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 to ...

Aizkraukle Municipality Aizkraukle Municipality ( lv, Aizkraukles novads) is a municipality in Vidzeme, Latvia. The municipality was formed in 2001 by merging town Aizkraukle and Aizkraukle Parish the administrative centre being Aizkraukle. The population in 2020 was 8, ...

in the

Selonia Selonia ( lv, Sēlija; lt, Sėla), also known as Augšzeme (the "Highland"), is one of the Historical Latvian Lands encompassing the eastern part of the historical region of Semigallia ( lv, Zemgale) as well as a portion of northeastern Lithuania ...

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 ...

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

GeoNames GeoNames (or GeoNames.org) is a user editable geographical database available and accessible through various web services, under a Creative Commons attribution license. The project was founded in late 2005. The GeoNames dataset differs from ...

updated 27/07/2014 The village is located 4 km from the border with

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 ...

, on the

Dienvidsusēja Dienvidsusēja (also known as ''Susēja'' or ''Suseja''; lt, Susėja) is a river of Latvia and a right tributary of the river Mēmele. It flows for 114 kilometres. For 4.2 km river forms border between Latvia and Lithuania. River flows t ...

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 its ...

). 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; a ...

History

Nereta is located in the part of

that was subjugated in the 13th century by 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 the ...

. Nereta was first mentioned in historical sources (as Nirica) in 1298. At the southern border of the

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 Li ...

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 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 ...

, 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. In the year Nereta was called "Narite" by the river

1596 Events January–June * January 6– 20 – An English attempt led by Francis Drake to cross the Isthmus of Panama ends in defeat. * January 28 – Francis Drake dies of dysentery off Portobelo. * February 14 – Archbishop John Whitg ...

. 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 K ...

, the first Latin school for the children of servants of the manor and

rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage. Function A clergy house is typically ow ...

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 the ...

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

'' 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 Suvainiškis is a small town in Panevėžys County, in northeastern 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 on ...

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, Ri ...

, 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