (2021). It is one of the municipalities of the Samtskhe–Javakheti region and is situated in the northwestern p ...
, Georgia
*
Coulaines
Coulaines () is a commune in the Sarthe department in the Pays de la Loire region in north-western France. Its sister city is Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, United States.
Population
See also
* Communes of the Sarthe department
* Treaty of Coulain ...
, France
*
Lahoysk
Lahoysk ( be, Лаго́йск, Lahojsk, ; russian: link=no, Лого́йск, pl, Łohojsk) is a city in the Minsk Region of Belarus and the administrative center of Lahoysk District.
History
First chronicled in 1078, Lahoysk was the centre ...
, Belarus
*
Mettmann
Mettmann () is a town in the northern part of the Bergisches Land, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the district of Mettmann, Germany's most densely populated rural district. The town lies east of Düsseldorf ...
, Germany
*
Rapla
Rapla (German: ''Rappel'') is a town in central Estonia, the capital of Rapla County and the centre of Rapla Parish. The oldest records date back to 1241 in the Danish Census Book, when it was said that it was a small village with 8 acres of ...
, Estonia
*
Strugi Krasnye
Strugi Krasnye (russian: Стру́ги Кра́сные) is an types of inhabited localities in Russia, urban locality (a urban-type settlement, work settlement) and the administrative center of Strugo-Krasnensky District of Pskov Oblast, Russia, ...
, Russia
*
Tranås
Tranås () is a locality and the seat of Tranås Municipality, Jönköping County, Sweden with 14,197 inhabitants in 2010.
Overview
It is close to the lake Sommen in the north of Småland. Its main commercial center is located along the main stree ...
, Sweden
*
Weyhe
Weyhe is a municipality in the district of Diepholz, Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 15 km south of Bremen.
History
First mentioned in 860, when a sick girl from "Wege" travelled to the grave of Saint Willehad in Bremen ...
, Germany
References
External links
Official website of Madona
{{Authority control
1926 establishments in Latvia
Madona Municipality
Populated places established in 1926
Towns in Latvia