Nereta ( lt, Neretos; german: Nerft) is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...

in Aizkraukle Municipality in the Selonia region of Latvia. Neretaat GeoNames updated 27/07/2014 The village is located 4 km from the border with Lithuania, on the Dienvidsusēja river (right tributary

Nemunėlis Nemunėlis () is a river in northern Lithuania and southern Latvia. It originates 6 km south of Rokiškis. It is 191 kilometres long (75 km in Lithuania, 76 km on the Latvia–Lithuania border and 40 km in Latvia) before i ...

). Nereta has hosted the annual 3x3 Latvian heritage summer camp. Nereta had 1,282 residents as of 2006. Nereta the village is surrounded by numerous

peat bogs A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg ...

History

Nereta is located in the part of Selonia that was subjugated in the 13th century by the Livonian Order. Nereta was first mentioned in historical sources (as Nirica) in 1298. At the southern border of the Livonian Order Aizkraukle Command with the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Lit ...

lands, a fortified Nereta Manor, which belonged to the former Commander of the Order Wilhelm of Eferna after the collapse of the Order, ''von Effern''. During times of Duchy of Courland and Semigallia, the ruined wooden building of the Nereta church was restored in 1570, but in 1584-1593. The current Nereta Lutheran Church stone building was built in

1564 Year 1564 ( MDLXIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 26 – Livonian War – Battle of Ula: A Lithuanian surprise attack resul ...

. In the year Nereta was called "Narite" by the river Dienvidsusēja. 1596. At the request of Duke

Gotthard Kettler Gotthard Kettler, Duke of Courland (also ''Godert'', ''Ketteler'', german: Gotthard Kettler, Herzog von Kurland; 2 February 1517 – 17 May 1587) was the last Master of the Livonian Order and the first Duke of Courland and Semigallia. Biography ...

, the first Latin school for the children of servants of the manor and rectory was founded in Nereta.

1607 Events January–June * January 13 – The Bank of Genoa fails, after the announcement of national bankruptcy in Spain. * January 19 – San Agustin Church, Manila, is officially completed; by the 21st century it will be th ...

. A nursery manor was awarded 300 years a year for the maintenance and hiring of a teacher. Documents from 1672 mention Nereta town, which disappeared in 1709-1711 due to

Great Northern War plague outbreak During the Great Northern War (1700–1721), many towns and areas around the Baltic Sea and East-Central Europe had a severe outbreak of the plague with a peak from 1708 to 1712. This epidemic was probably part of a pandemic affecting an area from ...

. Four years after the epidemic, only a few people lived in Nereta Manor (german: Hof zu Narten now Neretaslauki). In 1868 the parish house was built. During

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 ...

, German troops built a ''Viesīte narrow-gauge railway'' to supply the front, connecting Nereta with

Jēkabpils Jēkabpils (; german: Jakobstadt; pl, Jakubów) is a state city in Jēkabpils Municipality in southeastern Latvia roughly halfway between Riga and Daugavpils and spanning the Daugava River. Historic Jēkabpils lies on the left bank, in Selonia ...

and Suvainiškis in Lithuania. In 1927, Nereta was granted the status of

densely populated Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

(village), and from 1950 to 1990, Nereta had the status of workers' village (later an urban village). After that, it was the center of the parish

Aizkraukle district Aizkraukle District ( lv, Aizkraukles rajons, ) was an administrative division of Latvia, located in Vidzeme Vidzeme (; Old Latvian orthography: ''Widda-semme'', liv, Vidūmō) is one of the Historical Latvian Lands. The capital of Latvia, ...

, but after administrative-territorial reform in 2009 it became the center of

Nereta Municipality Nereta Municipality ( lv, Neretas novads) is a former municipality in Selonia, Latvia. The municipality was formed in 2009 by merging Mazzalve Parish, Nereta Parish, Pilskalne Parish and Zalve Parish, with the administrative center being N ...

References

External links

Towns and villages in Latvia Friedrichstadt County Aizkraukle Municipality Selonia {{Latvia-geo-stub